Canada is a large country, covering about 10 million square kilometers, but with a relatively small population of 32 million people.
As of 2006, Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) has had a presence in Canada for 50 years. Mitsubishi Canada Limited (MCL) was incorporated in 1965, and throughout our history we have played a vital role in MC's global business portfolio.
MCL's headquarters are located in Vancouver, often called Canada's Gateway to Asia-Pacific, due to its proximity to the Pacific Ocean. MCL also operates a branch office in Toronto, Canada's largest city, located in Eastern Canada. MCL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi International Corporation and our offices keep in close contact with our counterparts in the U.S.
Our business base covers most of MC's traditional Business Groups, including Metals, Machinery, Chemicals and Living Essentials, and involves a wide range of supply chain activities, such as importing, exporting, warehousing, distribution and project development/management. Some of the major sectors that MCL is involved in are mining, the steel industry, plant equipment, pharmaceuticals, food and health-related products, forestry products and tires. New business is actively under development through on-going projects in such areas as renewable energy (such as wind turbines and bio-fuels); trade with China (bio-technologies, organic greenhouses and lumber operations) and cross-Atlantic trade (such as supplying health care products from North America to Europe or importing equipment); the automotive sector; fuel cell technologies and others.
In addition to MCL's immediate businesses, we also support MC's business investments in Canada, such as Toyo Tire Canada, Alpac Forest Products, Iron Ore Company of Canada, and Metal One Canada.
Canada is fast becoming a global leader in renewable energy. The Canadian Government has demonstrated its commitment to renewable energy with $2 billion in additional federal funding for research. The establishment of renewable energy portfolios by provinces and incentives for related technologies have led to a boom in the market, with wind turbines alone seeing annual growth of more than 35%.
With a growing market in North America and consumers' willingness to pay a premium for renewable energy, Canadian companies have been innovating technologies that make renewable energy competitive. As the installed capacity is expected to double over the next decade, Canada will continue to aggressively develop and deploy renewable energy.
At Mitsubishi Canada, we are not only poised to take a large stake in this emerging market, but we are also proud to be actively promoting the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
While the national economy remains steady with a 3.8% growth rate, the economies of Canada's western provinces, British Columbia (B.C.) and Alberta, are enjoying average growth of 5.8%. Fueling growth is construction of housing and major projects that are injecting private, public and government funds into the market.
In 2006, Alberta's economy is forecast to expand by 6.6%. High crude oil prices and intense development of the oilsands will bolster economic growth over the next several years, with oilsands development expected to total $60 billion between 2006 and 2010. Major projects in Alberta are said to represent $96 billion in construction.
In B.C., both housing and consumer spending have spurred faster-than-expected growth. In 2005, China replaced Japan as B.C.'s number two trading partner, with trade reaching $8.9 billion. To add fuel to the fire, Canada's 2005 Pacific Gateway strategy saw the government pledge federal funding to eliminate road, rail and border bottlenecks to Asia-Pacific trade.
Due to the diverse weather conditions in Canada, a variety of sports can be enjoyed here, but one of the most popular sports is hockey. Hockey is considered the national past time of Canadians. Many will agree that hockey is a sport that all Canadians share pride in.
Since the 1870's, Canadians have organized local hockey tournaments, which grew to produce hundreds of different teams of various skill levels. Parents start their children in this sport at a very early age in the hope that they will progress to a professional level, often waking up at 6 a.m. to take them to the local ice arena for practices and games. Through this tradition, Canada has produced many of the top players in the world and is a perennial favorite in the Olympic Games and International Hockey Championships.
With leagues ranging from the NHL (National Hockey League), which features the best players around the world, playing for the ultimate glory of the Stanley Cup, to provincial leagues such as the OHL (Ontario Hockey League) and BCHL (British Columbia Hockey League), tourists and locals alike have many opportunities to enjoy this graceful yet powerful sport.
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