Mr. Vivian Doyle-Kelly:

On behalf of the Ireland-Canada Chamber of Commerce in Montreal, I thank the committee for the invitation to speak here today. It is an honour for our organisation to be afforded this opportunity to address this important committee.

We were formed in 1991 and we are dedicated to fostering close commercial relations between Quebec, the largest of Canada’s ten provinces, and the island of Ireland. We offer support and networking opportunities for Irish companies through seminars, business lunches, social events and expert lectures. We collaborate with groups such as Enterprise Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland - we are conscious of a one-island economy - to make the most of business opportunities that exist. We maintain close links with the Industrial Development Authority, IDA, Tourism Ireland, the Ireland Canada Business Association, which is our sister organisation in Dublin, and other Ireland-Canada chambers across Canada.

As it happens, there has never been a better time for Irish and Quebec businesses to work together. The United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union is, we believe, disastrous for Great Britain and not great for anybody. However, it represents an opportunity for Ireland as it relates to Quebec and the rest of Canada. Put simply, we think Ireland is the perfect location for Quebec businesses to set up their European headquarters.

For us in Quebec and for you in Ireland, the advantages of collaboration on trade are clear. The two economies have many similarities; both are known for their warm welcome and strong entrepreneurial spirit. Quebec’s affluent, high-tech industrial society has a can-do attitude very similar to Ireland. We are both also strong in a number of key industries, including digital technologies, financial services, fintech, aviation, construction, engineering, education, life sciences and digital health – the list goes on.

Canada’s leaders have worked hard to make the country a favourable environment, resulting in the development of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, CETA, between Canada and Europe, which is one of the most comprehensive tariff reduction packages ever achieved in an EU free trade agreement. Since its provisional application in 2017, Irish companies working with the Canadian market have enjoyed the elimination of 98.6% of all Canadian tariff lines, as well as opening, as was referenced, the Canadian services market to Irish firms.

In recent years, dozens of Irish companies have been operating successfully in the Quebec market, creating significant employment in the process. Some Irish enterprises that are successfully doing business in the Quebec market include Multihog, SportLoMo, Beacon Health, Kingspan, Keenan, Samco, Prodig, Combilift, Aerogen and Vybe. Keywords Studios and Aer Rianta International are Ireland’s largest employers in Montreal. We believe there is room for much more. Likewise, Quebec enterprises have found a natural home in Ireland with the range of free supports and services for all Canadian companies to help them set up offices in Ireland.

Montreal has a foot in both camps. On one hand, the city is the fifth most rapidly growing metropolitan area in all of North America. We are less than an hour’s drive from the US border. We are six hours' drive from midtown Manhattan and five hours from downtown Boston. On the other hand, it is a truly bilingual marketplace, with French and English being spoken fluently by the majority of people in Montreal, making it an attractive location for European and Francophone countries around the world that appreciate the diverse and outward-looking business mentality found in Quebec. That approach has led to more than 70 international agencies setting up headquarters in Montreal, including civil aviation bodies like the International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO, International Air Transport Association, IATA, and the International Business Aviation Council. In addition, the World Anti-Doping Agency and no fewer than five United Nations agencies have headquarters in Montreal.

Quebec is a world leader in AI, optics-photonics research and visual effects, VFX, development, which is why Google, Microsoft and Meta have chosen Montreal for their research and development centres. Quebec is also a hub for metal transportation, quantum science, mining and the aerospace industry. Many large players in the aerospace industry are permanently ensconced in Quebec, including Bombardier, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce, Bell Helicopter, Lockheed Martin, Thales and STELIA Aerospace, which is the manufacturing subsidiary of Airbus. This generates a long list of suppliers and subcontractors in this economic ecosystem.

With the lowest energy costs in all of North America, Quebec draws many large-power customers, including data centres and other tech-based enterprises. In all, our industries enjoy about a 25% operating cost advantage over others in Canada and North America. Furthermore, Montreal’s highly educated population of 4.3 million provides a ready professional bank of talent for incoming enterprises - managerial, professional and science, technology, engineering and mathematics, STEM.

With this in mind, it is our view that it is time for the Irish Government to establish a full-time professional consulate general in Montreal for the province of Quebec. While currently Quebec represents almost a quarter of Canada’s population and more than 20% of the Canadian economy, there is no diplomatic or trade representation. If Quebec was an independent nation, it would have the 28th largest economy in the world. As a result, other European nations have been quick to set up permanent consulates and trade missions in Montreal. Putting it bluntly, we feel Ireland is missing out.

The establishment of an Enterprise Ireland office in Montreal in the spring of 2021 was a positive development. There was a very successful trade mission organised later that year that saw the Minister of State with responsibility for trade promotion, digital and company regulation come to the city. Enterprise Ireland provides a targeted, one-on-one approach for Irish businesses looking to thrive in Quebec. This strategy would benefit exponentially if the Government of Ireland were to provide authorised local representation that would be able to interface directly with the provincial government and other Quebec agencies on an equal and official footing. In effect, this would set Enterprise Ireland up for success, given the strong alignment between Enterprise Ireland's targets and Quebec's established industries.

From a cultural and consular point of view, the appointment would also make clear sense. Since the early 19th century, Quebec has been the first point of entry in North America for hundreds of thousands of Irish, with almost half of all Quebeckers, both Anglophone and Francophone, able to claim Irish ancestry. St. Patrick’s Society of Montreal was founded in 1834 and St. Patrick’s Basilica was consecrated in 1847, indicating there was already an established Irish population that was sufficiently wealthy to build its own cathedral. To this day, the flag of Montreal still proudly sports a shamrock. There is an active and growing Irish diaspora living in the province, helping to support more than a dozen Irish societies, as well as the vibrant school of Irish studies at Concordia University.

It is our understanding that several new Irish diplomatic missions will be launched in the near future and we believe that Montreal, Quebec needs to be one of them. This would build on the efforts of the highly respected and long-serving honorary consul, Dr. Michael Kenneally, who established the school of Irish studies in Concordia University, which now has more than 1,000 students taking Irish courses. Dr. Kenneally recently retired. For Ireland to have trade and diplomatic missions in Canada but not Quebec would be like setting up in the United States but ignoring New York and large economic hubs. In addition, we believe it would be gratefully received by hundreds of enterprises of all sizes on both sides of the Atlantic.

On behalf of the chamber and Irish-Quebec businesses, I thank members for their attention and kind invitation to speak. I wish them every success in the continuation of this committee. If the opportunity arises, we would love members of the committee to visit us in Montreal.