Missouri Connects2Canada

Canada's Representation	By the Numbers	Academics	Business and Trade	Automotive	Travel	Sports and Entertainment	Science and Technology	News

Click here to get the latest Canada-Missouri State Trade Fact Sheet

Did You Know?

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By the Numbers: Canadians and Friends of Canada in Missouri

• According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 6,215 Missouri residents were born in Canada.
• There are 135 Connect2Canada members in Missouri with concentrations in the St. Louis, Kansas City, and Columbia areas.
• Connect2Canada members in Missouri are sharing their stories at http://www.connect2canada.com/readstories . Click here to share your story and connect with other Canadians and friends of Canada in the "Show Me" state.
• If there is a Canada Group in Missouri, let us know and we will highlight it on the C2C Canadian Groups and Clubs page. If you want to start a Canadian group in Missouri, one option is to create a Yahoo Group, as many other Canadian groups have done. To start a group, you need to sign into Yahoo. Not a Yahoo member? Signing up is quick and easy, just click here. To start, just visit the Yahoo Group website and select a group category, such as "Cultures Community: Groups: Expatriates".

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Canada’s Representation to Missouri

• Canada is represented in Missouri by the Consulate General in Chicago whose consular territory also encompasses Illinois, Wisconsin and parts of western Iowa and northwestern Indiana.
• Georges Rioux was appointed Consul General of Canada in Chicago in August of 2006. His previous postings include Washington, DC, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. More: http://geo.international.gc.ca/can-am/chicago/home_page/biography-en.asp
• John W. Bachmann, managing partner at Edward Jones in St. Louis, is Canada's Honorary Consul to Missouri (http://www.uschamber.com/about/board/bachmann.htm )

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Focus on Canada: Canadian Studies at the University of Missouri

The Canadian Studies Program at the University of Missouri is a new, growing, and vibrant organization intended to promote awareness of Canada throughout the university, state, and region. U of MO offers a minor in Canadian Studies with course in Canadian politics, geography, anthropology and literature and hosts an annual Canada Days celebration in February. Professor James Endersby coordinates the Canadian Studies Program and joins 15 other dedicated U of MO faculty who teach on Canada. In partnership with Truman State University, the University of Missouri offers a summer study abroad program for its students in Canada at l'Universite de Quebec a Chicoutimi. A student exchange with the University of New Brunswick is also in place.

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Missouri Business with Major Operations in Canada: From Bass Pro, Inc. to Viasystems, Inc., MO businesses flourish throughout Canada

• H&R Block (Kansas City) has nearly 600 locations in Canada.
  
• Brown Shoes (St. Louis) has over 125 locations in Canada.
  
• The Crawford Group (St. Louis) has nearly 200 Enterprise Rent-a-Car locations in Canada.
  
• Edward Jones (St. Louis) has over 550 financial services offices in Canada.
  

Other Companies:

• Bass Pro, Inc. (Springfield)
  
• Brown Shoe Company, Inc. (St. Louis)
  
• Cable Design Technologies Corporation (St. Louis)
  
• CPI Corp. (St. Louis)
  
• CPC Logistics, Inc. (Chesterfield)
  
• The Crawford Group Inc (St. Louis)
  
• D S T Systems, Inc. (Kansas City)
  
• Graybar Electric Company, Inc. (St. Louis)
  
• Hallmark Cards, Incorporated (Kansas City)
  
• Harbison Corporation (St. Louis)
  
• H&R Block, Inc. (Kansas City)
  
• HOK Group, Inc. (St. Louis)
  
• IDX Corporation (Earth City)
  
• Edward Jones Financial Companies (St. Louis)
  
• Emerson Electric Co (St. Louis)
  
• Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (Carthage)
  
• Maritz Inc. (Fenton)
  
• Monsanto Company (St. Louis)
  
• Spartech Corporation (St. Louis)
  
• Viasystems Group, Inc. (St. Louis)

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Canadian Business with Major Operations in Missouri:

• 162 Canadian-owned companies in Missouri employ 6,278 people.
• Alcan Inc. of Canada employs over 800 people in Missouri.
• The Royal Bank of Canada employs over 700 people in Missouri.
• Ameriwood Industries (owned by Dorel Industries based in Westmount, Quebec) employs nearly 600 people in Wright City, MO.
• Intier Automotive Seating Systems (owned by Magna International based in Aurora, Ontario) employs nearly 500 people in Excelsior Springs and Pacific, MO

Other Companies:

• Alcan Inc (Flat River, Sedalia, Joplin, St. Louis)
• Royal Bank of Canada (Kansas City, St. Louis, Chesterfield, Arnold, Saint Charles, Imperial, Lees Summit)
• Dorel Industries Inc (Ameriwood Industries, Inc, Wright City)
• Magna International Inc (Intier Automotive Seating Systems, Excelsior Springs and Pacific)
• Woodbridge Foam Corporation (Saint Peters and Kansas City)
• Quebecor Inc (Maryland Heights and Saint Charles)
• Groupe Canam Inc (Manac Trailers, Oran and CANAM Steel, Washington)
• Polytainers Inc (Lees Summit)
• MDC Partners Inc. (Accent Marketing Services, Kansas City)
• Vitran Corporation Inc (St. Louis, Cape Girardeau, Kansas City, Joplin, Springfield)

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Wheeling and Dealing: Missouri's exports to Canada were dominated by automobiles, trucks and motor vehicle parts in 2006

• Missouri auto factories sold $1.3 billion in automobiles—the state's leading export—to Canada, and sales of trucks bound for Canada topped $900 million
• Missouri's transportation sales comprised 59% of the state's total exports to Canada.
• The Wood River Illinois ConocoPhillips refinery (50% owned by Alberta-based EnCana) supplies St Louis with 50% of its petroleum.
• Ford Escape Hybrids and Ford F-150s built at Ford's Kansas City Assembly Plant move along I-55 between Missouri and Windsor and head north to Canada.

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Getting to Canada: In 2006, Missouri residents made 120,500 visits to Canada

• Kansas City to Winnipeg, Manitoba by car is 816 miles (12 hours) up I-29
• St. Louis to Windsor, Ontario by car is 550 miles (8 ½ hours) up I-55
• St. Louis to Toronto, Ontario on Air Canada (2 hours direct)
• Kansas City to Winnipeg on Northwest Airlines (3 ½ hours)
• St. Louis to Montreal, Québec on Air Canada (4 hours)
• St. Louis to Halifax, Nova Scotia on American Airlines (5 hours)
• Kansas City to Calgary, Alberta on Air Canada (5 hours)
• Kansas City to Vancouver, British Columbia on Air Canada (5 ½ hours)

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Blues, Cardinals, Rams and Chiefs: Canada-Missouri Pro Sports Connections

• 11 out of the 20 players on the St. Louis Blues 2006/07 roster hail from Canada.
• Dave McKay, first base coach for the St. Louis Cardinals, hails from Vancouver, BC, and was inducted into the Canadian National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001.
• St. Louis Rams defensive back OJ (Oshiomogho) Atogwe hails from Windsor, Ontario.
• Kansas City Chiefs long-snapper Jean-Philippe Darche is from Montreal, Quebec.
• Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Casey Printers enjoyed a three-year stint with the Canadian Football League’s British Columbia Lions before joining the Chiefs in 2006, and was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player of the Year in 2004.
• Toronto Blue Jays starting/relief pitcher Shaun Marcum hails from Kansas City, Missouri, and attended Southwest Missouri State.

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Tri-City Partnership: Life Sciences in Winnipeg, Kansas City and Monterrey

Missouri has benefited from activity centered around the I-35 corridor stretching from Winnipeg, Manitoba, through Kansas City, Missouri to Monterrey, Mexico. Capitalizing on relationships developed in the more traditional sectors of trade and transportation, these three cities have decided to work on another top priority: Life Sciences. The three regions have developed a tri-lateral agreement and will be collaborating on clinical trials, animal health, and functional foods. The tri-lateral partnership is presently developing a framework for a project focused in area of functional foods.

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Missouri-Canada News:

Canada-Based Vari-Form to Open Manufacturing Facility in Liberty, Missouri
LIBERTY, Mo. (June 21, 2007) Canadian-based Vari-Form Inc. announced that it selected a site in Liberty, Mo., for its first U.S. manufacturing facility. The company will invest $8 million and create more than 40 manufacturing jobs for area residents. Vari-Form originated a new technology called structural automotive hydroforming. As the industry leader, Vari-From produces more than 7 million parts worldwide for the automotive industry every year. Currently, manufacturing facilities exist in Strathroy, Ontario and Reynosa, Mexico. Read More.

Toronto-Headquartered Vitran Opens Freight Terminal in Cape Girardeau, MO
June 19, 2007 ~ Southeast Missourian. A freight service has begun doing its own trucking in Cape Girardeau. Vitran Express is a less-than-truckload service, meaning its shipments average 1,600 pounds. Vitran offers LTT service throughout Canada and the United States, using its own infrastructure and exclusive partners. The company assists people who have distribution warehouses in the area, picking up and delivering raw material or finished products weighing 100 to 22,000 pounds. It specializes in next-day delivery within a primary service area of 20 states in the Midwest, and two- and three-day delivery throughout the rest of the country. Vitran is headquartered in Toronto and is the largest LTT carrier in Canada. Read More.

Did We Miss Anything?

If there are other ways that Missouri connects to Canada, please let us know. We appreciate hearing from you.

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