The trip is meant to strengthen Indiana’s ties with Canada and to market Indiana’s business development success, according to a release from the ?governor’s office.
Pence will meet with business and government officials, including a firm considering investment in Indiana, Skjodt-Barrett Foods, Ontario Prime Minister Kathleen Wynne, U.S. Consul General Jim Dickmeyer and Canadian Consul General ?Douglas George.
Pence will also host a business recruitment event at the season opener of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Traveling with him are first lady Karen Pence, Secretary of Commerce Victor Smith and other officials.
Expenses for Pence and his wife for this trip are being covered through private donations.
More than 14,800 Indiana residents work for Canadian-owned companies, and more than 193,500 Indiana jobs are dependent on trade and investment with Canada, according to the release.
Thirty-eight percent of Indiana’s exports go to Canada with $11.8 billion in Indiana-built products sent to Canada last year. The exchange between Canada and Indiana comes to $19.6 billion annually, according to the release.
T his is Pence’s fourth international jobs mission, including his trip to the United Kingdom less than three months ago. Earlier this year, he also led a job-hunting trip to Germany.
Pence also visited Japan last year, where he had more than 20 meetings with company executives, including the president and chief executive officers of Toyota Motor Corporation, Honda and Fuji Heavy Industries.
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