Canada's chief trade commissioner is heading to Kelowna to help businesses look beyond the United States, as companies assess the challenges of finding new export markets and the risks of relying heavily on one trading partner.
Sara Wilshaw is scheduled to address business owners next Tuesday at the Innovation Centre in downtown Kelowna. Her visit will focus on practical steps for entering markets in the Indo-Pacific region and the European Union, according to information from the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, which is hosting the event.
The session will also include representatives from the Business Development Bank of Canada, Export Development Canada and Agri-Food Canada. Those organizations are expected to outline federal assistance available to businesses that want to broaden their international customer base.
Small firms face a long list of barriers
For smaller companies, export diversification is not simply a question of finding customers in another country. The chamber says businesses must contend with foreign regulations, logistics, currency issues, costs and the challenge of identifying dependable partners.
“A small business that wants to reach a new market faces real obstacles: regulation, reliable partners, logistics, currency, and cost.”
The chamber says most small businesses do not have dedicated trade departments. Instead, international expansion is often handled by an owner and a small staff already managing day-to-day operations. That leaves limited time to research markets, understand rules and build the relationships needed to sell abroad.
The Kelowna event is therefore intended to connect businesses with federal trade resources as well as officials who can explain how those resources work. The visit is also a sign of the growing importance of export planning for companies that want to reduce their dependence on the U.S. market.
Regional exports remain concentrated in the U.S.
Data cited by the chamber shows the scale of that dependence in the Central Okanagan. Almost 300 Kelowna companies export goods to the United States each year, with the combined value of those exports reaching $385 million.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Kelowna companies exporting to the U.S. | Almost 300 |
| Annual value of those exports | $385 million |
| Share of Central Okanagan international exports going to the U.S. | 83 per cent |
| Cross-border trade per person in the region | $1,559 |
The figures come from a cross-country survey conducted by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce last year. The same survey ranked Kelowna 19th among 41 Canadian cities for vulnerability to economic disruption resulting from tariffs on Canadian-made goods imposed by the United States.
Exporters will share their experience
The event will include two Kelowna businesses with established international markets. Tony Weller of AEM, an aerospace and electronics manufacturer, and Jill White of Waterplay, a designer and manufacturer of aquatic play structures, are scheduled to speak.
Their participation gives local companies an opportunity to hear from businesses that already sell beyond Canada. It also places the federal advice in a practical setting: market diversification requires not only government programs, but decisions about products, partners, transportation and the cost of serving customers abroad.
- Wilshaw will discuss approaches to entering markets outside the United States.
- Federal agencies will explain available financing and trade support.
- Local exporters will provide business perspectives on international markets.
The morning session is scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to noon. For Canadian businesses, the broader message is that export diversification can be valuable but is not automatic. Companies must overcome several operational and financial hurdles before a new market becomes a reliable source of revenue.
