Why Foreign Businesses Should Consider Doing Business in Canada?

Are you an investor or business owner looking to enter into a new foreign market to expand your existing business or start a new one? Then you have to look no further than to Canada – the beautiful northern country in North America.

Canada is home to an increasing population and a growing economy, making it the perfect location for expanding your business.

Canada, as a nation, welcomes foreign investment and embraces business immigrants.

Advantages

Non-Canadian businesses have a lot to gain from such a welcoming environment and as such, we invite foreign businesses to consider doing business in Canada. This country has a lot to offer you other than just beautiful nature and subsidized healthcare system.

While many think that the United States of America is a better economy to expand one’s business in, Canada is in fact the more attractive choice. Operating your business in Canada can be more profitable than operating your business in the United States. According to a report by KPMG, Canada is the more competitive mature market for business.

What’s more is that the cost of operating your business in Canada is 5% lower than in the US. This is because of the higher value of the US dollar as compared to the Canadian dollar. So, the Canadian market is actually more profitable and cheaper to operate in than the US market. 

Canada is also one of the most business-friendly countries in the world. Forbes ranked Canada number 6 in their list of best countries for business. On top of that, thanks to the Canada-USA-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA, the new version of NAFTA), businesses in Canada still maintain access to the entire US and Mexico markets. 

Moreover, Canada has certain advantages not available everywhere else. These advantages include:

• a highly skilled workforce;
• a welcoming business environment that has low corporate taxes;
• large reserves of oil, gas and ore;
• a solid banking sector;
• access to the US and Mexican markets;
• a dynamic economy with a market of over 30 million consumers;
• sophisticated infrastructure and a modern transportation network; and
• low costs of starting and operating businesses.

Therefore, Canada remains one of the most welcoming and profitable places in the world for international businesses and foreign investors.

Another wonderful reason to consider doing business in Canada is that the Canadian government happily embraces foreign business investment. Indeed, the Canadian government has a number of immigration programs specifically designed for foreign investors and business owners. The availability of these programs makes it easier for anyone to incorporate into the Canadian market without too much hassle from immigration laws.

That being said, there are still some challenges to consider.

Possible Challenges

Foreign investors and business owners should be aware that entering into the Canadian market is not as simple as transferring your business model, system, design and décor, marketing campaigns and brand standards from your home country to Canada. It is important to adapt to Canadian tastes and to understand Canadian laws to ensure your success here. 

Some of these challenges, as pointed out by foreign businesses and investors, include: a relatively small market (about 30 million consumers as compared to the US market), specific consumer taste and loyalty to certain established brands, higher costs of skilled labour, high household debt in certain regions, competitive and sometimes highly regulated markets, as well as a decrease of the active population due to aging. 

These factors are important to keep in mind as you plan the expansion of your business in Canada.

However, these challenges should not discourage you as they are expected risks of any business and can be overcome with some effort. Afterall, many of the investors we helped dealt with rough starts but were able to win the hearts and loyalties of Canadians over time. 

Foreign owners and investors would be remiss not to consider Canada as a strong possibility for doing business in. Canada offers a great environment and many opportunities to prosper. It is a beautiful country to live, work and raise a family in.

We would be glad to welcome you and your business to this great country!