Canada's Top Diplomat Is Coming to Wolverhampton!

Arrangements are well in hand for the visit of Canada's top ranking diplomat.

The Mayor said today " Invitations are being dispatched to leaders of industry and dialogue continues with the Canadian High Commission about the arrangements for the day."

That is the news that the Mayor Councillor Phil Bateman has announced today. His Excellency Mr Mel Cappe High Commissioner of Canada, has agreed to speak to business and political leaders in Wolverhampton.

Mayor Phil Bateman MBE said " I am really pleased that we have been able to pull off this coupe.

Canada is a member of the G8 and has a sophisticated economy, they are also one of the World's economic driving forces. I am sure that the High Commissioners visit will be well received by our local business leaders.Canada is proving to be a very important trading partner for the United Kingdom official figures show that sixty-seven new Canadian projects were set up in the UK in 2004/5, up 24 percent over 2003/2004.

Canada finished second only to the U.S. as a leading investor by number of projects in the UK for the 12 months ending March 31, 2005.

So for me the key to success is for our City to lead the region in making our area very Canada friendly. I am a firm believer that City Government can help to create the right environment and give our private sector companies a real chance to sell or attract joint venture or pure inward investment to the City/region.

In my very short 12 month reign as City Mayor, I want to ensure that I do everything I can to promote the skills and the lifestyle that is our City of Wolverhampton. Creating the environment so that the private sector can engage in the opportunities that abound, trading with a Country like Canada. Making Canadians feel comfortable and valued whilst doing business here in Wolverhampton.

I certainly do not believe that as a City we have no role to play in this development. I hope that this strategy that I have embarked upon proves that there is a valuable role to be played by local government. Talking up and making the City responsive and setting out the great skills and opportunities that we have here is crucial. Emphasising the successful aero-space industry,creative and the growing importance of medical and bio-industry sectors here and in the region could well be the key to Wolverhampton's future prosperity.

Rest assured I do not want to waste this very golden moment in time that I have been given, as Mayor of Wolverhampton. Whilst I served around 8months of my 12months in office, I know that I can and have contributed to focussing on some of the big issues that abound in this great city."

Economic Note for Readers

Canadian businesses continued to choose the UK as their preferred European investment location in 2004/2005. Sixty-seven new Canadian projects were set in the UK, up 24 percent over 2003/2004. Canada finished second only to the U.S. as a leading investor by number of projects in the UK for the 12 months ending March 31, 2005. For 2004/2005, the UK recorded its highest ever number of inward investment projects at 1,066, creating over 39,000 new jobs, according to figures published today by UK Trade and Investment.
Figures from UK Trade & Investment on worldwide investment in the UK show that in the financial year 2004/2005:

Total projects increased from 811 (2003/04) to 1,066.
New jobs increased from 25,463 (2003/04) to 39,592.
Research and development projects were up by 22 percent to 101.
Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology were up 38 percent to 80, and IT and software projects were up 61 percent to 240. Canada is proving to be a very important trading partner for the United Kingdom official figures show that sixty-seven new Canadian projects were set up in the UKin 2004/5, up 24 percent over 2003/2004.

Canadian High Commissioners Background.
"It's a great honour to represent your country to another country"
— Mel Cappe


Canada's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom once thought his time in the public service was a temporary gig.

Mel Cappe had earned a BA in economics in 1971 at U of T's New College and an MA at the University of Western Ontario and was working on his doctoral thesis at U of T when he took a policy analyst position with the federal government. He figured he'd stay a year, then check out the academic job market. Twenty-seven years later, he's still in government — "a proud bureaucrat" — and his unfinished thesis is sitting in a drawer. Cappe said it's not a grammatical error to say you can do good in government.

"I found there were some fascinating people with some exciting issues to work on. I got bit by the policy bug," he says.

Cappe joined the public service in 1975, eventually serving as a deputy minister of Environment Canada, Human Resources Development and Labour before becoming Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Federal Cabinet in 1999.

As Clerk of the Privy Council, Cappe held the most senior non-political position in the Canadian government, providing support to the prime minister on policy and operational issues. Key duties of the role include setting strategic direction for the Canadian public service, providing support to cabinet ministers and ensuring the cabinet decision-making system operates effectively.

Upon completion of his term as Clerk of the Privy Council last spring, Cappe was appointed to be the prime minister's special adviser, prior to taking up his duties as High Commissioner in London this fall.

"I was thrilled. It's a great honour to represent your country to another country," says Cappe of the diplomatic posting where his major goal will be to promote investment between Canada and the United Kingdom.