Success tips when doing business in Canada

Business meetings

  1. International entrepreneurs should always keep in mind that, while Canadians may look like Americans and speak like Americans, there are many substantial differences between the two countries;
  2. Canadians prefer morning meetings with conservative dress code;
  3. Business cards should have both English and French translations;
  4. French speaking entrepreneurs will benefit greatly from doing business in Quebec  where French language is most widely spoken and partially in Nova Scotia;
  5. Maintaining eye contact is important and lack of it speaks of disinterest and is frowned upon.

Other useful tips

  1. Women are equal to men in the business world of Canada, as they occupy high positions in both public and private entities;
  2. White lilies are not suitable as a gift, because in Canada they are associated with funerals;
  3. Gifts are usually part of the closing of negotiation or contract. Appropriate gifts are country souvenirs or a nice bottle of wine;
  4. Using the ‘V” sign for “victory” is considered as strong insult and should be avoided.

Interesting facts about Canada

Business and economics

  1. The main export partner of Canada is not surprisingly the US, with 76% of total Canadian exports;
  2. The services sector is the largest by size with more than 70% stake;
  3. The country’s unemployment rate is moderately low at 5.7%;
  4. Canada’s GDP per capita for 2016 amounts to US$44,793;
  5. Since 2016, the country experiences low inflation of 1.4%.

Geography

  1. Canada is the perfect place for a beach walk with the world’s largest coastline of 243,000km;
  2. The country enjoys the largest number of lakes in the world and largest reserves of fresh water than any other country;
  3. There are six-time zones in Canada, while the border between the country and the US is the largest open border in the World.

Society and culture

  1. The word Canada is derived from the Huron-Iroquois word “kanata”, meaning a village or settlement;
  2. The country is officially bilingual with French and English being official languages;
  3. Canada is considerably smaller in population in comparison to its Southern neighbor. In 2016, the population was estimated just over 35.5 million.
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