EDI Hosts Breakfast About Opportunities for Israeli Companies in Saskatchewan 

On Monday, 6 June 2011 EDI held a breakfast meeting to discuss opportunities in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan for Israeli companies looking to approach the North American market.  EDI serves as Saskatchewan's representative in Israel with regard to its economic and investment interests.  The breakfast was the first step in a pilot program to generate foreign direct investment leads in Israel for the province.  

Participants included representatives from various organizations and sectors, including: Canadian Embassy, private consultants, Manufacturers Association, VC funds, business development managers, the Canada-Israel Industrial Research and Development Foundation (CIIRDF) and others. 

Participants discussed and commented on many of the major benefits of relocating Israeli business to Saskatchewan.  Besides being Canada’s largest exporter and recipient of FDI per capita, Saskatchewan offers an impressive supply of natural resources including wood, wheat, beans, petroleum, natural gas, potash, coal, uranium, copper, zinc, gold, silver, and other metallic minerals.  Human resources, laboratories and R&D facilities are also highlights of doing business in Saskatchewan.  Due to grants, tax credits and lower corporate taxes overall, operating a business in Saskatchewan costs much less than in other Canadian provinces and the United States.  Saskatchewan’s major cities of Regina and Saskatoon are only 2 flights from Tel Aviv via Air Canada’s daily service to Toronto.  Additionally, the province offers a solid infrastructure of road and rail transport.

Background 

The Province of Saskatchewan has recently embarked on a pilot program with EDI to gauge the level of interest of Israeli companies in looking at this centrally-located Canadian location as a point of entry to the North American market. 

About Saskatchewan      

The Province of Saskatchewan is situated in Western Canada, and its major cities are the capital of Regina and Saskatoon.  Traditionally, Saskatchewan's economy has been based on agriculture and mining.  While manufacturing in Saskatchewan is still largely resource-based, it is gradually becoming diversified by the addition of high-tech and computer-based industries related to telecommunications and the environmental sectors.   Saskatchewan has also earned an international reputation for sustainability and environmental solutions, establishing a clean energy technology sector that boasts world class technologies in soil and ground water remediation, water and wastewater management, renewable energies (e.g. wind, solar, biomass, bio-fuels) and recycling-related technology.  This sector thrives on the tremendous advantage provided by the solid institutional infrastructure of Saskatchewan’s laboratories and R&D facilities.