The Triangle - September 2010 Feature - Collaboration Canada

John G. Jung, CEO, Canada's Technology Triangle

The reality is that Canada is not on the lips or radar screens of most people around the world. Clearly we have a huge job to even get noticed above the noise in key target regions around the world. To sustain a massive advertising campaign to gain awareness to attract foreign investments and talent is simply not possible for most communities.

While some cities in Canada are more recognizable than others due to past World Fairs and Olympics or the construction of a world famous tower, most cities in Canada are invisible at a global level. But imagine what we could do if most of Canada’s top cities got together and through the dynamic of a critical mass of over half of Canada’s population base, we took a collaborative approach to getting our consistent message out?

Most cities and regions across Canada are competitors. They compete to attract investment and talent to their regions. In the process of promoting their competitive advantages, each city or region might independently set up competitive booths at trade shows; take delegations to targeted cities and companies in foreign locations, (sometimes at the same time or a week or two apart); and develop collateral materials that would show that they were the unique centre of the universe. That is the way competitive economic development has been played for decades. This has also added to confusion in international circles and blurred our message.

But we have a new model that is highly successful. The Ontario Tech Corridor (OTC) was borne out of the idea that together the participating communities are able to achieve more than the individual sum of the parts. The regions of Toronto, Ottawa and Waterloo came together in 2002 to create a new method of attracting investment to their community. While cautious at first, each city was aware that by working together they would be able to eliminate duplication and increase their ability to raise awareness by combining efforts and resources. In their enthusiasm to work together, these three regions have been able to create clear and consistent messages for the world. In the process, the OTC also developed a true sense of collaboration over time and a trust among the working partners, to the extent that if one of the three regions was not able to participate in the promotion, the other partners would ensure that the missing community would be equally covered. Today the collaboration has grown to include London and Niagara regions as part of the OTC partnership.

This same spirit is now alive in a unique group that covers all of Canada. On Monday, September 20, 2010, economic development agencies from among Canada's eleven largest cities, calling themselves the “C-11” met in Quebec City to agree to promote international trade and investment with a new sense of collaboration and a new unified message and brand: ConsiderCanada.ca will actively demonstrate a new unified value proposition around the world.

The United Nations' biannual State of World Cities report states that the globe's top 25 mega-cities account for more than half of the world's wealth, while the top 40 mega-regions account for 66 per cent of all economic activity and about 85 per cent of technological and scientific innovation. Similarly, Canada's large cities represent more than 50 per cent of Canada's population and economic activity. This new branding recognizes the dominant role of urban economies and its collective basis will be used to attract trade and investment opportunities around the world.

According to Michael Darch, Executive Director, OCRI Global Marketing (Ottawa), who represents one of the eleven cities in this new collaboration: "Our large cities have much more to gain from banding together than competing against each other for growth opportunities. The world's mega-cities urgently need our help to build physical and networking infrastructure, provide environmental technologies, and tap into Canadian expertise on healthcare, education and governance. Meanwhile, we need their help attracting investment from Sovereign Wealth Funds, and proving Canada's value proposition to their multi-national companies. The new ConsiderCanada.ca brand will give our 11 cities a consistent rallying point and a destination on the Web where trade organizations and companies from around the world can seek C-11 information, success stories, and contact us about investment opportunities."

Another partner of C-11, Carl Viel, President & CEO of Québec International, added that "large cities play an increasingly important role as the world strives to overcome recent economic obstacles. The C-11 team has determined we must work together to tackle Canada's trade and investment challenges. ConsiderCanada.ca will help us communicate the benefits of Canada's financial stability, our highly educated population, equitable healthcare system, reputation for tolerance, and favourable R&D tax treatment to attract revenue, investment and jobs."

Economic development agencies participating in the C-11 include the Greater Halifax Partnership, Québec International, Montréal International, OCRI (Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation), City of Toronto, Canada's Technology Triangle Inc (Waterloo Region), Economic Development Winnipeg Inc., Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority, Edmonton Economic Development Corp., Calgary Economic Development, and the Vancouver Economic Development Commission.

From CTT’s perspective, we have enjoyed the fruits of the success of the Ontario Technology Corridor initiative in Ontario and we should be able to benefit from this new collaboration that works with the benefit of a critical mass of eleven centres across Canada. But we are also doing this from the perspective of leadership on behalf of all of Canada’s communities and citizens. Working in close partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) and its posts around the world, we will be able to rise above the noise and raise awareness in new ways that will benefit us all in Canada.

Canada's Technology Triangle Inc is the not-for-profit, public-private regional economic development partnership marketing Waterloo Region to the world. Its mandate is to attract new businesses, investment and talent, while promoting regional economic growth.

The organization works closely with the Economic Development Departments of its partner municipalities, member-based business organizations and the four post-secondary educational institutions. The area known as Canada’s Technology Triangle includes Waterloo Region, the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo and the townships of North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich.
260 King Street West, 3rd Floor, Kitchener, ON N2G 1B6 | 519-747-2541 | info@techtriangle.com.