Full Marks for New Offices

Even Google isn’t sure who first uttered the quote “Nothing Happens Until Someone Makes a Sale” but it is generally considered foundational wisdom in the world of commerce. Customers, at the end of the day, drive everything and finding new ones is important work.

Against that backdrop, the provincial government deserves full marks for moving forward with its plan to open new trade or representative offices in the Pacific Rim. The government announced it has staffed new offices in Tokyo, Singapore and Delhi while making a new appointment in our Shanghai office.

As a province that relies more heavily on trade than any other for its economic well-being, the idea of having a full-time presence in key markets would seem like a no-brainer but we’ve wrestled with this one. In the past we’ve had offices in Minneapolis, London and Hong Kong but all were staffed by former cabinet ministers. They were not nearly as effective as the New York shop which was led by a professional trader.

Now we will have four offices staffed by professionals who can pave the way for Saskatchewan entrepreneurs looking for new markets or suppliers.