Good afternoon.
Mr. Chair and members of the committee, today, I am acting on behalf of Peter McGovern, Assistant Deputy Minister for International Business Development, Innovation, Asia, and Chief Trade Commissioner, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. I am accompanied by my colleagues Scott Fraser and David Hartman.
It is our pleasure to represent the Trade Commissioner Service and speak to how it helps Canadian firms of all sizes, including those in the Canadian entertainment software industry, to create and sustain jobs for workers in all regions of the country by engaging successfully in international business.
Let me begin by speaking briefly about the broader operating context for international business, since it continues to evolve rapidly and shape everything we do. Trade or integrative trade is now shorthand for a whole range of international business development activities, such as exporting and importing final or intermediate goods and services, attracting investment, making strategic investments abroad, licensing technology, partnering for research, and recruiting skilled workers.
The big battleground, of course, is firm-level knowledge: knowledge of where to go, who is buying, who to trust, how to build relationships in different cultures, and how to improve your ability to innovate, produce effectively and efficiently, and find new buyers in new markets. If competitors from other countries are better supported and can find the opportunities faster and manage risk better, then our firms face serious challenges.
This is why the government's global commerce strategy makes trade promotion one of its key thrusts. The Trade Commissioner Service, the TCS, working through its domestic network and 150 points of service around the world, seeks to bring real value to companies by supporting our firms wherever and however they most need us and making sure they're not at a disadvantage to their international competitors.
Though we work with all sizes of companies, we are particularly sensitive to the barriers faced by small and medium-sized enterprises, or SMEs, as they seek to grow through international business. Simply put, the costs of acquiring market intelligence and investing in relationship building are relatively higher for SMEs. In fact, many Canadian SMEs in the information and communications technology sector and the entertainment software sector are export driven and describe themselves as 5/95 firms, with 5% of their business in Canada and 95% abroad.
The TCS supports Canada's entertainment software industry in a number of different ways. To help illustrate how we do that, let me describe some of the activities we are involved with each year at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, the GDC. It's considered the key global event in the industry. Over 200 Canadian SMEs attend to access international market opportunities and pursue business with leading global firms, such as Nintendo, Disney, Google, Sony, Apple, and others. While the TCS helps to coordinate provincial and industry partners to position Canada as a leader in this industry, it also facilitates business-to-business meetings for Canadian companies, introducing them to key buyers and partners in the global value chains. In 2012, over 300 such meetings were organized by the TCS.
We also use this venue, which is rich in business influencers and decision-makers, to promote the competitive advantages of establishing operations in Canada. It is important to say that we do not operate alone in this regard. We work with colleagues from Export Development Canada, Canadian Heritage, Telefilm Canada, and other departments and agencies, and we have excellent partnerships with the provinces, municipalities, and key industry clusters across Canada. Our work with centres of excellence, such as the Canadian Digital Media Network and the Graphics, Animation, and New Media Canada program, also helps to strengthen our messaging.
Of course, the beneficiary of our efforts is the TCS client. We tailor our service to the capacity and needs of each firm, whether it is introducing them to the possibilities opened up by our trade agreements, finding a reliable partner for licensing agreement, or facilitating introductions to key government decision-makers.
Canadian clients in the entertainment software industry tend to use the TCS most often to find credible distribution partners and gain exposure in international markets. The TCS has also helped many foreign-owned companies establish and expand their presence in Canada.
Last year we served about 14,000 Canadian firms, mostly SMEs. That was almost a 3% increase over the year before. Many have become repeat customers, as they see our services as saving them time, money, or risk. Companies from Canada's information and communications technology sector represent the largest group of these companies, over 2,300 last year. We're working hard to help Canadian businesses become more aware of our service, through our domestic network and our in-Canada partnerships, and we are reaching out to Canadian firms that are ready to use us and need to grow internationally in order to succeed.
How are we doing? Research demonstrates that every dollar spent on the Trade Commissioner Service generates $27 in increased exports, and that firms accessing our services export 18% more than comparable firms that don't. Currently, our clients have indicated that they are 80% satisfied or very satisfied with our services, and as for outcomes, about 58% of our clients are actively pursuing business in markets where they obtained a TCS service.
At specific events such as the Game Developers Conference, 20 Canadian SMEs surveyed this year responded that they anticipate a combined total of $25 million in sales over the next 12 months as a result of their participation in the conference.
Canadian clients in the entertainment software industry tend to use the TCS most often to find credible distribution partners and gain exposure in international markets. The TCS has also helped many foreign-owned companies to establish and expand their presence in Canada.
My colleagues and I would be pleased to respond to any questions you or members of the committee may have about how Canada's Trade Commissioner Service has supported, and will continue to support, the entertainment software industry.
Thank you.