Manitoba mission makes French connection

Carla Coyle likes her market diversification talks with a side of French cheese.

The entrepreneur joined a fleet of Manitoba businesses and organizations attending the World Trade Centers Association’s flagship event earlier this month. The inaugural Manitoba team shared a goal: promote the Canadian province to a swath of countries.

Its trip landed amid an unstable period in Canada-United States relations and increased calls to do business elsewhere.

“I just thought, ‘This is going to be an amazing event for exporting,’” said the president of C2 Custom Furnishings.

She stayed in Marseille, France, during the association’s Global Business Forum, which ran April 6-9. More than 50 countries were represented; upwards of 300 attendees registered. World Trade Centers facilitate international trade.

In the past, the annual event was solely a meeting for World Trade Centers organizations. The last two years have brought the addition of a business-to-business networking component, the head of World Trade Centre Winnipeg explained.

Coyle has envisioned exporting to France. She sells bed bug-resistant bed frames. Companies within the European country might be interested, she figured.

So when Coyle heard about the forum through World Trade Centre Winnipeg, she booked a plane ticket. Before she knew it, she was speaking on a panel and networking with foreign distributors and lawyers.

“In my opinion, it was a huge success,” Coyle said, adding she’s cemented French connections. “It also helps ease any tensions on the mind about any possible (United States) tariffs.”

C2 Custom Furnishings hasn’t yet been directly impacted by tariffs. Still, news from the south added to Coyle’s decision to meet French representatives, she said.

Staff from WSP and FA Allure, a Manitoba fashion design startup, also made the trip. World Trade Centre Winnipeg, CentrePort Canada, Economic Development Winnipeg, Rural Manitoba Economic Development Corp., Manitoba Environmental Industries Association and CDEM rounded out the team.

Andre Brin, chief executive of World Trade Centre Winnipeg, hopes to expand the crew next year.

“(This) was a first big test for us, but I think it was really positive,” he said. “Really good from a connection standpoint, networking standpoint, getting (other World Trade Centers) to know Manitoba.”

It was Brin’s third time at the international association’s Global Business Forum. Last year in India, he observed other countries’ businesses participating in the new business-to-business format, where firms and World Trade Centers representatives book in advance to meet.

“In many cases, it’s a first meeting and a first exchange,” he said. “The hope is somewhere down the road it leads to an actual business collaboration.”

World Trade Centre Winnipeg decided to corral a group for 2025. Economic Development Winnipeg signed on — it wanted to form inroads with countries it’s been engaging.

France, and the European Union overall, have been markets Economic Development Winnipeg has focused on for years.

“Those (World Trade Centers) work with their respective business communities,” said Alberto Velasco-Acosta, EDW vice-president international.

“Sometimes, (companies) want to expand their operations to places like Canada. We want to be one of the first partners that those World Trade Centers can recommend to their businesses.”

An Economic Development Winnipeg employee collected contacts from World Trade Centers in France, India, Japan and South Korea, among other locales, Velasco-Acosta relayed.

Countries seemed interested in Canada’s collection of free trade agreements and how those deals would sustain local business development. Economic Development Winnipeg has found other countries appreciate Canada upholding its agreements, given the tariffs and threats flying out of the United States, Velasco-Acosta said.

Value alignment between Europe and Canada, and stability in the North American country, have become draws for potential partners, Velasco-Acosta said. Economic Development Winnipeg promoted Manitoba’s capital as centrally located, diverse and equipped with green energy.

The World Trade Centers Association’s annual event had an added level of importance because of instability stemming from U.S. decisions, Brin agreed.

“I think we all want to continue to do business with the U.S.,” he said. “But if we’re able to diversify our markets … all that’s going to do is make us stronger, more resilient, more competitive.”

The World Trade Center network can be activated more within Manitoba, Brin added.

He underscored all World Trade Centers — including U.S. organizations — want “trade to be as free as possible.”

He’s planning to bring a Manitoba delegation to next year’s association event in Philadelphia. It’s important to go and build state-to-province relationships, he added.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com