MAPLE-US Commercial Service in Canada SelectUSA Event at Microsoft Vancouver BC
Author: Stephen Armstrong, Co-founder
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. In addition to celebrating our 8th anniversary last June, we celebrated our 6th anniversary in British Columbia, 3rd in New York and our 1st anniversaries in Ontario and Colorado although our programming began in Ontario all the way back in 2016. I’d like to thank all our Chapter Executive Directors for the time and insights they give to our community connecting with regional partners and hosting memorable events.
MAPLE Southern California Spring Reception Los Angeles
Among some of the special programs MAPLE chapters hosted last year were:
An afternoon exploring how to scale to the US with expert speakers held at Microsoft’s Vancouver campus in collaboration with the US Commercial Service and US Consulate General in Vancouver.
Touring the world class scientific facilities and hearing from the leadership of the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center at Stony Brook University and Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, New York.
Connecting with the start-up community in Kitchener-Waterloo on the campus of Communitech with a panel discussion spanning talent, tax, and intellectual property when scaling your business to the US.
Bringing Canada’s game (and even a NHL alum or two) to World Trade Day in Denver as part of the MAPLE exhibit
Celebrating Southern California’s economic ties with Québec at the home of Québec Delegate General in California, David Brulotte, with economic insights from Investissement Québec
Touring the Vancouver port as guests of Global Container Terminals
A special moment was hearing from one of our corporate members whose presentation included how they have leveraged the MAPLE community to expand their business network and forge new partnerships and customers. Their MAPLE membership experience was shared in the spirit of encouraging other firms to recognize what is possible through their active membership too. Thank you!
MAPLE Colorado at World Trade Center Denver's World Trade Day
The stories that we had the privilege of sharing through our monthly e-publication MOMENTUM were very special and provided terrific insights into many markets and sectors.
Trade with a View: A profile of the international bridges that connect Ontario and the US from Natalie Kinloch, CEO of the Federal Bridge Corporation.
Celebrating Canada on the World Stage: The story of the largest Canada Day celebration outside of Canada held in Trafalgar Square in London, England as described by former Canadian Ambassador to the UAE and current Celebrate Canada Worldwide Chair, Marcy Grossman.
In Uncertain Times, Stronger Together: The origin story of ‘Fast in the 6’ – an annual interfaith celebration of Ramadan in Toronto that unites Canadians through a free public iftar meal from co-founder Dany Assaf.
The Latino GDP Project: An introduction to important economic research by the Center for Economic Research and Forecasting at California Lutheran University in Greater Los Angeles as described by its Executive Director, Matthew Fienup PhD.
Leveraging Generative Artificial Intelligence in Business: Operations and Risks was the focus of both an article and two episodes of our Conversations video series by several partners and attorneys at IP law firm, Knobbe Martens dialing us into the new world of AI.
The strength of the life sciences sector in Ontario was the focus of an article by Ontario Trade & Invest who later shared a broader look at what’s new and notable in the Province at our fall reception in Los Angeles and who connected with the Long Island business community at our recent New York reception.
MAPLE BC touring Global Container Terminals, Vancouver BC
We also had the pleasure of interviewing leaders who are guiding and shaping the tremendous relationship that Canada and the U.S. share. Our thanks to the those we had the pleasure of interviewing in 2023:
Québec Delegate General in Los Angeles David Brulotte (video)
Canadian Consul General in New York Tom Clark
Québec Delegate General in New York Martine Hébert who spoke beautifully of the longstanding ‘love story’ between New York State and Québec (video)
U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Cohen on the occasion of the 8th anniversary since founding MAPLE Business Council
These interviews along with the articles shared in 2023 are accessible on our Cross-Border Insights website as well as the content pages of our community website.
MAPLE New York tours Brookhaven National Laboratory
Our Conversations video series which we launched in 2019 now has more than 75 episodes. In 2023, we had the pleasure of speaking with Quebec's Delegate Generals in Los Angeles and New York, David Brulotte and Martine Hébert, as well as explore the topic of generative AI and content development for brands with IP law firm Knobbe Martens, and interview the Toronto-based founder of QA Consultants, Alex Rodov. Find our entire library of episodes on both of our websites including the Conversations pages of our community website. And we have already released our first two episodes of 2024 with Toronto-based immigration law firm, Greenberg Hameed PC.
MAPLE Conversation with Québec Delegate General in New York, Martine Hébert
A special thank you to our partners who shared their missions with us in 2023:
Early in 2023, we signed a MOU with Vancouver-based Latincouver, the cultural and business hub for the diverse 100k+ strong Latin communities in British Columbia. A special shout-out to founder Paola Murillo!
Panel collaborations with Kitchener-Waterloo-based Communitech Outposts in Toronto and Waterloo region sharing how Canadian companies’ hiring of US talent can be optimized (and easier than you may think) and one member's experience scaling to the US.
Start-up community insights from our friends and partner, The Alliance for Southern California Innovation, based in Pasadena, California.
Collaborating with the US Commercial Service in Canada and the US Consulate General offices in Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto to co-host our annual "Select USA” event in Vancouver
The outstanding work of Canada’s Trade Commissioner teams at the Consulate General of Canada with whom we have the opportunity to collaborate in Southern California, Denver and New York.
As a community that is now in our 9th year, we also must bear witness to the challenges that life inevitably brings and we experienced the sudden loss of a dear friend and board member, Anna Innis of Air Canada. Anna’s legacy is of a joyous spirit that overcame borders of all kinds to bring people together and to make amazing things happen. We are grateful to have known her and her spirit of giving and fellowship will live on in the hearts and minds of everyone her counted her as a friend and colleague.
It’s not possible to sum up an entire year in just a few words, but we definitely left 2023 richer for the people we met, the ideas and expertise shared, and the knowledge that what Canada and the US share is incredibly important and vital and it will continue to grow and strengthen one conversation, one insight, and one handshake at a time.
Thank you for being part of our community in 2023 and we look forward to connecting with you in 2024.
Stephen Armstrong
Co-Founder
MAPLE Ontario panel discussion at Communitech campus Kitchener-Waterloo