Governor's Trade Mission to Canada
July 10-13, 2001
In July 2001, Governor Jesse Ventura led a state delegation to Toronto and Winnipeg on his second business development mission to Canada, Minnesota’s largest trading partner. The Governor's last official visit to Canada was in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in September 2000.
No country is more important to Minnesota than Canada, our number one trading partner," said Governor Ventura. "State exports to Canada topped $2.4 billion in 2000 - that's more than we sold to our next three largest trading partners combined. We value the strong ties we have with Canada, and we want to make them even stronger."
The Governor’s mission, which attracted extensive media coverage in both cities, focused on Minnesota's trade, business development, and tourism relationships with Canada. In Toronto and Winnipeg, he met with business and government leaders, spoke at several public events and attended receptions focusing on the travel and tourism industry, where he joined Northwest Airlines in announcing free unlimited stopovers this fall in Minnesota on flights from Canada to all U.S. destinations.
In Toronto, Governor Ventura met Minnesota exhibitors and addressed the general session at the COMDEX information technology trade show. The Governor was also the keynote speaker at a breakfast hosted by the Toronto Board of Trade.
In Winnipeg, Governor Ventura and Manitoba Premier Gary Doer renewed the Minnesota-Manitoba cooperative agreement on trade, tourism and other bilateral issues, and created a new agreement on protecting water resources on both sides of the border. Premier Does joined the Governor on his weekly radio show, broadcast from "The Forks" along the Red River, and carried live on CJOB Radio in Winnipeg. He also spoke at a luncheon hosted by area chambers of commerce and the Province of Manitoba, and witnessed the signing of an informal agreement between the Winnipeg Art Gallery and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.