Canada’s Consul General calls for stronger national profile in macau

[Photo: Ricaela Diputado]

As Canada seeks to diversify its trade relationships and strengthen its global presence, the country’s Consul General in Hong Kong and Macau has urged Canadians to adopt a more assertive stance in promoting their nation’s achievements.

During his remarks at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CanCham) Macau’s annual Canada Day celebration, Consul General Charles Edwin Reeves encouraged Canadians and their allies to speak up about the country’s global importance.

“Canadians are known for being modest and polite, which we are, which is great,” Reeves said. “But now is the time for us to be loud and proud about all the things that we’re good at.”

The Consul General’s remarks came during yesterday’s event, titled “True North Splendour: Stronger Together,” which brought together officials, business leaders, educators, and community members at a gathering hosted by CanCham Macau.

A creature of community

Reeves drew an unlikely analogy from one of Canada’s most humble creatures. “Not only are beavers very community-centered, family-focused, but a beaver on its own can actually die from loneliness,” he explained. “Beavers are such social creatures that they actually need a strong sense of community to thrive.”

He extended the metaphor to Canada’s place in the world and thanked non-Canadians in the audience, including those married to Canadians, parents of children studying in Canada, and alumni of Canadian institutions, for their role in the country’s success.

“You make Canada better as well, because we’re kind of beavers, and we need everybody around us to be as strong, and as important as we are,” he said.

Economic facts behind the modesty

Reeves also offered a series of statistics he said Canadians too rarely broadcast.

Canada holds the world’s fourth-largest reserves of oil, he noted, and is the number one energy supplier to the United States. For more than three dozen American states, Canada is the top trading partner.

“We’re an incredibly important economy in the world, even though we’re only about 40 million people or so,” he said.

The Consul General’s call for a more assertive national identity comes as Canada seeks to diversify its trade relationships globally, with China as its second-largest trading partner and third-largest source of investment.

Role in economic diversification

Reeves noted that as Macau seeks to diversify its economy beyond gaming, opportunities exist for exchange in education, technology, art, entertainment, energy, agriculture, and food products.

He added that Canada’s recent formation of the Canadian Chamber of the Indo-Pacific (CCIP), which includes CanCham Macau, signals a renewed focus on the region.

In a separate interview on the sidelines, Lorne Schmidt, vice president of CanCham Macau and head of The International School of Macau (TIS), confirmed that the Consulate General of Canada in Hong Kong and Macau resumed on-site consular services in Macau earlier this year, holding passport clinics at TIS for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic. The limited slots for the clinic were fully booked.

“Macau can play a vital role in helping Canada diversify, and Canada can also help Macau diversify in return,” Schmidt said.

Looking ahead, Reeves pointed to opportunities for Canadian food and beverage exports to Macau, including lobster, scallops, sea cucumber, beer, and wine, though he acknowledged supply chain challenges involving cold-chain logistics.

“Macau is a really special place,” he said. “The potential for growth and the development of the relationship is huge, and everyone in this room has a role to play in that.”

Reeves is scheduled to return to Macau later this month for the APEC Tourism Ministerial Meeting.