“At this historical juncture, the economic reality worldwide makes it very important to have global partnerships and open borders,” Wynne said at a reception at Four Seasons Seoul on Thursday hosted by the Canadian Embassy.

“That way we can make the world economy stronger and our own economy stronger. It’s an important moment for us to stand up and say this when there are countries closing their borders and becoming more protectionist.”

Noting that Britain and the US have exposed their electorates’ desires to “turn inward,” through the Brexit referendum and US presidential election, the premier asserted, “Ontario will not follow suit.”

“Ontario is open for business and partnerships,” the first female premier of Ontario stressed. She pointed to common strengths she sees as binding Ontario and Korea together: the ability to innovate, highly educated workforces and world-leading exporting prowess.

Ontario is home to Canada’s largest South Korean community of 82,000 people, whose ethnic ties to Korea vitalize the diversifying linkages between the two vibrant economies.

Korean companies have taken advantage of Ontario’s competitive commercial environment, particularly in auto parts, industrial property rental, banking and finance, advertising and clothing manufacturing. Over the last 10 years, Korean firms have plowed some $453 million into greenfield investments in Ontario.

Two-way trade also topped $6 billion last year, bolstered by the Canada-Korea free trade agreement that went into force at the beginning of last year.

Ontario’s fast growing environmental and clean-tech sector generates $8 billion in annual revenue. Samsung C&T is the largest Korean investor in the province, employing some 900 workers in manufacturing renewable energy components.

“Ontario is a place that people from all over the world call home,” Wynne said. “It’s an advantage we are leveraging when it comes to innovation.”

Today, the province is the second-largest research and development hub in North America for information and communication technology.

Beyond Toronto -- Canada’s biggest city, financial center and cultural powerhouse -- lies a high-tech corridor connecting the city of Waterloo, Toronto and Ottawa, the Canadian capital. Seven out of the 10 largest tech companies in the world conducting research and development are located there.

“Ontario has been at the cutting edge of technology for over 100 years,” the politician said, mentioning the geographic information system software, Imax film technology and BlackBerry smartphone that were spawned in Ontario.

At the University of Toronto, Dr. Geoffrey Hinton -- known as the “godfather of deep learning” -- along with other academics and researchers have pioneered the “Fourth Industrial Revolution.” The university’s Creative Destruction Lab is home to 50 artificial intelligence companies, one of the highest concentrations of AI ecosystems in the world. 

“Hardworking, dedicated and highly skilled talent is our top competitive advantage,” the premier said. “Ontario is giving Silicon Valley a run for its money.”

“Media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, have noted that San Francisco recruiters do not just look to Stanford anymore. They look to the University of Waterloo in Ontario,” she added.

As an example of a successful venture, Wynne highlighted OpenText, one of Canada’s largest software companies that started as a tech spinoff at the University of Waterloo. The enterprise has hired more than 8,000 people worldwide today, and invested $2 billion in Ontario for research and development of cloud computing.

“OpenText got its start in Ontario and made it big,” she underscored. “And they are staying in Ontario to compete on the world stage. It is a trend we are seeing among companies and individuals.”

Startups and global enterprises choose Ontario for its financial stability, Wynne said, adding the province is the fastest growing region in the country with a projected balanced budget next year.

Canadian banks, which are based in Toronto, are “safe, strong and stable,” according to the premier. “During the 2008 global financial crisis, they did not falter. The World Economic Forum has praised Canada’s banking system as being among the world’s soundest.”

Ontario offers the lowest business costs in the leading industrial nations of the G-7, with various tax incentives for research and development.

Canada signed the North American Free Trade Agreement with US and Mexico, which went into force in 1994 and provides access to the three countries’ $20 trillion market. With the recent signing of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the European Union, Canada will have tariff-free access to the $18 trillion European market as well.

As part of Wynne’s mission, Korea’s Health Industry Development Institute and Canada’s MaRS Innovation signed a five-year partnership agreement to commercialize biomedical and health care innovations, worth $100 million.

Korea’s Medipost signed a memorandum of understanding with Ontario’s Center for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine for stem cell-related therapy products and technology. McMaster University, Centennial College and Seneca College have also signed 11 agreements with Korean postsecondary institutions.

The Ontario government will open its International Trade and Investment Office in Seoul next year.

By Joel Lee (joel@heraldcorp.com)