Consulting Services in Canada: Data and Trends Report Index

Introduction

A brief introduction to the Canadian consulting services market, as well as data on consulting services trade flows between the United States and Canada.

Canadian Consulting Services Market

An overview of key aspects of the Canadian consulting services market.

Opportunities

An overview of opportunities available to U.S. consultants and consulting firms interested in servicing the Canadian market.

Challenges

An outline of challenges facing foreign consultants and consulting firms in Canada's market.

Contact Us

Contact an ITA expert for additional insights on the Canadian consulting services market.

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Introduction

The category of consulting services encompasses a range of services, industries, functional areas, and markets. Across many sectors, consultants provide advice and assistance to businesses and other organizations on issues that relate to strategic and organizational planning; financial planning and budgeting; marketing objectives and policies; human resource policies, practices and planning; production scheduling; and control planning. The consulting industry also includes general consulting services that provide a full range of administrative, marketing, process, physical distribution, logistics, and other services and expertise to clients.

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) measures consulting services trade under the category of “Management Consulting and Public Relations Services”. In 2020, the United States had a trade deficit in this category (hereafter referred to as “consulting services”) with Canada, of $453 million. U.S. exports to Canada in consulting services totaled $2.9 billion, and U.S. imports from Canada reached over $3.3 billion. Over the previous decade, the United States experienced a trade surplus in seven of the last ten fiscal years, though the surplus had been on the decline since 2012.

Canada is the sixth largest destination market for U.S. consulting services exports and the third largest source of imports of consulting services to the United States. In 2020, consulting services exports to Canada represented 4.2% of total U.S. consulting services exports and 7.4% of U.S. consulting services imports.

This dashboard is interactive – click or hover on the graph to view additional data points and details.

Note: Unless otherwise specified, all currency values provided in this profile are in U.S. Dollars. This profile was compiled primarily by Daniel Nickson, intern for ITA’s Office of Supply Chain, Professional and Business Services in 2021.

Primary data source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, “International Data, International Services, Table 2.2. U.S. Trade in Services, by Type of Service and by Country or Affiliation,” Release Date: July 2, 2021.

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Canadian Consulting Services Market

Canada is the sixth largest destination market for U.S. consulting services exports and the third largest source of imports of consulting services to the United States. According to Statistics Canada, the management, scientific and technical consulting services sector in Canada achieved operating revenue and operating expenses of $22.4 billion and $15.9 billion, respectively, in 2019.¹ The operating profit across these consulting services was approximately $6.5 billion.

Based on the University of British Columbia’s analysis of consulting sales in 2017, the breakdown of services provided across the industry were divided between strategic management consulting (20.8%), financial management consulting services (10.6%), marketing management consulting services (5.5%), human resources management consulting services (12.0%), operations and supply chain management consulting services (4.2%), and other management consulting services (18.5%).² In 2019, the share of consulting sales in Canada were attributed to purchases from domestic businesses (66.1%), governments, non-profit organizations and public institutions (15.3%), international clients (11.9%), and individuals and households (6.8%), according to Statistics Canada.³ In 2020, the number of Canadians classified as temporary workers in the professional, scientific, and technical services industry (which includes management consulting) was 78,500 – a figure that includes foreign professionals working as temporary consultants in the country, which is a small percentage of the total number of temporary workers.⁴

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¹Statistics Canada, “Consulting Services, Summary Statistics,” February 11, 2021. Available: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=2110016601.

²University of British Columbia: Small Business Accelerator Program, “Industry Overview: Management Consulting in Canada,” August 8, 2019. Available: https://sba.ubc.ca/blog/industry-overview-management-consulting-canada.

³Statistics Canada, “Consulting Services, Summary Statistics,” February 11, 2021. Available: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=2110016601.

⁴Statistics Canada, “Job Permanency (Permanent and Temporary) by Industry, Annual (x 1,000): Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services,” January 26, 2021. Available: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410007201&pickMembers%5B0%5D=1.1&pickMembers%5B1%5D=3.12&pickMembers%5B2%5D=4.1&pickMembers%5B3%5D=5.1&cubeTimeFrame.startYear=2016&cubeTimeFrame.endYear=2020&referencePeriods=20160101%2C20200101

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Opportunities

Consulting services do not typically require licenses to practice, which affords consultants in the United States greater flexibilities in providing services in the Canadian market. The pandemic has also contributed to an increase in the number of remote workers, which has particular advantages for the management consulting industry where physical location has become less of an impediment to trade than it once was.

Where travel is required, the Canadian government issues work permits under the International Mobility Program (IIP) to allow eligible individuals to work in Canada on a temporary basis, which enables citizens of the United States to apply for these permits at a Port of Entry, Visa Office, or online.¹ Under Chapter 16 of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), management consultants are among the selected category of workers provided “temporary entry for business persons.”² Under USMCA, obtaining temporary entry for work in Canada requires a U.S. citizen to provide “proof of citizenship,” “documentation demonstrating that the business person will be so engaged and describing the purpose of entry,” and “evidence demonstrating that the proposed business activity is international in scope and that the business person is not seeking to enter the local labor market.” In addition, workers that obtain temporary entry into Canada as U.S. citizens qualified under Chapter 16 of the USMCA do not “require prior approval procedures, petitions, labor certification tests or other procedures of similar effect.” According to Foreign Worker Canada, skilled workers, as defined by USMCA, have the ability to work on a temporary visa in the United States and Canada for a up to 3 years, with the possibility for unlimited renewals.³

While there are no additional labor certifications necessary for management consultants to work in Canada, there is an internationally recognized Certified Management Consultant (CMC) designation administered by the Canadian Association of Management Consultants (CMC-Canada), and that its provincial Institutes confer, that promotes professional standards in the profession that can distinguish workers in the industry.⁴

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¹Moving 2 Canada, “USMCA Work Permits for Canada, 2021.” Available: https://moving2canada.com/usmca-work-permits-canada/.

²Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, “United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement: Chapter 16: Temporary Entry for Business Persons.” Available: https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/files/agreements/FTA/USMCA/Text/16_Temporary_Entry.pdf.

³Foreign Worker Canada, “Skilled Workers and Professionals Keep Visa Rights under New USMCA Trade Deal.” Available: https://www.canadianimmigration.net/news-articles/skilled-workers-and-professionals-keep-visa-rights-under-new-usmca-trade-deal/.

⁴The International Council of Management Consulting Institutes, “CMC-Canada,” 2020. Available: https://www.cmc-global.org/content/cmc-canada.

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Challenges

USMCA has streamlined certain qualifying consulting services for U.S. citizens, but the visa process for non-qualifying ‘business persons’ does require additional permitting, including a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).¹ To receive LMIA authorization, employers are required to advertise the position for at least four weeks and potentially interview candidates who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents before offering the job to a foreign worker.² For qualifying management consultants, there is a certain amount of discretion in determining what individuals or groups are considered ‘management consultants.’ Immigration officials at the Canadian border have seen this qualifying ‘business person’ category used broadly and may ask for additional detail about the nature of the intended work these consultants will be engaged in in Canada.

¹VisaPlace, “Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).” Available: https://www.visaplace.com/canadian-immigration/work-permits/labour-market-impact-assessment/.

²Moving 2 Canada, “LMIA: Labour Market Impact Assessment,” 2021. Available: https://moving2canada.com/lmia/.

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Contact Us

Are you a U.S. consultant or consulting firm seeking to provide services in Canada? Are you facing any problematic barriers in the Canadian market?

ITA’s Professional and Business Services team is ready to provide expertise and guidance on consulting services trade. ITA also has a network of trade promotion and policy professionals located in several U.S. Commercial Service offices across Canada to assist with additional exporting needs and questions.

Primary ITA Contact on Consulting Services:

Andrew O’Neil
Accounting, Legal, and Consulting Services
Andrew.O’Neil@trade.gov
202.617.5465

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