In the early days of MAPLE® Business Council, we had the pleasure of meeting and later collaborating with Linda DiMario who at that time was the Executive Vice President of the Greater Irvine Chamber in Orange County, California. In Linda, we found a kindred spirit in promoting what makes Greater Irvine and OC a great place to live and do business as we pursued our respective outreach to Canada and the United Kingdom. Among her other pursuits, Linda is now Director of Community Engagement at the Octane organization and we asked her if she would share some insights from her distinguished career in economic development that spans the U.S. and which has also led to the building of many key economic bridges internationally. We are grateful that Linda accepted our invitation. 

We are equally excited and honoured to share insights on the California market from Cynthia Coulter, Managing Principal of Los Angeles-based Aleksandra Corporation. As a  "business spirit guide",  Canadian expat, and a long-time MAPLE Executive Member, Cynthia has helped businesses of all sizes to enter new international markets with a focus on California. A big thank you to Cynthia for taking the time to share with us some of her market insights along with a window on her own journey to Southern California for our August issue.  

We are delighted to contribute to your summer reading with perspectives on the commercial real estate sector. Sharing insights this month is Gene Garcia, Principal, Tax Compliance and Consulting Services at audit, tax and consulting firm (and valued MAPLE member organization), RSM US LLP based in their Houston, Texas office. While CRE owners and funds face multiple headwinds, from high interest rates to rising insurance costs, many industry players see an opportunity in the second half of 2024 to make investments. A historic level of dry powder remains on reserve as investors wait for creative strategies to provide risk-adjusted returns; understanding capital optimization through diversification will be key to success for the sector.

And our window on the topic of Canadian employment law comes from Ted Flett, Principal Lawyer with Toronto-based employment law firm, Zubas | Flett Barristers and Solicitors. 

In addition to sharing considerations for American employers doing business in Canada for us this month, Ted includes that he will proudly join a trade  mission to California organized by the CGLCC, Canada's 2SLGBTQI+ Chamber of Commerce as part of a coalition of queer and Canadian business owners and allies championing a more inclusive economy. The program will be anchored around the USA's National LGBT Chamber of Commerce's International Business & Leadership Conference in Palm Springs, CA and is supported by three federal government agencies: CanExport, the Trade Commissioner Service, and Economic Development Canada.

With the summer season approaching, Air Canada is ramping up its flight offerings, providing travellers with more opportunities to explore destinations across Europe, Asia and North America. The airline’s strategic moves aim to capture additional passenger traffic, enhance connectivity, and balance out traditional seasonal fluctuations in travel demand.

As digital technologies become increasingly integrated into our daily lives, ensuring accessibility for all users, including those with disabilities, has never been more critical. Yet, many organizations perceive digital accessibility strategies as a time- and cost-intensive endeavor with minimal business benefits. However, creating accessible websites, software, and applications is not only good for all end users, it’s also good business, which is why many of the world’s global brands (Apple, Microsoft, Google, etc.) prioritize accessibility on- and off-line. Organizations don’t need to be a billion-dollar brand to maximize accessibility design nor reap the rewards. With simple design and interface changes, digital assets can be more accessible and thus reach a greater audience with better results.

Riverside County has strategically established itself as a focal point for clean energy initiatives, advancements in HealthTech and Life Sciences, Agtech and Climate Tech. Riverside County is experiencing explosive growth and has immense opportunity for entrepreneurs looking to take their business to the next level. Find out why Riverside County is a thriving hub for businesses to grow and flourish.

We begin our issue with a comprehensive look at the North American hydrogen market. Janet Howard,  a Toronto-based partner at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Regional Leader of Global Energy and Climate Group, Ontario at Fasken and Co-Founder of the firm's Hydrogen Energy Advisory Team, explores the demand side of the North American hydrogen market.

Approaches used in the United States compared to those in Canada to incentivize the development of the hydrogen market are often compared with reference to carrots and sticks. With over 80 hydrogen production projects in various stages of development across Canada, and U.S. clean hydrogen production scaling significantly,  a lot more hydrogen will be coming soon to a pipe or pump near you.  As a result, the time is now to shift the focus from production to the next steps necessary to develop the demand side of the North American market. Who is going to buy all of this hydrogen?

And this month, Ontario International's Trade and Invest teams in California and New York profile the breadth of the artificial intelligence ecosystem in the Province. The roots of AI run deep in Ontario, spanning over three decades to the groundbreaking work of Geoffrey Hinton, the esteemed scientist from the University of Toronto who pioneered neural nets.

Today, the confluence of public and private investment, policy, talent, higher education, and innovation are continuing to advance AI innovations and future technological breakthroughs within the AI domain. 

Expansion to the U.S. market will also typically require making key hires to lead, manage and support the U.S. business. Azhar Janjua, Head of MAPLE partner organization, Communitech Outposts, shares some of the key remote hiring trends for Canadian businesses in the United States with respect to location and skill. 

Pursuing trade, investment, and entrepreneurship opportunities between Canada and the United States can lead to new opportunities for your team members to move from one country to the other. And when moving from Canada to the U.S., an important facet of a household move is how to manage Canadian investments once one is a U.S. resident. John McCord CFP® CIM® CRPC® TEP, Vice President, Portfolio Manager and Partner at MAPLE charter member organization, Cardinal Point Wealth Management, profiles some key considerations for managing your investment portfolio.

This month our look north and south across the Canada-U.S. border starts with getting an expansion to the U.S. right. As Paula Cruickshank, Senior Vice President, Ontario at the Business Development Bank of Canada shares, when the time is right for U.S. expansion, you need to ensure you also have the right strategy. Paula discusses how even when Canadian businesses are well positioned for U.S. expansion,  having the right strategies and fundamentals in place is still critical for success. And she shares insights into how to get it right.

And when it comes to getting goods to and throughout Canada, there is no organization more fully invested in getting this right than Purolator International. Paul Tessy, Senior Vice President, puts the role of logistics companies in a global context in his article. Consider all of the whitewaters that getting goods into a consumer's or customer's hands must navigate. Supply chains are being moved out of China. The explosion of e-commerce. The rise of machine learning. Fierce competition for skilled workers. Evolving consumer expectations. The certifiable march toward corporate sustainability.  This decade, logistics companies have faced the need to contend with an influx of change. In his article, Paul Tessy reviews evolving industry conditions to talk about what is in store for 2024.

You may not be aware that 2024 ushered in Canada's modern slavery legislation, the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act which came into force on January 1, 2024. With the Act, Canada introduced reporting obligations to combat modern slavery in the supply chains of many businesses and other "entities" with connections to Canada. Lindsay Clements and Jennifer Wasylyk, Partners at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, profile this important legislation for us. 

We begin with a look at what 2024 may hold for small-to-mid cap stocks from TMX Group, owners of the Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange. The authors, George Khalife (Chicago), Erik Andersen (Dallas), and Delilah Panio (Southern California) discuss how 2024 has the potential to be a landmark year for small-cap stocks and how the TSXV not only presents a viable option but also a unique pathway for growth and success to U.S. companies.  As we venture further into 2024, let's watch closely as this exciting chapter in the financial markets unfolds, potentially reshaping the future of micro caps.

It is my pleasure to share some of the highlights of 2023 for our Canada-U.S. community. It was a privilege for our MAPLE team to engage with organizations across sectors and markets throughout the year many of whom we have since welcomed as new members. Networking and storytelling are the building blocks of MAPLE and events, both our own and partner programs, our MOMENTUM e-publication and our Conversations video series all played important parts in connecting people and ideas together.

As we now lean into a brand new year, our members are working in over 25 sectors and are based in over 25 markets across Canada and the United States supported by 5 chapters each led by an Executive Director.

The digital economy has presented complex challenges in the allocation of taxation rights between countries. Large multinational corporations, without establishing a physical presence or tax base in Canada, have been generating substantial revenues through digital services within the country. These activities include selling digital services, collecting and monetizing user data, providing social media services and delivering digital advertisements to Canadian users. Under the current multilateral tax frameworks, these digital service revenues remain largely exempt from taxation in Canada unless allocated to a physical presence. This challenge is compounded by the exponential growth of the digital economy, which now accounts for nearly 20% of the global economy.

Doing business cross border has significantly changed due to the pandemic.  This article looks at changes in doing global business in recent years from a practitioner's perspective, specific trends and factors that impact successful brand entry into a new country and how several countries where you might take your business are expected to do economically in 2024. Data referenced in this article is sourced from the EGS Global Business Bi-Weekly Newsletter, monitoring over 40 online information sources, visiting many of the countries listed post-pandemic and input from the EGS network of in-country associates who live and work in their economies.

We are pleased to share some of the key takeaways from a recent "Fundraising in Today's Market" event in Santa Barbara, California organized by our partner, Pasadena-based Alliance for SoCal Innovation. This event series aims to help founders become more adept at securing the capital they need. A panel of local experts answered questions from the Santa Barbara startup community. Thank you to Eric Eide, Managing Director of the Alliance for SoCal Innovation, for sharing some of the top pieces of advice and summarizing some of the key themes discussed. 

This month we tap into the expertise of Toronto-based Sterling Capital Brokers, one of the leading independent benefits consulting firms in Canada. Andrew Blanchard, Sterling’s CEO, shares some key insights about group benefits planning. In today's dynamic economic climate, finding the right balance between providing valuable benefits to employees and controlling costs is essential. It is therefore key for organizations to design their entire benefits program so that it provides value and meets the objectives of the enterprise.