Canada considers Denver for consulate Ally to the north is state’s top trading partner

Canada may open a consulate general in Denver this year to promote trade with Colorado, already worth $2 billion a year.

Denver is in the "top tier" of cities being considered for a new consulate or upgrade of an existing office, said Christopher Thomson, Canada’s Minneapolis-based consul general.

By Greg Griffin
Denver Post Business Writer

A decision is expected within two months, said Thomson, who finishes a two-day visit to Denver today to speak with business leaders and Gov. Bill Owens.

Owens and Denver Mayor Wellington Webb each have sent letters to the Canadian government supporting a new consulate, Thomson said. The Canada-Colorado Association, a group of about 500 Canadian businesspeople in Colorado, also has lobbied for the office.

Canada has 14 consular offices in the United States. Denver, which had a small Canadian trade office during the early 1990s, is one of the largest U.S. cities without a Canadian consulate.

"There are a lot of Canadian companies that are very active in Colorado at the moment, and this has attracted attention in Ottawa," Thomson said. "We would like to be in a position to encourage cooperation between Colorado and Canada. There’s nothing like being on the ground to do that."

Thomson oversees consular activities for Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado. A Denver-based consul could oversee a Mountain State group including Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and Montana, Thomson said.

Consular offices assist foreign nationals living in the U.S. with immigration issues and visas, as well as promoting cross-border trade in both directions. They typically have a staff dedicated to business affairs, providing information on potential markets, contacts, investment opportunities and legal and tax issues.

Thomson estimated a new consulate could cost roughly $2 million to start up, with an additional annual budget of $1 million to $2 million. The biggest obstacle to opening new Canadian consulates in the U.S. will be funding, he said.

More than 20 countries have consuls in Denver, though only four – Japan, Mexico, Peru and the United Kingdom – have permanent, full-time consuls with staffing and wide-ranging authority.

Canada is Colorado’s and the United States’ largest trading partner, passing Japan in 2000. In 2001, Colorado exported $638 million in goods to Canada, with computers and meat topping the list. During that time it imported $1.24 billion, topped by live animals, newsprint and softwood lumber.

During the first nine months of 2002, Colorado’s exports to Canada rose 26 percent over 2001, more than to any other country, said Laurel Alpert, a trade specialist with the state’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade. Those numbers do not include service sales or direct investment.

Canadian companies employ 14,000 Coloradans, and about as many Canadians live in Colorado, she said. More than 150,000 Canadians visited Colorado in 2001, spending $45 million. More than 240,000 Coloradans visited Canada and spent $104 million.

Locally active Canadian businesses include PCL Construction, CAE Inc., which operates a flight-training facility near Denver International Airport, and Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Co. Colorado-based companies operating in Canada include Omnitrax, which owns short-line railways and the Port of Churchill in Manitoba, StarTek and Loveland-based Hach Co., a maker of water-testing kits.

Alpert said the state’s environmental, aerospace, medical, biotechnology and electronics industries all are growing sales and operations in Canada.

"We’re supportive of the idea of increased representation," Alpert said. "It provides a greater opportunity for cross-border ties in business as well as in joint research and other activities."

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