Our neighbor to the north, Canada has many promising business opportunities for U.S. businesses looking to export. Thanks to the USMCA Free Trade Agreement, duties on most products exported to Canada are zero. Ecommerce is a great way to sell directly to Canadian consumers and retailers. A U.S. Commercial Service export agent can help you identify Canadian distributors or partners and get you on your way to doing business in Canada. Watch the Export Destinations video to get a better taste of what business opportunities lie in Canada.
Project Spotlight – Ontario Subway Program
The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (“GTHA”) is experiencing unprecedented growth calling for corresponding expansion of its transportation network. The Province of Ontario’s New Subway Transit Plan for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area contemplates $28.5 billion in new subway construction in the Toronto area along four priority subway projects, which include:
- Ontario Line
- Scarborough Subway Extension
- Yonge North Subway Extension
- Eglinton Crosstown West Extension
For detailed scope of work, procurement status and to find your business opportunities, please contact Shweta Nagpal, Commercial Specialist at Shweta.nagpal@trade.gov located at CS Toronto, Canada.
Canada's Construction Opportunities
Canada’s budget provisions can provide opportunities for U.S. firms to tap into refurbishment projects and new project initiatives. Gaps in the supply chain can provide opportunities to export all types of equipment, installations, components, materials, and services for all segments - from design, build and finance to operate and maintain - that exist through various industrial, commercial, institutional and residential projects across Canada.
Infrastructure (Public Transit, Trade & Transportation, Social): The demand for modern transportation systems is on the upswing in Canada, including new road and bridge systems. As outlined in the Canadian Federal Budget, starting in 2018-19, over US$25B will be provided for projects such as highways, water infrastructure and transit lines through bilateral agreements with each province and territory. As of April 2020, Ontario alone has over 230 transit projects in progress, ranging from rapid-transit to regional systems; 339 Roads and Bridges projects; 2168 Community projects, 645 Education projects and 348 Childcare projects. In 2019,Ontario Premier Ford unveiled his nearly $22.5B Toronto-area transit expansion plan, including a completely new subway namely Ontario Line. The procurement for this transit expansion plan is underway.
Greenbuild: The 2017 budget detailed the Canadian Government’s plan to invest US$16.8B in green infrastructure. For green certification, Canada ranks second only to the United States in the number of Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) with a total of 4,025 certified projects in Jan 2019, from which 1,647 are in Ontario.
The Smart Cities Challenge and the Canada Infrastructure Bank: The latter replaces the phased-out, Public-Private Partnerships (P3) and will invest around US$27B from federal funds in infrastructure projects that are in the public interest and generate revenue by attracting private and institutional capital. Through the Smart Cities Challenge, the Government of Canada is stimulating the community idea generation to improve the lives of residents through innovation, data, and connected technology.
The Canadian residential construction industry is generally considered the leading indicator for the overall health of the Canadian economy. Canada’s six largest urban areas of Toronto, Vancouver, Montréal, Calgary, Edmonton, and Ottawa continue to have the highest housing starts due in part to an influx of over 313,000 immigrants to the country in 2019. Canada-wide housing starts in 2019 were 208,690, with Ontario, representing one of the hottest construction markets (68,985 starts), followed by Québec (47,967) and British Columbia (44,932).
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