Georgia

Canada is Georgia’s top export market for goods and services 

Georgia is home to several leading manufacturers of agricultural and construction equipment, including Yanmar, Sany and Rome Plow Co. Nearly half of the products these and other companies export go to Canada. The state is also home to a Kia auto assembly plant and a clutch of leading aerospace manufacturers, including Airbus, Gulfstream, Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney.

Canada is also a top customer for Georgia’s service exports, including technology and software. The state has a growing technology hub, centered in the Atlanta area, which includes companies such as MailChimp, Vonage and Instacart. Visiting Canadian tourists also spent $110 million in the state in 2020.

Canada is an important source of input materials for local paper mills (pulp and papermaking fabrics), plastics manufacturers (ethylenes and PVC monofilaments) and builders (softwood lumber, oriented strand board and wooden windows).

Canadian-owned companies employed 35,200 Georgians in 2018. Among the leading Canadian employers in the state are Domtar (paper), Magna (auto parts), Interfor (lumber), Chemtrade (specialty chemicals), Hatch (engineering), LifeWorks (human resources consulting), Nutrien (fertilizer) and OpenText (software).

What our supporters are saying

“The bipartisan passage – and now signing – of the USMCA represents a promising, new era for fair trade between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.”

Governor Brian Kemp (R-GA), February 7, 2020

“This agreement gives every American the chance to compete in the world marketplace and is especially critical to Georgia’s Third District.”

Congressman Drew Ferguson, (R-GA-03), July 10, 2019

“This agreement will continue to facilitate commerce between Georgia and two of our most important trading partners. We believe this agreement will help Georgia farmers, business owners and workers.”

Santiago Marquez, former President and CEO of Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, January 2020

Spotlight on Canadian business

Upgrading Atlanta’s water and sewage infrastructure

Hatch was the lead engineer involved in the construction of an 8.5-mile sewage overflow tunnel for the City of Atlanta. The tunnel and pump system, including one of the largest intake shafts ever built, keeps waste from getting into the environmentally sensitive Chattahoochee River and its tributaries. The $220 million contract was a key element of the city’s massive overhaul of its waste and drinking water, completed in 2008.

Georgia acquisition bolsters cloud services

OpenText acquired cloud-based data management company Liaison Technologies in 2018. The $310 million purchase highlights the Canadian enterprise software company’s growing focus on cloud-based delivery of its products. Liaison’s client base boosted OpenText’s presence in the life sciences, manufacturing and healthcare sectors across the U.S. and overseas. 

The greening of an auto parts plant

Magna is pursuing a multi-year effort to reduce the environmental footprint of its Decostar Industries subsidiary in Carrollton, GA. The plant and its nearly 1,200 employees manufacture and paint automotive front and rear fascia and bumpers for Mercedes, BMW, Nissan and Volkswagen vehicles. Among the measures implemented: installing LED lighting through the massive plant, tracking the energy consumption of factory machinery on a daily basis and recovering hazardous waste with recyclable absorbent pads and renovated floors.

Expanding aviation training

Montreal-based CAE, a world-class high tech and training company with more than 13,000 employees in over 35 countries, announced that Georgia will be home to its fifth aviation training center in the United States. Neighboring Gulfstream’s Headquarters in Savannah, this state-of-the-art facility will be equipped with four Gulfstream-family simulators, maintenance training devices, briefing rooms, and classrooms. When fully operational, it will help CAE reach its commitment to meet the global requirement for an additional 45,000 business jet pilots over the next 10 years.

Share our story