Portuguese-Canadian Chamber of commerce in Canada moves to Toronto

The Canada-Portugal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, currently located in the Canadian province of Alberta, is to move headquarters to Toronto “widening its horizons” the organisation told the Lusa news agency on Saturday.

“As time has passed, Canada’s economy has recovered. Around 90% of companies listed on the Canadian stock market are based in Toronto. It makes sense that we should now have a presence in the capital of Ontario”, said the Honorary Consul of Portugal, Aurélio Fernandes.
Since the 1990s the chamber has been based in Alberta, but the expansion to Toronto will “widen horizons”.
In 1990, Aurélio Fernandes created and developed the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Alberta in partnership with the Portuguese consulate in Vancouver and the Portuguese embassy in Ottawa.
“Now one of the chamber’s main priorities will be taking part in industry fairs, not just large companies, but also SMEs for which all necessary support will be provided”, he said.
In addition, the exploration of lithium in Portugal could be an attractive option given Canadian interest in the ore because of its uses in modern technology and batteries.
“Joining forces creates strength and now with a wider range of features, we have more ideas and can pursue more projects”, said Aurélio Fernandes.
The Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) between the European Union and Canada, which has been provisionally in force since 2017 “also should be explored”.
“Currently, we have a representation in Quebec, with the largest number of directors being located in the Toronto area. We also have representatives in Manitoba, Ontario and British Columbia”, he added.
Canada officially has around 40 million inhabitants of which 448,395 are of Portuguese origin according to a census from 2021.

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