Canadian FDI in the region has increased significantly, reaching a total of Cnd$107.1 billion (about US$100 billion), according to the most recent available data from 2006.

The ECLAC report Foreign Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean, 2007 points out that Canadian FDI in the region is concentrated in mining, financial services and some manufacturing, and is present mainly in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru and Trinidad & Tobago.

Canadian companies have implemented different strategies in Latin America and the Caribbean in search of natural resources (for example, investment in mining), markets (banks) or efficiency (specialized manufacturing), says the ECLAC report.

The report states that the current economic deceleration of the United States -today the main foreign investor in the region- is providing an opportunity for Canada to deepen its economic and corporate ties with Latin America and the Caribbean.

Canadian companies and their business practices enjoy a favorable reputation in the region, due to that they tend to hire local management, with the possibility of rising within the corporate structure.

The main Canadian companies investing in Latin America and the Caribbean are:

• Mining.
  • Precious metals: Goldcorp (Argentina, Brazil and Mexico); Yamana Gold (Argentina, Brazil, Honduras and Nicaragua); Barrick Gold (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and the Dominican Republic); IAM Gold (Guyana and Surinam); Kinross Gold (Brazil, Chile and El Salvador); Peak Gold (Brazil).
  • Common metals: Teck Cominco (Chile, Mexico, Panama and Peru); Sherritt (Cuba); Potash Corp (Brazil and Chile).

• Financial services.
  • Banks: Scotiabank (Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Dominican Republic); Royal Bank (Trinidad & Tobago); Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (Barbados and Jamaica).
  • Other financial services: Brookfield Asset Management (Brazil and Chile); Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (Brazil a Chile).

• Manufactures. Methanex (Chile, Trinidad & Tobago); Magna International (Mexico and Brazil), Nortel (Argentina, Brazil and Mexico); Agrium (Argentina); Quebecor World (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru); Celestica (Brazil and Mexico); McCain Foods (Argentina and Chile); Bombardier (Brazil and Mexico); Linamar (Mexico); Transcontinental Inc. (Mexico); Gildan Activewear (Honduras, Nicaragua and Dominican Republic).

The ECLAC report also highlights the strong commercial ties between Canada and Chile, based on Canadian FDI in Chile (equivalent to 16.4% of total foreign investment in Chile between 1974 and May 2007), and the cooperation among the two countries in multilateral (WTO) or hemispheric (FTAA) forums, especially on investment-related issues. The two countries are signatories to a free trade agreement in force since 1997.