April 11, 2001
Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, announced today that he will take part in Team Canada Atlantic’s first-ever trade mission to Atlanta, Georgia on May 13-16, 2001. The Prime Minister will join a delegation of Atlantic Canadian companies and the four Atlantic Premiers: Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Roger Grimes, Prince Edward Island Premier Pat Binns, Nova Scotia Premier John Hamm, and New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord. International Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew, Industry Minister Brian Tobin and Minister of State for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency Robert Thibault will also represent the Government of Canada.  The Prime Minister will take part in Team Canada Atlantic events on May 13-14.

"The Team Canada Atlantic Trade Mission to Atlanta represents another step in our export development strategy by raising our profile exposure in a marketplace with promising opportunities for Atlantic Canadian business interests," said the Prime Minister. "Team Canada Atlantic’s missions to New England over the past three years have generated almost $7 million in direct sales for Atlantic companies. We are extremely optimistic that the mission to Atlanta will be equally successful and assist in developing a stronger foothold in the dynamic Southern U.S. market place."

The objective of the Atlanta Trade Mission, the fourth in the Team Canada Atlantic initiative, is to facilitate new business partnerships, increase trade and investment, and build strategic alliances between businesses in Atlantic Canada and the Southern United States. Atlantic Canadian business participants will focus primarily on opportunities in information technologies, value-added food products, light manufacturing, value-added wood products, and life sciences.

The Southern U.S. has been the fastest growing market in the United States over the past six years. In 1999, Canada’s exports to the region exceeded $22 billion, approximately three times Canada's exports to Japan. Atlanta, headquarters to most of the Fortune 500 companies based in the Southeast, is the economic hub of the region with opportunities for trade existing in virtually every sector.

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PMO Press Office: (613) 957-5555