Dear BCCTC members and friends,
We hope you're enjoying a joyful summer! We have been busy these last couple of months with lots of excitement from politics to football, and even thou we are in the middle of the summer, we want to give you an excerpt on the latest news and special offers from our members, a recap of our activities + a note about a very special BCCTC member, and a list on curated events for you.
Have an idea for a program? Want to host an event? Let us know! info@bcctc.ca
British Canadian Chamber of Trade and Commerce
BCCTC August Newsletter
UK-Canada Industry News and Updates
UK-Canada Trade & Inv stats
UK interest rates cut to 5%
Canada-UK Biomanufacturing Collaboration is well under way!
The Aqualunar Challenge, UK-Canada collaboration, names 10 UK teams as finalists in developing tech to purify Moon water ice.
Canadian Chamber of Commerce and business leaders urge Ontario to join the New West Partnership
Expanding your business to Canada By Fiona Brown, Partner, Aird & Berlis LLP
Member and Forum Updates
BCCTC and BABA UK Election results
"Leveraging the CPTPP: Opportunities for UK and Canadian Businesses" with Al Parsai, CEO of Parsai Immigration Services
BCCTC co-hosts Euro Final
ICFF Lavazza IncluCity Festival
Welcome new BCCTC members!: Richard Bruton
BCCTC member success stories
Rootquotient!
Member offers
Tools from BCCTC Member ACCA to accelerate your Career and your Business
Truefitt & Hill’s exclusive, In partnership with Netflix, celebrates the launch of Guy Ritchie’s series, The Gentlemen
EUCCAN
Trade Takeaways from the EU Elections
Canada Joins Horizon Europe
Trade Policy Review: Canada
British community in Canada
The Honourable Edith Dumont, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario becomes Patron of The St George's Society of Toronto.
Upcoming Events
Summer Garden Party with The Honourable Company of Freemen of the City of London of North America - August 11
Commonwealth Society of Toronto - August 11
King’s Plate with The St George's Society of Toronto - August 17
Oxford v Cambridge Alumni Cricket Match, Sunday - September
Commonwealth Garden Party & Luncheon with the Royal
International Summer Cocktail - August 29 - co-hosted by BCCTC + 9 chambers of commerce from Toronto and the Club Canadien de Toronto
everywoman in STEM Early Careers Day - September 12
Save the date! EU Meet Up - September 24
UK-Canada Industry News and Updates
UK-Canada Trade & Inv Stats
This factsheet provides the latest statistics on trade and investment between the UK and Canada. Date of release: 2 August 2024;
Total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and Canada was £25.8 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q1 2024, a decrease of 1.1% or £277 million in current prices from the four quarters to the end of Q1 2023. Of this £25.8 billion:
Total UK exports to Canada amounted to £16.1 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q1 2024 (an increase of 1.7% compared to Q1 2023);
Total UK imports from Canada amounted to £9.7 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q1 2024 (a decrease of 5.3% compared to the four quarters to the end of Q1 2023).
Canada was the UK’s 16th largest trading partner in the four quarters to the end of Q1 2024 accounting for 1.5% of total UK trade. Read more...
'Important moment' as interest rates cut to 5%
"Markets responded positively to the Bank of England’s interest rate cut on Thursday. Interest rates dropped from a 16-year high of 5.25% to 5%, with investors expecting another rate cut of 0.25% in November. GBPCAD weakened from near multi-year highs of 1.7850 back to 1.7650 on the interest rate decision." Paul Harrison, Payments International Inc.
Get a summary on what’s happening in the world of currencies with BCCTC member Payments International Inc “The Morning Update”.
The first round of projects under the Canada-UK Biomanufacturing Collaboration is well under way! 🇨🇦🇬🇧
The six selected projects address critical areas in biomanufacturing, such as AI-driven drug discovery, vaccine manufacturing and cellular therapeutics.
These initiatives demonstrate both countries’ commitment to innovation and pandemic preparedness. They will also strengthen our domestic biomanufacturing capabilities and help keep Canadians safe from future health emergencies. Read more...
The Aqualunar Challenge, UK-Canada collaboration, names 10 UK teams as finalists in developing tech to purify Moon water ice.
The Aqualunar Challenge is a £1.2m international challenge prize focused on making human habitation in space possible by finding ways to purify water buried beneath the Moon’s surface, delivered by Challenge Works on behalf of the UK Space Agency in the UK, and by the Canadian Space Agency in partnership with Impact Canada. The UK track of the challenge is awarding UK-led finalist teams £30,000 each to develop their UK-led water purification innovations that will benefit both Earth and Space, before a winner and runners-up are announced in Spring 2025. More info here.
Canadian Chamber of Commerce and business leaders urge Ontario to join the New West Partnership
Last week, CCC joined the Business Council of Canada, Business Council of British Columbia, Ottawa Board of Trade, Toronto Region Board of Trade, Business Council of Alberta, Business Council of Manitoba, and Ontario Chamber of Commerce in urging Premier Doug Ford to join the New West Partnership. This move could unlock $4.1 billion in annual economic growth for Ontario and provide much-needed support for families across the province by boosting household income by approximately $1,000 per family. Read more...
Expanding Your Engineering Company into Canada
By Fiona Brown, Partner, Aird & Berlis LLP.
We’re pleased to present the Aird & Berlis one-pager on expanding your business to Canada in various languages: German, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish.
Aird & Berlis is the gateway to Canada for our international clients, and partner Fiona Brown is among the firm’s leading experts in market expansion. Click here to find a wide range of market expansion resources to aid current and prospective clients with their expansions into the Canadian market. If you have any questions about any of the below or would like to know more, please do not hesitate to contact Fiona Brown at 416.865.3078 or fbrown@airdberlis.com.
Member and Forum Updates
UK Election
Thank you for all those who joined us on July 4th as we watched the results unfold.
The Canada-UK free trade agreement negotiations ended abruptly earlier this year but with a public commitment from the Secretary of State for Business and Trade to keep talking: whether the new government will take up this agreement and carry it over the line is not clear. The Labour Manifesto section on international relations, Britain Reconnected, includes two photos of Keir Starmer with foreign leaders: one with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine and the other with Prime Minister Trudeau.
Click here to see BCCTC’s immediate report.
A summary of the BABA US-U.K. Trade Policy Roundtable on July 10, 2024:
Labour’s leader and Britain’s new Prime Minister Kier Starmer identified five goals for Labor’s policymaking agenda: kickstart economic growth; make Britain a clean energy superpower; take back our streets (law and justice); break down barriers to opportunity; and build a National Health Service (NHS) fit for the future. His cabinet includes a mix of experienced figures and new faces to deliver on the new government’s mandate, but at the moment there are no specific policy steps that been outlined for this agenda. Read more..
Leveraging the CPTPP: Opportunities for UK and Canadian Businesses.
This online session co-hosted by the BCCTC and Al Parsai, CEO of Parsai Immigration Services on June 26th focused on the impact of CPTPP on work permits for UK professionals in Canada and the hiring opportunities for Canadian employers.
Al provided a summary of the CPTPP, detailing the benefits for UK and Canadian businesses and the timeline for implementation. He covered the implications this agreement represents for UK professionals and Canadian employers, from changes to work permits for UK professionals in Canada and new hiring opportunities for Canadian employers.
Al also gave valuable insights on how to prepare your business for CPTPP, suggesting key steps to take before the agreement comes into force as well as best practices with a few case studies. Al, CEO of Parsai Immigration Services, is a Sponsor Members of the BCCTC. Read more...
The BCCTC, and our members, are here to support businesses every step of the way.
BCCTC co-hosts Euro Final
A fantastic Euro Final watch party at the UK Consul General residence with members and friends. We echo Prince of Wales’ words: “This time wasn’t meant to be. We’re all still so proud of you!”
Far right: Vinay Khosla and Richard Rizzo CPA of Bateman MacKay LLP, Mark Field, Helen Field (Deputy Master, The Honourable Company of Freemen of the City of London of North America), Fouzia Younis, Christine Yu (President, St. George's Society Toronto), and our fearless leader Martin Buckle. Many thanks to Fouzia Younis and her team!
ICFF Lavazza IncluCity Festival
BCCTC once again partnered with ICFF Lavazza IncluCity Festival for another successful year for the Canadian Premiere Screening of the British film “The Trouble with Jessica”, represented by VP Martin Buckle guests enjoyed a very British satirical dark comedy, thank you again - we look forward to continuing this partnership in many more events in the future!
Welcome new BCCTC members!
Richard Bruton
Richard Bruton has been an Investment Advisor (Senior Wealth Advisor) since 1997. His team, the Bruton Investment Group, he has been part of National Bank Financial Wealth Management since 2016. The team provides investment advice and brokerage services as well as wealth management advice to private families, professionals, businesses and institutional clients.
Richard was awarded the 2012 Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee for his services to Canada and its communities.
Connect with Richard: Personal Mobile : 647-400-1262 Office : 416-869-8098
Personal e-mail: RichardBruton24@Gmail.com Work e-mail : Richard.Bruton@NBC.CA
BCCTC members Success Stories 🌟🌟🌟
Congratulations to BCCTC member Rootquotient - a leading product innovation company with a global presence across Canada, the UK, and India, for a very successful 2024 so far - we can’t wait to hear what you will do for the rest of the year!
Winner of the '🚀Startup Trailblazers 2024' award from Dun & Bradstreet India
Rootquotient is now the Founder Institute’s Global Product Innovation Partner! - aiming at creating a lasting impact in the startup eco-system.
Winner of both Clutch Global and Clutch Champion awards! 🏆🏆 Plus, as a dual award recipient, they have been distinguished among the Elite by Clutch.
Special guest at the UK Great Britain Tech Reception hosted by the British Consulate General in Toronto.
Last, but not least, they earned the distinction of the finalist for the esteemed 🇨🇦 Canadian SME Small Business Awards 2023 in the “Fastest Growing Company of the Year” category.
Rootquotient stands tall as a pioneer in product innovation on a global scale. 🌎
Congrats to the team and their leaders Partha Raghavan, CTO, Moshe Mikanovsky, Product Director, and Sri, Director of Sales.
Member Offers
Tools from BCCTC Member ACCA to accelerate your Career and your Business!
Watch our AI virtual conference on-demand to gain the latest insights into the world of AI. This half day event explores the multitude of possibilities that AI brings to the profession while addressing the challenges it presents.
This report explores the growing awareness by employers that those who are neurodivergent have real value to bring to an organisation. It highlights targeted hiring programmes that have actively sought out neurodivergent talent to undertake specific roles.
Together we can achieve brilliant things. Whether you’re looking to hire and train the brightest minds, develop and retain your existing team, or get ahead of the latest issues impacting your sector we can help you unlock your organization’s potential.
The Gentlemen Sandalwood
In partnership with Netflix, BCCTC member Truefitt & Hill celebrates the launch of Guy Ritchie's eagerly awaited series, The Gentlemen, with a limited edition offer for you: The Gentlemen Sandalwood. This Truefitt & Hill’s exclusive boasts a smouldering new look, embellished with a stately crest, whilst retaining its sublime scent, using our existing Sandalwood fragrance, across our capsule shaving collection.
EUCCAN - EU Chamber of Commerce in Canada
BCCTC is an Associate Member of EUCCAN - the principal, unifying voice for EU business interests in Canada. In their latest newsletter you will find many interesting topics, below an excerpt for BCCTC members:
Trade Takeaways from the EU Elections
In June 2024, EU citizens participated in the world’s second-largest democratic exercise. The four-day election resulted in a rightward shift, with increased representation for eurosceptic nationalists and decreased seats for mainstream liberals and Greens. This shift is expected to impact key policy areas in the upcoming five-year term, including defense, climate, and trade among others. The European Commission and some EU leaders argue for more trade agreements to offset lost business with Russia and reduce dependence on China, but the increased presence of nationalist eurosceptics could make pushing these deals through parliament more challenging.
Canada Joins Horizon Europe
Canada is joining the European family of research and innovation, becoming part of Horizon Europe. With a budget of €93.5 billion for 2021-27, Horizon Europe is the world’s largest R&I programme. Canadian researchers and organisations have the opportunity to participate in the programme on equal terms with their EU counterparts.
Trade Policy Review: Canada
The WTO conducted its twelfth Trade Policy Review of Canada in June 2024. Overall, the review highlights that Canada’s trade regime remained open and transparent despite global challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions, and geopolitical risks. Delegations commended Canada for its economic resilience and swift recovery from the pandemic-induced recession. Canada was praised for pursuing an inclusive and “feminist” trade policy, aiming to ensure trade benefits are widely shared among traditionally under-represented groups. Some concerns were expressed about Canada’s supply management system. Canada’s commitment to aligning trade and environmental sustainability goals was welcomed, though some delegations noted the importance of ensuring any future carbon border adjustment mechanism would comply with WTO rules. Canada’s active participation in the WTO and support for the rules-based multilateral trading system is highlighted. Read more...
British community in Canada
The Honourable Edith Dumont, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario becomes Patron of The St George's Society of Toronto.
Christine Yu, President of The St George's Society of Toronto, said: “We are thrilled to welcome the Honourable Edith Dumont as our new Honorary Patron. Her Honour’s dedication to community service and her distinguished record of public service makes her an exemplary choice for this role. We look forward to working closely with her to further our mission of supporting and enriching the lives of those in our community”.
Upcoming Events
Summer Garden Party with The Honourable Company of Freemen of the City of London of North America - August 11
Commonwealth Society of Toronto - August 11
King’s Plate with The St George's Society of Toronto - August 17
Oxford v Cambridge Alumni Cricket Match, Sunday - September
Commonwealth Garden Party & Luncheon with the Royal
International Summer Cocktail - August 29: BCCTC invites you to the International Summer Cocktail, an exceptional networking evening bringing together 10 chambers of commerce from Toronto and the Club Canadien de Toronto. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to expand your professional network and discover new international perspectives
everywoman in STEM Early Careers Day - September 12
Save the date! EU Meet Up - September 24
You may be interested in viewing the events of the twenty chapters of the British American Business Network. The BCCTC is a member of this network.
The complete event list, which is updated monthly, can be accessed on this link.
BCCTC invites you to the International Summer Cocktail, an exceptional networking evening bringing together 10 chambers of commerce from Toronto and the Club Canadien de Toronto. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to expand your professional network and discover new international perspectives
Thu, Aug 29 at The Pilot, 22 Cumberland st, Toronto.
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