Gov. Murphy lands in Canada for three-city visit. Here’s why he’s there

Gov. Phil Murphy landed in Ottawa Friday for the start of a four-day, three-city economic mission trip in Canada to focus on strengthening the state’s ties with America’s neighbor to the north.

Murphy made the trip with First Lady Tammy Murphy and New Jersey delegation members. They are visiting to try and cultivate partnerships and international investment opportunities in film, technology and other areas.

Governor Murphy and the Choose New Jersey delegation began the trip by meeting with the American Chamber of Commerce in Canada and Invest Ottawa, laying the groundwork for future collaboration. 

Choose New Jersey is financed by several of the state’s largest companies and utilities and pays for the several economic outreach efforts by the state. 

It’s stated mission is to attract business to New Jersey, and it has paid for Murphy to travel on economic trade missions. 

On Saturday Murphy signed a sister state Memorandum of Understanding between the New Jersey and the Province of Ontario. 

The agreement focuses on economic development and investment, workforce development, regulatory cooperation, and academic cooperation. The priority sectors are life sciences, advanced manufacturing, information and communication technologies, energy, agri-food technologies, financial services, and sports and tourism. Canada is New Jersey’s top international trading partner, generating over $17.5 billion through bilateral trade each year. In 2023, New Jersey’s economic relationship with Ontario alone accounted for more than one-third of that amount. The group also met Friday with Patrick Duxbury of the Inuit Development Corporation Association. The IDCA works to influence the policies and programs that impact Inuit development corporations across Canada, fostering economic growth and supporting Indigenous communities from coast to coast.

The governor and first lady also met with for dinner with David Cohen, the U.S. ambassador to Canada and a New Jersey native, along with delegates from Choose New Jersey. The evening gave them a chance to discuss shared interests and explore areas of potential collaboration between New Jersey and Canada, Murphy’s press team said.

This is the latest in a series of economic trips Murphy has made this year to promote investment in the Garden State.

This summer, Murphy made his way to Germany to promote New Jersey as an investment choice and promote other opportunities New Jersey will have as a World Cup host.

Murphy and his entourage previously toured the West Coast this spring in a bid to pitch New Jersey to businesses in Hollywood and the Silicon Valley.  

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