Official Google Canada Blog: Digital Economy

The web is a growth engine for Canadian businesses

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Canadians are constantly connected. Whether we’re streaming a new playlist, sharing a photo with family, or checking in with friends, the web plays an integral role in our daily lives. With a multicultural population and a culture that encourages Canadians to embrace their global connections, we also have the right conditions in place for our businesses to grow beyond our geographic borders.
For Canadian businesses, the web is a powerful tool to reach potential customers both at home and abroad. Thanks to the Internet and the emergence of new business platforms, even the smallest company can now adopt and afford technology that would have been the envy of a large corporation 15 years ago. More and more, the evidence shows that the Internet will contribute a growing share of Canada’s economic growth and that businesses that embrace online tools do better. Take Manitobah Mukluks for example, an Aboriginal-owned company that’s been selling its traditional mukluks and moccasins in Canada for more than 15 years. In 2012, it began experimenting with online marketing through Google AdWords and launched an e-commerce site using Shopify to broaden its reach. Today, Manitobah Mukluks sells to over 45 countries through its online store and over one third of website visits come from abroad.

Rosa at Manitobah Mukluks shows off her finished product
Currently in Canada, one in 10 small businesses are exporters, but many more businesses could use the web to reach a wider pool of customers and markets.
That’s why today we’re launching a Canadian Export Map to help raise awareness of the export opportunities available to our home-grown businesses. Available at g.co/exportcanada, this map compiles data from the top 10 export countries for Canadian businesses to help them market their goods and services more effectively. The map includes the most important holidays and events in each country and insights into the web and mobile usage in each market. Our export site also shares stories of Canadian businesses, including Vancouver Film School, Manitobah Mukluks, and 1-800-GOT-JUNK, that have successfully expanded their customer base to global markets using the web.

A sample page from the new Google Canada Export Map, available at g.co/exportcanada
“Toronto’s entrepreneurs are truly global - they are exporting to markets all over the world and that’s why we are helping to secure market access for their goods and services,” said Minister of State Maxime Bernier. “Our government is opening the European and South Korean markets and we will continue to give Canada’s small and medium-sized enterprises a priority on trade missions abroad.”
“Toronto has become a global leader in technology development, and as mayor, I am committed to growing the industry, which provides jobs of the future. Companies like Google Canada choose to locate themselves in Toronto because of our diverse and talented workforce, and today, we are seeing the expansion of an exciting new program that will help businesses market themselves internationally,” said Toronto Mayor John Tory. “As one of North America’s great cities, I want Toronto to lead from the front of the pack as a future-ready and globally integrated city.”
A recent study from Boston Consulting revealed that small businesses that embrace the web are almost 50 per cent more likely to sell their products and services outside their region. All kinds of businesses, from the largest e-commerce sites to the smallest local businesses, are using the web to power their sales to markets around the world. Today, every business can be a digital business that takes advantage of the 2.5 billion consumers online.
At Google Canada, we’re working to help small businesses to make the most of the digital single market opportunity. And we can’t wait to see how Canadian businesses make the web work for them, and where their export journey takes them.Posted by Sam Sebastian, Country Manager, Google Canada

Celebrating Canada’s 2014 eTown Winners

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

A few months ago I moved from Chicago to Canada to join the great team at Google Canada. In preparation for the big move, I used the web for everything from researching local real estate agents, to comparing local schools for my kids, to investigating where to get the perfect cup of coffee in my new neighbourhood. (Moving requires a lot of coffee!)

Like me, people everywhere use the Internet to discover the best of what’s around the corner or around the world. One of the most exciting things about the web is its ability to help small and medium-sized businesses connect with customers and grow.

Today we’re announcing the winners of our 2014 Canada eTown Awards, which range from rural, seaside communities to popular resort towns. In each of these ‘digital capitals,’ small businesses are using the web to grow and thrive in today’s increasingly connected world, and to contribute to the future economic growth of the country. In fact, according to the Boston Consulting Group, small and medium sized businesses with a web strategy experience revenue growth up to 22% higher compared to those who do not.

Take Whistler-based Superfly Ziplines as an example. The adventure company offers backcountry zipline and treetop courses to thrill-seeking visitors from Canada and around the world. However, Superfly had a problem: tourists were only learning about their services once they had arrived in Whistler, and at that point it was often too late for tourists to add Superfly to their trip itinerary. By developing a robust website, including dramatic video of their actual zipline and treetop courses, and investing in online advertising, Superfly succeeded in securing more reservations before visitors even touched down in the resort town - to the tune of an additional 3,200 visitors to their website in July 2014 alone.

We worked with independent research firm IPSOS to analyze the online strength of local businesses in cities and towns across Canada, and we’re proud to recognize five great Canadian communities with a 2014 Google eTown Award. These towns are receiving this award because of stories like Superfly Ziplines and other small businesses like Discover Banff Tours, Chester Playhouse, Clinique Vétérinaire Rosemère and from my new, adopted hometown of Oakville, Ontario, Never Grow Up and Trafalgar Village Dental.

2014 Google eTown Award Winners

Banff, Alberta

Chester, Nova Scotia

Oakville, Ontario

Rosemère, Quebec

Whistler, British Columbia

Congratulations to this year’s eTown winners! I hope these towns are an inspiration to cities and businesses everywhere of what can be accomplished by embracing the web.

Posted by Sam Sebastian, Managing Director, Google Canada

Charting Canada’s Digital Future

Friday, April 4, 2014

At Google Canada, we see the impact digital technology can have in the everyday lives of Canadians. As smartphones and high speed Internet have become available in communities across the country, Canadians have jumped at the chance to record and share their stories, consume online content and even dabble in some online shopping. Canadians are world leaders in terms of the number of webpages we visit monthly, we’re second only to the United Kingdom when it comes to watching online video, and more than half of Canadian consumers have used the Internet to order a good or service.

Still, many Canadians have been slow to recognize the potential for digital technology to transform our economy. For instance, according a recent study by L2, Canadian retailers are falling significantly behind on e-commerce and digital marketing, driving 68 percent of Canadian online shoppers to purchase from non-Canadian retailers and effectively ceding the Canadian market to international competitors.

Digital tools can accelerate innovation in every sector of our economy, help Canadian businesses develop new products, and access new markets at home and abroad.

Digital Canada 150, released today by the Government of Canada, makes it clear that Canada must embrace this digital challenge, much as our ancestors explored our great rivers, laid a ribbon of rail from sea to sea, and first established radio-communication across the country with the help of microwave towers.

With this strategy, the Government of Canada not only recognizes that digital technology is having an impact on every aspect of Canadian life, but argues for us to make a greater investment in digital adoption - as individuals, communities, businesses and a nation.

Digital Canada 150 also commits to supporting the collection, preservation and popularization of our cultural and historical heritage. We share this focus, making information available through Google Maps, the Cultural Institute, the Maps Gallery, and our partnerships with groups like Parks Canada.

We are a digital nation. Digital Canada 150 challenges us all to have a truly global impact by revolutionizing how we interact with our government, our customers and each other.

Posted by Chris O’Neill, Managing Director of Google Canada

Mapping creates jobs and drives global economic growth

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Originally posted on the Official Google Blog
Twenty years ago, we used paper maps and printed guides to help us navigate the world. Today, the most advanced digital mapping technologies—satellite imagery, GPS devices, location data and of course Google Maps—are much more accessible. This sea change in mapping technology is improving our lives and helping businesses realize untold efficiencies.
The transformation of the maps we use everyday is driven by a growing industry that creates jobs and economic growth globally. To present a clearer picture of the importance of the geo services industry, we commissioned studies from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Oxera. What we found is that maps make a big economic splash around the world.
In summary, the global geo services industry is valued at up to $270 billion per year and pays out $90 billion in wages. In the U.S., it employs more than 500,000 people and is worth $73 billion. The infographic below illustrates some examples of the many benefits of maps, whether it’s improving agriculture irrigation systems or helping emergency response teams save lives.

Click the image for a larger version
1.1 billion hours of travel time saved each year? That’s a lot of time. Also, consider UPS, which uses map technology to optimize delivery routes—saving 5.3 million miles and more than 650,000 gallons of fuel in 2011. And every eight seconds, a user hails a taxi with Hailo, which used maps and GPS to deliver more than 1 million journeys in London alone last year. Finally, Zipcar uses maps to connect more than 760,000 customers to a growing fleet of cars in locations around the world.
Because maps are such an integral part of how we live and do business, the list of examples goes on and on. That’s why it’s important we all understand the need to invest in the geo services industry so it continues to grow and drive the global economy. Investments can come from the public and private sectors in many forms—product innovation, support of open data policies, more geography education programs in schools and more.
We’re proud of the contributions that Google Maps and Earth, the Google Maps APIs and our Enterprise solutions have made to the geo services industry and to making maps more widely available, but there’s a long way to go. To learn more about the impact of the maps industry, see the full reports. Posted by Brian McClendon, VP Google Geo

Moving from your desktop to a four-screen world

Thursday, January 24, 2013

BNN’s Tony KellerHeadlinethis clip

Posted by Leslie Church, Google Canada

Embracing the Digital Economy - How Canada is Staying Connected

Friday, November 2, 2012

$4.2 trillion e-commerce

A Connected Canada: Leading the Digital Economy as Technology Transforms our World (November 5, 2012)

Shelley BroaderHon. Brad DuguidTawfik HammoudChris O’NeillEconomic Club of Canada
Posted by Leslie Church, Google Canada

Official Canada Blog

The web is a growth engine for Canadian businesses

Celebrating Canada’s 2014 eTown Winners

Charting Canada’s Digital Future

Mapping creates jobs and drives global economic growth

Moving from your desktop to a four-screen world

Embracing the Digital Economy - How Canada is Staying Connected

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