THUNDER BAY -- As U.S. consul general, Jim Dickmeyer would love to see more foreign companies investing in his home country.
But he also understands, at least when it comes to Canada, there’s an expectation jobs will flow the other direction.
The best way to make it happen on both sides of the border is to attract small and medium-size businesses.
That’s where the consul general can help, he said.
“Sometimes there is a lack of information and we can help with that,” Dickmeyer said Wednesday, taking a break from a one-on-one session with Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs. “We were just talking about small and medium-sized businesses.
“They often need some help if they’re going to go international.”
According to Dickmeyer, 95 per cent of U.S. companies don’t export, a number that’s slightly higher than Canada’s rate going the other direction.
“That’s because they’re smaller companies, they’re serving their communities and they’ve got enough business where they operate. But if there are opportunities that they can easily see for exporting … they would do it,” he said.
“Canada and the U.S. are the two greatest trading partners in the world. We do more commerce between us, so it’s exciting,” Hobbs added.
He’s hoping closer ties with the United States will one day lead to more manufacturing companies setting up shop in Thunder Bay.
“I’m going to call it a successful term if I see one manufacturing company of a good proportionate size coming to Canada,” Hobbs said.
“Because we are diversifying all the time with our medical sector, but we can’t rely on that to solely run our economy. We need to keep diversifying and bring new business.”
One topic the consul general touched on was the much maligned Ring of Fire development. Dickmeyer said anytime commodities are in the conversation, there will always be economic cycles.
But just because Cliffs Natural Resources appear to have pulled the plug on their stake in the mineral-rich development, the consul general said there are plenty of other players in the mix.
“I don’t think it necessarily illustrates the larger kinds of things of investment opportunities here. Clearly the Ring of Fire is a find of momentous proportions. So I think there probably no doubt it’s going to be developed. By whom and exactly when depends on movement of commodity prices and other kinds of issues,” Dickmeyer said.
“And I would love to see American companies up here developing that too.”
A healthy Canada, he said, means a healthy U.S. A.
“And we all recognize that,” Dickmeyer said.
