Hundreds of leaders in the manufacturing industry filled the London Convention Centre early Thursday morning for Manufacturing Matters 2017.
The annual conference is organized by the London Economic Development Corporation and is designed to demonstrate the importance of manufacturing in Canada.
Thursday’s events kicked off with keynote speaker Ray Tanguay, the automotive adviser to both the federal and provincial governments, as well as the former chair of Toyota Canada.
During his speech, Tanguay touched on NAFTA, the importance of staying competitive, and the future of manufacturing in Canada.
While Tanguay acknowledges Canada will never be able to compete with the low wages countries like Mexico offer, he says there are other ways to attract and keep companies in Canada.
His recommendation for the federal government: think long term.
Tanguay says Canada has been complacent for too long.
“If we don’t compete in North America then cars are going to come from other regions of the world, and then we have no contribution. That’s why I talk about manufacturing matters. It makes a big impact on our economy, on the GDP, and on our communities.”
Comments