Promoting Trade with the Asia-Pacific

April 5, 2006

"The economy of British Columbia is booming. Unemployment rates are at record lows, and more British Columbians are working now than ever before. According to Stats Canada, in 2005 exports from B.C. to other countries reached almost $35.5 billion — a record high.

However, our combined international and interprovincial exports only contribute to 43 percent of the province's GDP, the smallest percentage among the provinces. Most of our growth in GDP is in the service sector, including health care, social assistance, financial and real estate services, tourism and transportation. In order to sustain the growth of our economy, we must strengthen our capacity in exports.

One way to increase our exports is to encourage British Columbians who are living or working abroad. A recent study by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada estimates that some 2.7 million Canadian citizens are scattered around the world. This diaspora should be recognized as our distinct advantage in international trade. It is estimated that 24 percent of foreign-based Canadians live in Asia, whereas 44 percent of this population lives in the United States.

Expatriates can play a role in importing our food and consumer products to their countries of residence. They can also help investors to find business partners, to create networks, to attract investments, and to facilitate human capital and technology transfer for British Columbia. Scotland, Ireland, Italy, Israel, Poland, Japan, South Korea, India, China and the Philippines all have special policies in place towards their diaspora. Maybe it's time we join these countries and use our expatriate population to our full advantage."

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