A message from HE Tony Hely, Australian High Commissioner, Ottawa, Canada

Welcome Rugby Fans! Rugby World Cup 2003 is the largest sporting event to be held in Australia since the Sydney 2000 Olympics, and I invite the international Rugby community to visit Australia, to enjoy the games, and to take advantage of this tre-mendous international business networking opportunity. Australia has a dynamic bilateral relationship with Canada, and the trade and investment links both ways are growing stronger. Canada is seen as a first destination for new Australian exporters as it serves as an entry point to the larger North American market. Equally, Australia is becoming an attractive destination for Canadian investment, given its favourable business environment and location as a gateway to Asia. I urge you to contact Rugby Business Club Australia to assist in the exploration of partnerships and the multitude of trade and investment opportunities that exist for Australia and Canada. It has been almost 150 years since the game of Rugby was first played in Canada and the sport is presently enjoying unprecedented popularity at all levels. Canada is proud of this tradition, and ready to take on the world at Rugby World Cup 2003. I hope to see you there. Website: www.ahc-ottawa.org

Low inflation, a series of budget surpluses and business reform have provided a sound basis for the Canadian economy during the recent World Health Organisation SARS warnings, as well as through the global downturn.

The second largest country in the world after Russia, Canada also benefits economically from its proximity to the US and the implementation of the NAFTA trade agreement in 1994. By 2002 the US was buying more than 87% of Canada’s exports and providing 63% of imports, in the largest bilateral trade relationship in the world – around C$1.6bn (A$1.8bn) in two-way trade each day.

NAFTA also makes Canada’s large and generally open economy a good entry point to North American markets for Australian companies, just as Australia provides a springboard to the Asia Pacific for Canadians.

Investment ties include Australian investment stock of A$4.37bn in 2001/2, chiefly in mining (where there is also much reciprocal investment), transportation and packaging.

ICT. The Toronto/Ottawa/Montreal corridor is the second largest ICT cluster in North America. The industry employs more than 583,000 and generated C$136bn in 2000.

Biotechnology. Biotechnology industry revenues in Canada exceeded C$5bn last year. Organisations such as Genome Canada and the National Research Council of Canada are leading projects that have about 17,000 biotech products or processes in the pipeline for development.

Australian exporters are presented with opportunities in knowledge-intensive industries such as biotechnology, ICT and services (particularly education, the arts, and financial services), and in ‘niche’ manufactured goods and distinctive consumer goods. Australian wine is experiencing strong demand.

With vast unspoiled expanses of wilderness together with world-class urban attractions, Canada has a thriving tourism sector, accounting for 2.3% of GDP and employing more than 575,000 people.

Austrade Vancouver
Telephone: +1 604 684 1177
Fax: +1 604 684 1856

Austrade Toronto
Telephone: +1 416 323 3909
Fax: +1 416 323 3910

Email: info@austrade.gov.au
Website: www.austrade.gov.au