The Business Beat
By Jason Brown
Jean Chrétien has become the quintessential global door-to-door salesman. He no longer acts like the head of a government but treats his position like he’s the CEO of Canada Inc.
All the man has to do is load a bunch of his senior vice-presidents and salespeople onto an airplane and he’s off hawking his goods to everyone he can get to pay attention.
Not that this is a bad use of the Prime Minister’s time, considering the pressures globalization is putting on Canada Inc. Having Chrétien go to bat for Canadian companies in the global market is far better than trying to protect them through isolationist tariffs.
Just look at the economic benefits of past Team Canada trade missions.
According to Dexter Bishop, a spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Chrétien’s first trade mission, to China in 1994, racked up about $8.6 billion in signed contracts, and less-secure agreements such as joint ventures, letters of intent, and memoranda of understanding.
His 1995 sales pitch to Latin America resulted in 110 business deals worth $2.8 billion.
In 1996, Chrétien did it again with $8.7 billion in deals in South East Asia and in 1997, he squeezed $2 billion in business for Canada Inc. from Thailand, Korea and the Philippines.
His latest trip to Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Chile has attracted more than 450 salespeople. Twenty-five are from the Ottawa-Carleton region.
As the CEO of a medium-sized economy, Chrétien’s strength comes from knowing his employees as well as he knows his customers. He knows foreign markets like the fact Canada’s finances are creeping out of the red and into the black.
He also knows his employees like good economic news as much as the next person.
While the 1994 trip has really only produced $6 billion in signed contracts out of $8.6 billion in trade mission deals — the other trade missions have fallen equally short — it’s hard to put a negative spin on it.
Generating $6 billion in trade from a single visit is still $6 billion. Not too shabby for a man without vision.
Economic environments change, however, and dealing in foreign markets has always been risky.
Nevertheless, Canada Inc.’s shares are going through the roof and these trade missions, with hints of going to Russia some time in the future, are sure to continue giving Canadian businesses the edge in foreign markets.