A close look at Canada reveals a country with as much diversity in its people as its landscape, and a host of cultural identities that influence and shape daily life. Misreading this complexity and the nuances of the True North’s provinces and cities, however, can spell disaster for companies trying to gain a foothold in Canada’s business and consumer communities.
While the stereotype may be Canadians living in vast open spaces, the truth according to Darrell J. Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs in Toronto, is “83 percent of Canadians live in a city. The last decade when half the population lived in rural areas was the 1920s.” Of particular note is that many of today’s residents are not native Canadians. “Canada accepts more immigrants per capita than any country in the world,” Bricker notes.
This nationwide diversity continues to influence Canada’s provinces and cities in terms of both culture and expectations. As with most other countries, the culture depends very much on where you happen to be standing. Here’s a brief exploration of six distinctive cities in the True North.
Calgary, Alberta
Located in Alberta, Calgary is this western province’s largest city and the fifth most populous city in Canada with just over a million people. Though it was often dubbed “Cowtown” due to the area’s concentration of cattle ranches, a more modern nickname is the “Heart of the New West.” Bricker says Calgary is not only the country’s fastest growing city, but compares it to Houston, Texas as a “very modern” and “edgy” oil and gas-centric city.
Since its emergence as a 1950s oil-era boom town, the region has cultivated a number of other business sectors and is home to many of the True North’s top corporate headquarters. Hosting the 1988 Olympic Winter Games also helped put the city on the map, garnering attention for its many charms. According to census figures of Canada’s tracked metropolitan areas, Calgary residents have enjoyed the country’s highest median household annual income (over $98,000) for the last six years.
Robert Duncan, produce manager at Worldwide Specialty Foods Ltd., considers Calgary a lively place with a high proportion of young people. “It’s a fairly new city compared to eastern cities,” he notes. “It’s known for its proximity to the Rocky Mountains—you can see them on a clear day.” Better yet, though are the available jobs. “There’s a lot of employment in Calgary,” he confirms, adding, “people from all over the country come here.”
Calgary is also home to the country’s current Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. In terms of its politics, Bricker believes Calgary is “the center of conservatism in Canada,” comparing it to Midwest region of the United States in this respect. As far as real estate is concerned, the city sitting on the Bow River has one of the most expensive markets, coming in third behind Vancouver and Toronto.
A close look at Canada reveals a country with as much diversity in its people as its landscape, and a host of cultural identities that influence and shape daily life. Misreading this complexity and the nuances of the True North’s provinces and cities, however, can spell disaster for companies trying to gain a foothold in Canada’s business and consumer communities.
While the stereotype may be Canadians living in vast open spaces, the truth according to Darrell J. Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs in Toronto, is “83 percent of Canadians live in a city. The last decade when half the population lived in rural areas was the 1920s.” Of particular note is that many of today’s residents are not native Canadians. “Canada accepts more immigrants per capita than any country in the world,” Bricker notes.
This nationwide diversity continues to influence Canada’s provinces and cities in terms of both culture and expectations. As with most other countries, the culture depends very much on where you happen to be standing. Here’s a brief exploration of six distinctive cities in the True North.
Calgary, Alberta
Located in Alberta, Calgary is this western province’s largest city and the fifth most populous city in Canada with just over a million people. Though it was often dubbed “Cowtown” due to the area’s concentration of cattle ranches, a more modern nickname is the “Heart of the New West.” Bricker says Calgary is not only the country’s fastest growing city, but compares it to Houston, Texas as a “very modern” and “edgy” oil and gas-centric city.
Since its emergence as a 1950s oil-era boom town, the region has cultivated a number of other business sectors and is home to many of the True North’s top corporate headquarters. Hosting the 1988 Olympic Winter Games also helped put the city on the map, garnering attention for its many charms. According to census figures of Canada’s tracked metropolitan areas, Calgary residents have enjoyed the country’s highest median household annual income (over $98,000) for the last six years.
Robert Duncan, produce manager at Worldwide Specialty Foods Ltd., considers Calgary a lively place with a high proportion of young people. “It’s a fairly new city compared to eastern cities,” he notes. “It’s known for its proximity to the Rocky Mountains—you can see them on a clear day.” Better yet, though are the available jobs. “There’s a lot of employment in Calgary,” he confirms, adding, “people from all over the country come here.”
Calgary is also home to the country’s current Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. In terms of its politics, Bricker believes Calgary is “the center of conservatism in Canada,” comparing it to Midwest region of the United States in this respect. As far as real estate is concerned, the city sitting on the Bow River has one of the most expensive markets, coming in third behind Vancouver and Toronto.
Like much of Canada, Calgary has a growing ethnic presence (over 20 percent of the population), which helps drive its abundance of fruit and vegetable options—many imported from the U.S. West Coast—stocking gourmet food outlets. Indeed, the province’s restaurant industry reaches sales of $10 billion annually with Calgary claiming the majority of Alberta’s 9,800 restaurants.
Vancouver, British Columbia
Lying on the western edge of Canada in British Columbia, Vancouver looks a bit like Seattle, according to Bricker. “It’s our West Coast; people who live there tend to be a bit more laid back.” Bricker calls Vancouver “a lifestyle choice” due to what he considers its progressive politics combined with “jurisdictions where there’s a strong conservative coalition.”
Karin Gardner, marketing communications manager for The Oppenheimer Group based in Vancouver, describes the city as “ambitious but friendly” and credits its proximity to the ocean and mountains with what she calls a contagious “love for the great outdoors.” She describes residents as “fit, casual, globally conscious people who grow up valuing the planet and everything it has to offer.”
Bricker says the city is growing rapidly and has a large Asian population. Gardner agrees, adding, “Vancouver’s Asian community influences its cuisine, architecture, and culture in many ways. Retailers carry a wide range of items that appeal to this demographic, and in doing so create the opportunity for many healthy, interesting choices to be available to people of all backgrounds.”
Gardner credits Oppenheimer with helping to “introduce the holiday tradition of giving oranges as a Christmas gift in 1891. It began with immigrants from Asia who came to Canada to work on the Canadian Pacific Railway,” she explains, “and extended to the general western Canadian population over time. While it continues to be a much-loved tradition in British Columbia and the Prairie provinces, it never extended into eastern Canada in the same way. Even though easy-peel citrus has become an everyday item, people are still delighted to see Japanese mandarins appear in Vancouver stores in late November. You would rarely see the same response in Ottawa or Toronto, however.”
Much like the U.S. West Coast, Bricker says Vancouver’s economy is driven by natural resources such as lumber, timber, and mining. Oil and gas are also growing, especially liquid natural gas. The city, he says, has a “Silicon Valley feel” but is not nearly the same size as California’s high-tech mecca.
Bricker and Gardner both acknowledge Vancouver can be a pricey city, with the most expensive real estate market in Canada, but Gardner would argue that along with the expense comes “an excellent quality of life.”
Toronto & Ottawa, Ontario
The secret to sounding like a native, according to Bricker, is to not pronounce the second ‘t’ in Toronto. While not the largest city in land area, Toronto is the largest in terms of population with over 5.9 million residents as of 2013. It is located on Lake Ontario across from New York, while Ottawa is in the northeast corner of the province near Quebec.
Bricker describes his home town as the “seat of finance, services, and culture in the country. It’s not a big manufacturing town, not a big industrial town. Basically it’s services and money. So when you talk about Wall Street, we talk about Bay Street,” he explains, noting the many big bank headquarters located there along with the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Bricker believes Toronto is the “most cosmopolitan city in the world” with half of its residents having been born elsewhere. “It’s a huge city, from a North American perspective,” he notes, adding, “It’s our version of New York City or Chicago.”
In contrast, Ottawa is considerably smaller, with a population of just over 1.3 million and like Calgary, its residents rank among the country’s highest median incomes (third, at over $94,000 annually). Bricker says the city is far more attuned to government relations, as the nation’s capital. “It’s our version of Washington, DC,” Bricker says.
Fred Webber, transplanted American and CEO of the Ottawa-based Fruit and Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corporation, agrees. “Like Washington DC, so many bureaucrats and politicians live here it is an economy unto itself.” But the city differs from Washington because it doesn’t have a big suburban population.
“If you look at Washington DC, I don’t know where you’d draw the lines. Here, once you get to the edge of Ottawa, it opens up and you drive hours to the next place.” Webber describes the city as beautiful with plenty of open space and water. “If I was going to take a look at things like bicycle paths and outdoor parks, Ottawa’s pretty high on the list.” It also has what he calls a “heavy European architectural influence.”
“If you’re negotiating major national contracts with the government,” Bricker asserts, “all of that activity takes place in Ottawa.” Other business sectors are negligible. Interestingly, Bricker says many people in the city earn comparable salaries, and “affluence is frowned upon.”
Though the city lies in Ontario, it spans the Ottawa River, brushing up against Quebec, where the province’s official language is French. This has influenced Ottawa as well, as many residents are bilingual (English and French).
Montreal & Quebec City, Quebec
The eastern side of Canada is home to the province of Quebec, the heavily French side of the country and the cities of Montreal and Quebec City. Bricker describes Quebec City as rather non-multicultural, and instead as “very French” and the “epicenter of French culture.”
Although Quebec City is comparatively small with less than a million residents, it is the only walled city in North America. Bricker calls it “arguably the most beautiful city in Canada—very historic and famous for its winter carnival—a real treat.”
Neighboring Montreal is the second-most populous city in Canada with nearly 4 million residents as of 2013. Johnny Borsellino, president of Montreal-based Fruit Dome, Inc. describes the city as being “very diversified and rich in culture”—which includes a huge variety of restaurants and cafés with some estimating it would take almost ten years to try every eatery in the city.
“Anything you want to try, there are always new restaurants opening up,” Borsellino observes. “It’s a pretty fast moving city—different groups of people, different types of restaurants. Some succeed, most don’t. The standards have become so high,” he explains, “for a restaurant to succeed, both great food and ambiance have to be there.”
Along with restaurants, Borsellino says the city has an especially large number of grocery stores. “Quebecers and Europeans in general don’t mind spending on eating well.” Fruit Dome, which sells fresh herbs, has seen an increase in its organic selections. “Our conventionals have always done well, but our organic line has been increasing month to month.” Demand for organics, he finds, usually depends on demographics and location. “Some stores have a full organic line,” he says, others where income level is lower may stock higher-end products such as organics but offer more promotions or deals.
From an industry perspective, Borsellino describes Montreal as being a tight market and hard for newcomers to break into. “The companies that do well in Montreal have been established 30-plus years. It’s very difficult to get listed or become accepted with chains or retail stores and to get support of wholesalers. In summertime, wholesalers and farmers support local growers; if you’re coming in as a foreigner, you’re losing a few months of business to local supply.”
Additionally, Borsellino explains, “Everybody kind of specializes in their own product. For example, a wholesaler will have two suppliers, not ten, and he works with them. He won’t risk losing a supplier because somebody new comes in. People are quite loyal.” His advice to newcomers is to start small, appreciate any and all business by giving exemplary service, quality of product, and good pricing. “Price will always be a factor; give the best product to get recognized as a solid company, not a fly-by-night. It’s a little jungle here in Montreal, especially in the food industry. Lots of produce goes through Quebec in general.”
It is also important to remember that Quebec is a bilingual province. Both Bricker and Borsellino commented on the need to speak French. “If you don’t learn French, it’s going to be quite difficult,” Borsellino confirms. “The majority or 50 percent of your clients will speak French.” Bricker puts it this way: “If you don’t speak French, good luck.”
A Few Final Thoughts
As you look across this vast country, the most important takeaway is that contrary to stereotypes, Canada is anything but simple and homogenous. Culture, landscape, traditions, politics, and even language can be province- and city-dependent.
And, as Webber points out, “Canada is not the fifty-first state.” While Canada and the United States share a border and certainly have many similarities, there are fundamental differences such as Canada’s constitution, political system, currency, and labor laws to name a few. There are also produce-specific business practices and customs Americans should be familiar with and respect.
Both Webber and Bricker agree that Canada’s political system is vastly different from the United States. With three to five major political parties—depending upon who you ask—Canada elects its officials to Parliament in elections that last roughly 34 days instead of the months or even years seen in America.
“A lot of people don’t know the Prime Minister is not elected by all Canadians,” Webber explains. “If conservatives have the most seats (in Parliament), the conservatives run the government and the Prime Minister is the head of that party. So when the balance of power changes, so does the Prime Minister.” Further, he adds, “provinces retain much more power than states in the United States.” Webber also cites a major difference in conducting business: “In the United States, the moment a business transaction moves across state lines, you have federal jurisdiction. Here, matters of contract law are left to the provinces.”
The list can go on and on, but bottom line: Canada is Canada—and recognizing the uniqueness of this nation, as well as its provinces and cities, can mean the difference between success and failure for those hoping to capitalize on the True North’s lucrative and produce-friendly marketplace.
