Minister Carr to visit Pennsylvania to promote Canadian businesses and bilateral trade

News release

August 14, 2018 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada

The Government of Canada is committed to levelling the playing field to ensure that all segments of society can compete and win in global markets. Canada and the United States are each other’s most important partner and have the world’s most successful bilateral trading relationship. 

From August 14 to 16, 2018, the Honourable Jim Carr, Minister of International Trade Diversification, will visit Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and hold meetings with Pennsylvania’s governor, Tom Wolf, Philadelphia’s mayor, Jim Kenney, and leading U.S. corporate executives to discuss the importance of the Canada-U.S. trade and investment relationship.

Minister Carr will also join the Prime Minister’s Special Advisor on LGBTQ2 issues, Member of Parliament Randy Boissonnault, leading the first-ever LGBTQ2 business delegation to the U.S. In partnership with the Canadian Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (CGLCC), the delegation of business owners and entrepreneurs will participate in the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce’s (NGLCC) International Business and Leadership Conference in Philadelphia.

Through access to established supplier diversity networks, the trade delegation will secure opportunities to export more into some of the largest American companies. These networks are specifically designed to ensure that LGBTQ2 suppliers gain access to some of the world’s largest buyers and create more wealth and well-paying jobs as a result.

Minister Carr will address an audience of more than 1,000 entrepreneurs and corporate leaders at a plenary session of the NGLCC conference.

Quotes

“As long-standing partners and strong allies, Canada and the United States have grown prosperous together. We need more Canadians engaged in trade, strengthening existing links while equipping new exporters with the tools, access and confidence to make their first global sale. If we get many more Canadians engaged in trade, we will tap a whole new vein of economic growth.”

– The Honourable Jim Carr, Minister of International Trade Diversification

“The more we encourage all members of our society, including LGBTQ2 communities, to engage in international entrepreneurship, the more we all succeed. I want to thank Minister Carr for his leadership and each of the entrepreneurs for their participation in this historic trade mission.”

Randy Boissonnault, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on LGBTQ2 issues

Quick facts

  • The trade mission is part of the Government of Canada’s progressive trade agenda, a group of policies and programs to facilitate the participation of underrepresented groups in trade.

  • The LGBTQ2 trade mission follows the largest minister-led delegation of Canadian business women, to the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) National Conference and Business Fair in Detroit, held in June 2018. 

  • To be eligible for certification through the Canadian Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (CGLCC), a company must operate as a for-profit enterprise in Canada and be at least 51% owned, operated and controlled by Canadian residents who identify as LGBTQ2.

  • This October, the first-ever Canadian Indigenous trade mission will participate in the World Indigenous Business Forum in New Zealand.

  • The NGLCC International Business and Leadership Conference brings together more than 1,300 entrepreneurs, corporate decision-makers, affiliate-chamber leaders and government officials from across the U.S. and around the world.

  • The Canadian Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (CGLCC) is a national, non-profit industry association. The CGLCC is committed to forming a broad-based coalition, representative of the various interests of LGBTQ2-owned businesses, allied businesses, corporations, professionals and students of business for the purpose of promoting economic growth and prosperity.

  • As Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on LGBTQ2 issues, MP Randy Boissonnault actively promotes LGBTQ2 rights both domestically and internationally. He works closely with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, the Minister of International Development, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, as well as with the Honourable Jim Carr, Minister of International Trade Diversification. This includes contributing to Canada’s role as 2017-2019 co-chair of the Equal Rights Coalition.

  • Millions of good middle-class jobs on both sides of the border depend on Canada’s partnership with the United States. In the U.S. alone, nearly 9 million jobs are linked to Canadian trade and investment.

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