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The Consulate General is located in downtown Los Angeles, on the 9th floor at 550 South Hope Street (at Sixth) just beside the Los Angeles Public Library. We also have satellite offices in San Diego, Phoenix (AZ) and Tucson (AZ).

We reckon there are over 600,000 Canadians living and working in our territory. Indeed, with the number of expatriates working and living in the Los Angeles area, the city is sometimes referred to as the fifth largest 'Canadian' city. There are active Canadian associations such asCanadians Abroad and the Canadian Womens Club in Los Angeles and the Digital Moose Lounge in Silicon Valley which host an ongoing series of activities of a social and community-building nature.

Canada continues to be one of the Golden State's best trading partners. In a trading relationship worth almost $25.3 billion in 2003, an average of over $69 million crossed the border every day. Canada was the Golden State's third largest export destination. The state sent $8.8 billion—12% of all state exports—in merchandise shipments north in 2003. In turn, California imported $16.5 billion in goods from Canada, over $1 billion more than in 2002. This trade supports thousands of jobs on both sides of the border. California is also a source of significant investment to Canada, particularly in the high-tech sector. We are determined to build on the Canada-California relationship as well as with our partners in Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico.

We pursue four main business lines:

1. Trade and investment: Our trade program is headed by Jim Feir, our Senior Trade Commissioner and our Deputy Consul General.  In terms of trade, our efforts are aimed at assisting Canadian manufacturers and exporters in finding new markets and improving existing market share. In regards to investment, we actively help corporations in the U.S. and Canada to consider technology transfers, research and development, joint ventures/strategic partnerships, greenfield investment and financial investments.

2. Immigration: The immigration program, headed by John Rose, is responsible for covering 7 states, effectively covering most of the South-West USA. Last year the office processed 2700 immigrant cases and approximately 8,500 visitors, students and temporary workers.

3. Consular assistance: Canadians live, work and, in some cases, get into trouble in our territory. Canadian sunbirds flock to Palm Springs, Phoenix and Las Vegas during the winter months. Our consular officials, headed by Gerry Lisk, who is also our Mission Administrative Officer, assist Canadians who encounter problems, or require information on such matters as passports, citizenship, old age security, Canada Pension Plan, birth/marriage/death certificates, taxation, etc. At the same time, we deal with cases involving child abductions, child custody, deaths and arrests.

4. Political, Economic Relations and Public Affairs (PERPA): Our PERPA team, headed by Éric Pelletier, ensures that Canadian interests are represented on such diverse issues as energy, forestry, and entertainment. It interprets local U.S. political and economic events and trends of interest to Canada. We also actively promote the study of Canada at universities and schools and provide information on general economic, financial and fiscal developments and policies in Canada and the Canadian provinces.