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Doing business & staying in touch

Usual courtesies are observed in Canada, including exchanging business cards and making appointments. Men and women wear business suits and rarely drink alcohol at lunch. Entertaining is usually confined to restaurants and bars, rarely in private homes.

Toronto has often been ridiculed as a conservative, uptight city - Toronto the Good, as its detractors say. But while this perception is about 20 years out of date, its legacy survives in the city's approach to business. Torontonians are hard-working, efficient employees. A little chit chat here and there is welcome but generally people like getting to the point.

The giving of gifts in business situations is unusual and might be treated suspiciously. In the workplace, it is common to answer the telephone by stating one's first and last name. Around the office, however, people (both superiors and co-workers) are usually addressed by first name.

Office hours: 

Mon-Fri 0900-1700.

Economy: 

Canada is one of the world's leading trading nations and a member of the G8 group of major industrial economies. The country has immense natural resources and a high standard of living.

Agriculture and fisheries are particularly important; Canada exports much of its agricultural produce (principally grain and oil seeds) and is the world's sixth-largest exporter of fish. Timber is another important sector, given that more than 40% of the land area is forest.

As a mineral producer, Canada exports crude oil and natural gas, copper, nickel, zinc, iron ore, asbestos, cement, coal and potash. Energy requirements are met by a mixture of hydroelectric, nuclear, coal and oil-fired generating stations. Manufacturing covers a wide range of industries from heavy engineering and chemicals to vehicle production and agro-business to office automation and commercial printing.

Almost 80% of the country's trade is with the USA, making this the world's largest single bilateral trade relationship.

The 1989 free trade agreement signed with the USA formed the basis for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); Mexico has joined as the third signatory and other Latin American countries may sign up in due course.
All the major business centres, such as Calgary, Edmonton, Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver, offer extensive convention and conference facilities. For general information on conferences and conventions in Canada, contact the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service at the Canadian High Commission (see Contact Addresses). Consult the individual provinces and territories sections for more information.

GDP: 

US$1.3 trillion (2008).

Main exports: 

Motor vehicles and parts, wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, machinery, natural gas, aluminium, telecommunications equipment, aircraft, plastics and electricity.

Main imports: 

Machinery and equipment, crude oil, chemicals, motor vehicles and parts, durable consumer goods and electricity.

Main trading partners: 

China, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, UK and USA.

Staying in touch in Canada

Telephone: 

Most public telephones charge 50 cents a call, which can be paid with any combination of five-, 10- and 25-cent coins. Public telephones are becoming harder to find, due to the growing popularity of mobile phones. Many telephone companies offer a reduced long-distance rate Mon-Fri 1800-0800 and Sat 1200 to Mon 0800. For long-distance calls, telephone cards are available. You can find credit card telephones in larger centres.

Mobile phone: 

Roaming agreements exist with most international mobile phone companies. Coverage is good in major urban areas, but spotty in remote locations. Roaming rates can be high, so you should check with your provider before leaving home.

Internet: 

Available throughout Canada, as are Internet cafes (although the latter are not as common as they are in many other countries). You can often find pay-per-use Wi-Fi hotspots in coffee shops, fast-food outlets and airports. Free public Wi-Fi is less common; it's easiest to find in public libraries and net-savvy New Brunswick.

Post: 

All mail from Canada to outside North America is by air. Stamps are available at post offices and in many hotels, pharmacies and convenience stores, among other locations. Letters sent by regular mail take roughly seven business days to reach Europe.

Post office hours: 

generally Mon-Fri 0930-1700, Sat 0900-1200, but times vary according to province and location; city offices will have longer hours.

Media: 

Canada has a long history of public broadcasting. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) was set up in the 1930s in response to the growing influence of American radio. Broadcasting is in both French and English; the CBC is known in French as Société Radio-Canada. The corporation also operates four national TV channels, TV and radio services for indigenous peoples in the north, and the international broadcaster, Radio Canada International.

Press: 

• The main national daily newspapers are The Globe and Mail and The National Post.
• Daily newspapers published in the larger population centres have a wide local and regional circulation.
• French-language dailies are published in eight cities, including Montréal, Ottawa and Québec.
• In Alberta, the main English-language newspapers are the Calgary Herald, The Calgary Sun, The Edmonton Journal and The Edmonton Sun.
• In British Columbia, the Vancouver Sun, the Vancouver Province and the Victoria Times-Colonist.
• In Manitoba, the Winnipeg Free Press and The Winnipeg Sun.
• In New Brunswick, the Daily Gleaner and The Times and Transcript
• In Newfoundland & Labrador, the Telegram and The Western Star.
• In Nova Scotia, The Chronicle-Herald and The Daily News.
• In Ontario, The Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa Sun, The Toronto Star and the The Toronto Sun.
• In Prince Edward Island, the Guardian and the Journal Pioneer.
• In Québec, The Gazette (daily).
• In Saskatchewan, the Leader-Post and the Star-Phoenix.
• In the Yukon, The Whitehorse Daily Star.

Television: 

• CBC owns a main English-language network and the English-language cable news channel CBC Newsworld, while its francophone counterpart operates a main French-language network and the French-language cable news channel le Réseau de l'information (RDI).
• CTV and Global are major commercial English-language networks, whilst TVA is a major French-language commercial network.
• CPAC is the parliamentary and political channel.

Radio: 

• CBC operates English-language Radio One (focusing on talk, news and public affairs, with some music) and cultural network Radio Two.
• Its francophone counterpart, Société Radio-Canada, operates French-language Première Chaîne and Espace Musique.
• CBC runs the external service Radio Canada International.
• There are hundreds of private radio stations.

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