New office in Canada

Scotland’s economic ties with Canada will be strengthened through the launch of a new Scottish Government office in Ottawa next month.

The new Canada office will:

• encourage investment between Canadian and Scottish businesses and organisations
• promote Scotland as a place to work, study and visit
• develop relationships in key policy areas like climate change, equalities and social enterprise
• encourage collaboration between business, research, education and cultural institutions

Canada has consistently been a top 20 export partner for Scotland, with exports in 2016 totalling £610 million. It is also one of Scotland’s biggest inward investors, with around 3,650 jobs provided by 45 Canadian companies in Scotland.

External Affairs Secretary Fiona Hyslop confirmed the details ahead of her attendance at the Canada Hub reception as part of the Culture Summit 2018.

She said:

“This new office will help us strengthen our relationships with Canada, putting a focus on encouraging trade and investment and showcasing Scotland as a great place to work, study and visit.

“This will be the first time we have had a presence in Canada’s capital city which means our new team will be able to develop closer policy and political links with the Canadian Government, business, education and third sector partners.

“In the face of Brexit uncertainty, Scotland continues to be an attractive place to invest and do business.”

Background

Key facts on Scottish-Canadian relations:

• 7 million Canadians claim Scottish heritage
• 9,500 Canadians live and work in Scotland
• more than 1,000 Canadian students are currently enrolled in Scottish universities - it’s Scotland’s sixth largest source of international students
• visitor numbers from Canada to Scotland increased by 50% in the last year, to more than 149,000 visitors (fourth largest international market) with spending £130 million (7% of Scotland’s total tourism spend)