First off, I'd say not just in the Niagara area but across the country one of our structural problems, frankly, in the industrial sector we have in Canada, despite the overall size of it, is that 90% of the companies across the country have fewer than 15 employees. They're really small, and so their ability to compete for investment, for market share, is really hampered by their own size. I know one thing that we're working aggressively on with the government today, and we have been for years, is competitiveness and helping companies scale up and grow. That's really critical. Whether that's for the U.S. market, the Mexican market, or beyond, that is really important.
There are a couple of key things here. Certainly the domestic competitiveness and the investment climate that we see within Canada are paramount to our members right now. We're looking at rising costs pretty much across the board, and not just in Ontario but across the entire country. In the meantime, if we look across the border into the U.S., there are massive corporate tax reforms coming through and regulatory reforms coming through that will dramatically decrease the cost of doing business.
There are two things I'd say. First, our advantage is people. We have our education system. While we complain about it and say it needs to be better—I think we all agree it needs to be better—it's still better than most. The talent that we turn out in Canada is a real advantage. It helps, especially as we're moving into a much more digital economy and advanced manufacturing technologies. It will be an advantage that, for small and large companies, is critical.
On the downside we need to make sure that our structure, the cost structure within Canada remains competitive so we can attract investment. It's very easy right now for companies of all sizes to move into the U.S., because that is the primary market for a lot of products. They're getting massive incentives, as you mentioned, at the state and local level, things that aren't available in Canada, and so we need to take a look at that.
One thing we're working on with the government now, for example—and it was announced in the budget—is a complete program review. It will look at all the investment supports mechanisms to make sure they are more competitive, especially for smaller-sized companies; to make sure they can get the supports they need; to make sure the government programs such as BDC and EDC and the crown corporations that are there are actually aligned and are supporting small businesses. Often, they're really not doing as much as they could be doing. That process and going through that will be really important.
The other piece of it that's really important is the promise of a tax review and tax competitiveness review. There's going to be a regulatory review coming along as well. All of those things that will happen this year in Canada, in lock-step with the U.S. reviews, will be really important, so that we don't lose sight of that competitiveness factor, and so that we do move along in a fashion that allows Canada to maintain an opportunity for attracting especially foreign investment but also domestic investment.