Background to Business in Canada

Canada is the second largest country in the world (after Russia) but almost 90% of the population live within 200km of the border with the US.

This means that vast tracts of Canada are uninhabited wilderness and that, if you are doing business in Canada, you are never likely to be too far geographically from the States.

This close proximity is defining for Canadian business as the largest trade relationship of any two countries in the world is the one between the US and Canada. Canadians are keen to stress that they are not American – but they cannot survive without this bi-lateral trade. So you need to bear in mind that although close to the USA geographically, there are definitely differences in general approach to business between the USA and Canada and Canadians are sometimes known to take exception to any assumptions being made on this matter.

Canada is a large, vibrant economy with a population of over thirty million people. It has a number of global companies and an extremely successful export industry. Canada deserves consideration in its own right, rather than as merely a neighbour of the States.

The Canadian economy has survived the post 2008 recession in relatively good health and is very successful in areas such as telecommunications, mining and insurance.

Author

This country-specific business culture profile was written by Keith Warburton who is the founder of the cultural awareness training consultancy Global Business Culture. 

Global Business culture is a leading training provider in the fields of cross-cultural communication and global virtual team working.  We provide training to global corporations in live classroom-based formats, through webinars and also through our cultural awareness digital learning hub, Global Business Compass.

This World Business Culture profile is designed as an introduction to business culture in Canada only and a more detailed understanding needs a more in-depth exploration which we can provide through our training and consultancy services.