As of July 16, 2004, the current e-LeadsŪ system will be replaced with electronic delivery of trade leads through the Virtual Trade Commissioner (VTC), the newest tool of Canada's Trade Commissioner Service for helping Canadian companies in international markets.

During this system integration process, we regret that we cannot accept new Subscriptions. Depending on your situation, there are avenues you can take to receive information on international trade from the Trade Commissioner Service.

The International Business Opportunities Centre (IBOC) and the Trade Commissioners in Canadian trade offices abroad work together to give you, the Canadian company, the opportunity to participate in global markets.

The Centre responds to international business opportunities on a case-by-case basis to ensure a timely response.

When the Centre receives an international business opportunity request from a Trade Commissioner stationed overseas, the Centre searches databases such as Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade's WIN Exports and Industry Canada's Canadian Company Capabilities (Strategis), and a broad network of sources to find potential suppliers for the specific product/service requested.

Interested companies are then referred to the Canadian Trade Commissioner abroad who generated the lead. At a later date, an IBOC officer contacts these same companies to find out if any business activity took place.

To position your company to receive trade leads, Canadian companies should register in the Virtual Trade Commissioner (VTC) and the Canadian Company Capabilities (Strategis) databases. The Centre uses these and other databases when searching for Canadian companies. You can register to the VTC at www.infoexport.gc.ca.You can register to the Canadian Company Capabilities (Strategis) at
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/sc_coinf/ccc/engdoc/cc_login.html

The International Business Opportunities Centre (IBOC) matches Canadian Companies with trade leads from around the world. To date, the Centre has actioned over 40 000 trade leads from 140 Canadian missions worldwide.

The Centre receives the majority of business opportunities from Asia followed by Africa and the Middle East, Europe, Latin America and the United States.

An important element of the registration in both of these databases is the company profile. To ensure that the products/services your company is interested in exporting are accurately identified, provide specific details and the end use as you would to any client. Use industry "key words" to allow for searching on the databases. For example, use specific descriptions such as fibre optic or coaxial cable instead of telecommunications cable. Keep the profile up to date and keep in mind that your profile is like a catalogue and therefore should be comprehensive.

To assist you in determining your target market, visit the website of the Trade Commissioner Service at www.infoexport.gc.ca.

To identify domestic sources of supply, you may wish to visit the Canadian Company Capability (Strategis) (www.strategis.ic.gc.ca) database which is located on the Strategis site or the Canadian Trade Index at www.ctidirectory.com which is located at the Alliance of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters site.

A variety of international business opportunities may be found at SourceCan (www.sourcecan.com).

To participate in a Team Canada trade mission, visit the Team Canada site at http://www.tcm-mec.gc.ca.

Visit Team Canada Inc's web site Export Source at http://exportsource.gc.ca.

Export Development Canada