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	OH CANADA! Thanks to the soaring Canadian dollar, a booming housing market and rapid infrastructure development ahead of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, U.S. exports to the north are taking off! U.S. exporters are enjoying increased Canadian demand for U.S. goods and services. Those who have viewed Canada as an extension of the U.S market may find themselves out in the cold unless they re-focus their international marketing efforts in order to capitalize on the near-term opportunities up North. While Ontario and Quebec remain important, development in British Columbia is creating opportunities too big to ignore. To help Virginia companies tap into emerging trade opportunities in Canada, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s International Trade Division (VEDP-IT) sponsors an annual Trade Mission to Canada. The next Mission to Canada will visit Vancouver, British Columbia, March 7- 11, 2005 and is open to all industries. If you target areas where tourism, housing and construction are expanding—you can’t afford to miss this opportunity! Why Canada? Canada is the largest buyer of U.S. goods and services The U.S. is Canada’s top supplier with a 64% share of all 2002 Canadian imports Exports can be shipped by rail and truck without Shippers Export Declaration (SED) U.S. products receive preferential tariff treatment in Canada Canada is the largest buyer of Virginian goods and services Virginia sold $2.10 billion worth of goods to Canada in 2003, up 14.5% from 2002 Virginia’s top exports to Canada include: Vehicles and parts, industrial and electrical machinery, paper and plastic. Best U.S. export prospects include: Automotive parts/service equipment Building products Aircraft and parts Computer software/hardware Drugs, pharmaceuticals/nutraceuticals Oil/gas field machinery Agricultural machinery Electric power systems Security equipment Medical equipment Sporting goods/recreation equipment Water resources equipment Why British Columbia? British Columbia itself is the seventh largest U.S. trading partner. The province has an economy of over $100 billion, larger than many smaller countries. B.C.’s mostly urban population of 4 million makes it Canada’s third largest province. Over 2.1 million people live in Greater Vancouver, British Columbia’s largest city. British Columbia’s key industries Energy and Mining: Mineral and petroleum production was valued at $5.3 billion in 2002. Forestry: Over $11.6 billion of shipments were dispatched in 2002. Agriculture: Farm outputs neared $1.6 billion; food & beverage reached $3.8 billion in 2002. Fishing: The seafood harvest in 2002 was worth over $480 million. Manufacturing: Over $25 billion worth of product was shipped in 2002. Biotechnology: Emerging sector imported over $35 million worth of products into the province in 2002. Environmental: Many of the industries in British Columbia revolve around the province's natural resources. B.C. is home to more than 700 environmental companies, which contribute more than $960 million to the B.C. economy and related firms are forecasting high growth rates over the next 2-3 years. Opportunities unique to British Columbia and the North-West region include: Hotel, casino and tourism, mining, skin care, plumbing and heating fixtures, medical instrumentation, safety equipment, hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, environmental construction technologies and sport fishing. British Columbia Trade Opportunities The 2010 Winter Olympics will take place in Vancouver, British Columbia British Columbia has Canada’s highest number of housing starts with construction starts up 24% over the same period last year. The housing market is strong throughout Canada with 2004 construction starts expected to reach their highest level in fifteen years. Vancouver is the Gateway to Asia. As such, tourism and port infrastructure development projects are high priority. Multiple infrastructure projects are underway, including expansions of the Vancouver airport and port facilities. 2010 Winter Olympics: Vancouver, British Columbia Major construction and development projects are underway to support the games and the increased tourists to the area including: Expansion of the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre Major upgrades/improvements to Sea to Sky Highway (connects Vancouver to Whistler) Building of multiple Olympic facilities including sporting venues and Olympic villages Multiple area transportation projects, including new bridges and public transport Development of massive security infrastructure to protect the athletes, visitors and facilities at the games as well as the port and airport Development and upgrading of hotel and tourism/recreational infrastructure While Canada remains a steady buyer of Virginia goods and services, British Columbia is booming! Virginia companies interested in pursuing opportunities in North Western Canada are welcome to join the Trade Mission to Vancouver British Columbia March 7- 11, 2005. Why Join this Trade Mission? Conduct meetings with targeted, pre-screened contacts that match your unique objectives, all pre-arranged by the VEDP and Impact Communications, Ltd. Leverage our Canadian contacts and benefit from the local expertise of our British Columbian mission partner and trade specialist Impact Communications Ltd. Learn about the market and opportunities at briefings and networking functions. This mission is open to all industries, but space is limited. Click here to register online for this event. For more details on the Canada Mission contact: Diane Thomas at Tel: 276-623-1536 or e-mail DThomas@YesVirginia.org. Additional Resources For more details on Canada visit our website at: www.ExportVirginia.org. You can view the 2004 Canadian FastFact on the publications page of our website by clicking here. Or view the country information section on the resources page of our website by clicking here. Article Sources: U.S. Commercial Service Canada www.Export.Gov World Trade Atlas www.GTIS.com DISCLAIMER – The contents of this article are intended to provide pertinent inform-ation for Beyond Virginia subscribers interested or already involved in international trade. While every effort is made to convey accurate and timely information, the contents of this article are not intended as specific advice to its readers. Our intent is solely to convey information.