There are many reasons for Italian businesses to expand to Canada, especially in the Montreal and Toronto markets.
First, Canada is one of the world’s wealthiest nations with a high standard of living and quality of life. Its highly developed mixed economy is the 10th largest GDP in the world by nominal. And earlier this year, its economy outdid second-quarter expectations by a large margin, with growth at an annual rate of 4.5%, giving Canada its best start to a calendar year since 2002.
In taking advantage of this economy, not only are Toronto and Montreal natural markets for Italian businesses – as the country’s two largest cities – but they are home to a significant population of Canadians of Italian ancestry. This makes it in your best interest to expand overseas and penetrate the Canadian market.
According to the 2011 census, nearly 1,500,000 Canadian residents are of Italian background. The majority live in Ontario, almost 900,000, while more than 300,000 live in Quebec. About 260,250 Italian Canadians are Italian-born immigrants, with 407,485 speaking Italian as their mother tongue.
To take advantage of this natural market, here are five ways to grow your business in Canada....