Team Canada Atlantic's first trade mission to New York wrapped up today after a full three-day schedule of business meetings and networking functions. The 36 Atlantic Canadian companies and 11 associate partners that participated in the mission completed a combined total of more than 300 meetings with representatives from corporate America.
"New York is a city that was built on vision, optimism, leadership and gritty determination," said The Honourable Gerry Bryne, Minister of State for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) who, along with the four Atlantic premiers, led the mission. "Frankly, so is Atlantic Canada. That's the message we came down to send. And our companies came down to demonstrate that these are not empty words. The response has been very warm, very supportive. I am absolutely convinced that new and exciting business opportunities will emerge from this mission."
Ten Prince Edward Island companies were among the trade mission contingency. The group was led by Premier Pat Binns who anticipates strong results for the Island businesses on the trade mission.
"We identified New York as a key target market and being here this week confirms our belief that there is an abundance of possibilities for Prince Edward Island companies here," said Premier Binns. "We already know of immediate sales valued at half a million dollars and that's just the beginning of the results we will see develop over the next several months."
"This was our first trade mission, and I wasn't sure what to expect," said Scott Hickey, President of Summerside Industrial Fabricators. "I had meetings with some very large processing and manufacturing companies that were good matches for our company. My job now is to be persistent with following up with these companies and try to secure some contracts."
Triple Threats Musical Theatre company was also in New York this week promoting the school's catalogue of children's plays and exploring production opportunities.
"Triple Threats was very well received by the companies I met with," said Artistic Director Brian Stevens. "I've identified some opportunities to develop scripts for this market and maybe even bring a production to New York. Having a New York review would be critical for Triple Threats in entering the US marketplace."
With a population of 21 million, metropolitan New York is the largest urban centre in the United States. It is also one of the business and financial capitals of the world with 97 of the Fortune 500 corporations headquartered there.
Participants from the Atlantic region represented a broad spectrum of industrial sectors and business specialities, from information technology and software design and development, to agri-foods, manufacturing, and consumer and industrial products.
The Team Canada Atlantic mission to New York City was a cooperative effort between ACOA, the four Atlantic provinces, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Industry Canada, and the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters.