Ice hockey and basketball, walkie-talkie and phone, electric wheelchair, sonar, pacemaker, plexiglas, garbage bags, alkaline batteries or egg boxes are all inventions that can be attributed to Canadians. This being said, how does Canada position itself within the world economy?
Growth
At the end of 2018, the country should be ranking in the 10th place in terms of GDP, behind Italy and ahead of South Korea. In 2017, Canadian economical growth was 3.1%, following two difficult years due to oil crisis. At the end of 2018, the economy should be stabilized at around 2.2%.
The country has indeed considerable natural resources, a skilled labor force and a stable political and economical environment.
Foreign trade
In terms of international trade, the United States is dominating commercial transactions. The US indeed accounts for more than 50% of the Canadian imports and exceed three quarters of its exports. It is followed by China and Mexico. The European Union represents less than 1% of the trade with Canada. Thus, it is not the best partner for members countries, except for United Kingdom.
Imports
The three first products for import in Canada are cars (17% of the total purchases), industrial equipment (15%) and computing and electrical equipment (13%).
The country imports very few fragrances and cosmetics, agricultural products or pharmaceuticals. Similarly, as Canada is the 4th country in the aircraft industry, it does not often buy these products (2% of total purchases, whose 60% come from the United States).
French exports to Canada are agricultural food products for more than 20%, among which three quarters are beverages, primarily wine. France is on the wine market alternating with USA and followed by Italy as the first supplier.
Innovation and IP
In terms of innovation, Canada is ranked in the 22nd place in Bloomberg classification. The country is a member of PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) for patents and is also a member of the UPOV (International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants) for plant products. It should become a member of the Madrid Protocol for trademarks next year.
For further information
Do you want to develop your activities in Canada? To find a licensee to manufacture or sell your patented technologies? Do you want to find out more about the protection of your inventions on the other side of the Atlantic? Please feel free to contact our teams and those to our partner BRANDON IP.
Sources:
www.journaldunet.fr/patrimoine/guide-des-finances-personnelles/1209268-classement-pib/
www.tresor.economie.gouv.fr/Ressources/Pays/canada
www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/fr/countries/canada-fr/
www.bdc.ca/fr/blogue/pages/perspectives-economiques-2018-croissance-mondiale-apporte-bonnes-nouvelles-entrepreneurs-canadiens.aspx
www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-22/south-korea-tops-global-innovation-ranking-again-as-u-s-falls
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadian_inventions