The Canadian Leadership Orientation Program

When you think of Canada, what comes to mind?

Hockey? Molson? Maple Syrup? Canadian Bacon? (both the delicious breakfast meat and the hilarious movie starring John Candy). Canadian Geese? (those really stubborn black-headed ones that just stare at you as you honk your car horn to get them to finish crossing the street). Actors like Alex Trebek or Jim Carey? Really friendly people who end their questions with "eh?", say "about" with a heavier U, and end their alphabet with "zed" instead of "zee"?

(One of my Canadian friends insists Hockey is the most important of Canada's exports).

While these things are (for the most part) true, there are many important facts about Canada that more Americans should know. Now we here in Rochester have a slight advantage over many of our American counterparts, since Canada for us is just across Lake Ontario, but I'm talking about things more important than dispelling the common mistatement that Toronto is its capital (It's Ottawa, by the way).

The Canadian Leadership Orientation Program, which I had the pleasure of recently attending with 19 other MBA students from top schools across the US, is put on by the University of Ottawa's Telfer School of Management and sponsored by the governments of Ontario and Quebec. During the program, I had the pleasure of attending a week of lectures by some of Canada's leaders of business, academia, and government. These individuals included:

1) Adam Chowaniec, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tundra Semiconductor Corporation and Chair of the Ontario Research and Innovation Council

2) Glen Hodgson, Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist, The Conference Board of Canada

3) Ms. Elyse Allan, President and CEO of GE Canada

4) Senior Deputy Governor Paul Jenkins and Deputy Governor Tiff Macklem, The Bank of Canada

5) Thomas d'Aquino, Cheif Executive and Presidetn of the Canadian Council of Cheif Executives (CCCE)
6) James Blanchard, Former US Ambassador to Canada

7) Michael Kergin, former Canadian Ambassador to the United States

8) David Wilkins, current US Ambassador to Canada
9) Mr. Michael McAdoo, Vice-President, Strategic and Business Development, Bombadier Aerospace

10) Mr. Claude Robert, CEO, Robert Transport

11) Murray D. Smith, Alberta's Representative to the United States

12) Diane Wilhelmy, Former Deputy Minister of International Relations and Delegate General, Quebec Government House in New York

13) Mr. Stefan Routhier, Deputy Harbour Master, Marine Division, Port of Montreal

14) The Hon. Perrin Beatty, President and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters

Suffice it to say, I have experienced many facets of Canada between the lectures, sightseeing, and nightlife (some MBA students at HEC Montreal took us out for a night on the town). That said, what are some of the things the US should know about Canada?

1) Some of them disapprove of our pretending to be Canadian for our own safety when we travel abroad. "Hey, our reputation's still clean! Don't go ruining it now!"
2) The US's number one foreign supplier of oil is not Saudi Arabia. It is Canada, and most of it comes from the western province of Alberta.
3) The Canadian provinces are each unique, and act more independently from each other than do US states. I'm not talking about just Quebec, either. Many Canadians wonder why Alberta sells so much of its oil to the US before selling it to the rest of Canada first!

4) In a given year, the US does more trade with Canada across a single bridge crossing than it does with all of Japan!

5) Canada and the US share an integrated electricity grid and supply almost all of each others' electricity imports. Canada is a major supplier of electricity (overwhelmingly clean hydroelectricity) to New England, New York, the Upper Midwest, the Pacific Northwest and California.

6) Canada is the third largest producer and the second largest exporter of natural gas in the world. Canada supplies the US with 85% of its natural gas imports. Canada is developing Arctic pipelines and LNG terminals to provide more natural gas to the North American market.

7) Over 80% of Canada's exports are to the US.

8) None of the 9/11 hijackers came into the US through Canada. The NORAD commander on duty who scrambled American Jets to respond that morning was a Canadian.

9) Canada-US Trade supports 7.1 Million US Jobs. And finally...

10) New York's exports alone to Canada total $10.9 Billion annually.

Now go forth with a newfound appreciation for our neighbor (or neighbour) to the North!