Markets

Access to Markets

Seamless entry to the largest medical device market in the world
The signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) integrated the Canadian and U.S. economies for nearly all business purposes, and Canadian-based businesses now have access to the North American market, which is made up of almost 435 million consumers.

• At over US$80 billion, North America represents almost half of the US$169 billion global medical device market, and through NAFTA Canada provides access to this market.
• Many Canadian production hubs are actually closer to U.S. markets than American production sites. 17 of Canada’s 20 largest cities are within an hour-and-a-half drive of the United States.
• Market access under NAFTA also contributes to making Canada an attractive investment location for firms that are not based in North America.

A focus on exports
Canada exported $2 billion in medical devices in 2003. This is an increase of almost 50 per cent since 1999.

• The United States has increasingly become the dominant export market for the industry. The U.S. was the destination for 80 per cent of total Canadian medical device exports in 2003, up from 73 per cent in 1999.
• Canadian Medical Devices companies have also developed other export markets to the European Union and Japan.