Prime Minister Carney calls this Canada’s “hinge moment.” But what does that mean for Canadian organizations and their leaders? 

In our latest episode of Comms in Question, guest host Steve Paikin and a panel of international business and communications experts explored what Canadian organizations need to navigate this pivotal time.

Their message? Success lies in the basics of building relationships. 

If you missed the live conversation, you can catch the full recording here. 

Curious Public President Lloyd Rang returned to Carney’s metaphor to frame the discussion. “If you think about a hinge,” he said, “it’s about openings and closings. Something has to close for something else to open.”

Carney introduced the term in the context of Canada’s shifting trade relationship with the Trump-led United States. Since the inauguration, we Canadians have spent a lot of time thinking about what happens when that southern door closes. But have we given enough focus to the international doors opening? And are we ready to walk through them? 

Our panelists pointed to three fundamentals to help Canadian organizations meet this moment: build cultural competency, lead with empathetic storytelling and stay flexible. Each one is rooted in the same principle of strong relationships.

Build Cultural Competencies

If there’s one non-negotiable for doing business globally, it’s ‘know your local audience.’ 

IPREX Executive Director Alexandra Mayhew shared that the biggest mistake businesses make when entering new markets is assuming their message will translate without doing the work of ‘getting to know the locals.’ 

She gave the example of an American cannabis company trying to break into the Australian market during its early discussions around medical marijuana.

“They came in with this message of ‘Marijuana is great!’” said Mayhew, “and it completely freaked out the public and the government.” The company’s tone-deaf messaging didn’t just miss the mark—it sent Dazed and Confused-style shockwaves through a cautious audience.

Her takeaway? There’s no shortcut for building real relationships with people in the markets you want to enter—before, during, and after launch.

“There’s never going to be anything more effective than having people from that culture in your team.”

“There’s never going to be anything more effective than having people from that culture in your team,” she said. “People that you have a really good working relationship with who can trust and advise you or tell you when you’re getting a point of cultural nuance wrong.” 

International retail leader Iain Nairn echoed Mayhew’s message. Nairn’s career has spanned more than 45 countries across the UK, Indo-Pacific, and North America, so he knows just how attuned organizations need to be to cultural nuances. “You get countries so close together,” he said, “but they have huge cultural differences – Netherlands next to Belgium next to France next to Germany. Each one of them is so different.” 

Cultural differences impact messaging. But they also impact how teams work. Nairn pointed to Australia’s recent “right to disconnect” legislation, which gives employees the legal right to ignore work communications outside business hours. He flagged that this legislation change has practical considerations for a company’s ability to trade internationally. “These are tiny little things,” he said, “but they can be the difference between success and failure.” 

Lead with Empathetic Storytelling

The schoolyard basics we all learned – share, be kind, be honest – still apply to business, especially when entering new markets. That means emotionally intelligent storytelling across the board. 

Lloyd Rang shared that this kind of storytelling doesn’t come from boasts or brags but from a place of listening and empathy. 

“It’s really about understanding the audience – and that’s where Canadians have the advantage…”

“Storytelling’s not about the person or industry bragging about themselves,” he said. “It’s really about understanding the audience – and that’s where Canadians have the advantage… Canadians have global experience, but we also have a fair bit of empathy. So, it’s not about our ability to tell a great Canadian story but to tell a story that connects Canada to the rest of the world.” 

President and CEO of Entertainment Software Association of Canada Paul Fogolin expanded on that idea from his perspective in representing one of our country’s most competitive and globally connected industries: video games. 

“Often the product speaks for itself,” said Fogolin. “But we all need to get better at telling our stories – particularly the innovation story.” 

Fogolin urged organizations across all sectors to bring their stories to life for decision-makers and audiences. “Get them to come and see your innovation first-hand,” he said. He also advised companies to showcase the ancillary benefits of any innovative technology that could contribute to our nation-building projects.

But what about Canada’s “elbows up” story? Panelists agreed that Canada is telling a more unified and assertive story on the world stage. Non-Canadians, Nairn and Mayhew described it as “admirable.” But when asked about Canadians booing the American national anthem, Mayhew (an expat living in the US) answered honestly: 

“I, personally, think a lot about kindness,” she said. “I have a one-year-old and a four-year-old, so I think a lot about the morals and values I’m trying to instill in them… This [political tension] has reshaped everything in my life. So, I don’t like seeing any of it.”

To lead with empathy means focusing on how all stakeholders receive those stories. Mayhew spoke to the many Americans who are essentially caught in the larger political crossfire and how quickly stories can tip from pride to punishment. A good reminder to us all. 

Stay Flexible

You have to stay flexible to seize this hinge moment and capitalize on the strengths of your organization. 

Iain Nairn spoke from his own experience of leading major brands into new markets. “Going into new markets touches on every single element of your organization,” he said. “So, every leader has to change their bandwidth, and they have to be resourced differently, because you don’t want to mess up with your core business in your own market.” 

He emphasized agility because “it’s not enough to just show up in a new market; You have to be over competitive” to break through.

Agility was also top of mind for Paul Fogolin. Similar to the film and television industry, provincial incentives significantly influence where video games are made in Canada. So, Fogolin deftly flagged that the loosening of restrictions on interprovincial trade is quickly making Canada a new market for its own companies. 

“We like to see this healthy competition between provinces,” he said, pointing to British Columbia’s increased support of Vancouver-based studio, Electronic Arts (EA) – the largest physical studio in the world for digitally interactive content. “[These increased incentives] might seem like minutia, but when you’re competing globally, they make a huge difference.” Fogolin insisted that organizations must be ready to take advantage of “the high tide that raises all ships” here at home. 

Lloyd Rang also advised leaders to stay adaptable but warned about being blown off course by external forces. 

“At the end of the day, there’s only that which we can control,” said Rang. “That means focusing on our own behaviour, activities – our own ability to do business and thrive. The greater the extent to which we focus on those things, the easier it will be to get through this moment.” 

In other words, we can’t control which way the door opens, but we can control how we move through it. 

 

Want more insight on how to navigate Canada’s hinge moment?
Watch the full conversation to hear all the insights from our expert panel.

Thank you again to our panelists: Alexandra Mayhew, Iain Nairn, Paul Fogolin and Lloyd Rang. And a special thanks to our guest host, Steve Paikin. 

 

If it’s time for your organization to revisit how it tells and shares its story, whether at home or abroad, we can help. Contact us today.