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Canada’s West Coast Advantage: a Case for Stronger Estonia–British Columbia Links

On May 7th, I had the pleasure of representing Estonia’s e-residency program at Go Global: Europe Connect, hosted by the World Trade Centre Vancouver. This in-person market session brought together officials, diplomats, and businesspeople from Poland, Czechia, Estonia, and Romania to explore trade and investment opportunities between Canada and Europe. A few days later, Web Summit Vancouver drew over 20,000 founders, investors, and innovators from more than one hundred countries to the same city.

Kadi Metsandi and Ingrid Soide at Web Summit Vancouver

Together, the two events underscored a simple point: British Columbia is a serious global player, and the relationship between B.C. and Europe, Estonia included, remains far less developed than it could be.

What the May 7th room told us

Go Global was energizing because of its honesty. The room was full, representatives from four Central and Eastern European countries sat alongside B.C. business owners, trade advisors, and the WTC Vancouver network, and what emerged was a genuine exchange of on-the-ground perspective.

B.C.’s strengths in AI, quantum, clean technology, life sciences, and defence are still under-recognized by many Central and Eastern European partners. The opportunity is mutual.

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