The Great Lakes Region, which is shared by the United States and Canada and comprised of eight states and the Canadian provinces on Ontario and Quebec, is the economic engine of the North America.

In fact, with economic output worth US$6.0 trillion in 2017, the Region would represent the third largest economy in the world if it were a country, and it is responsible for roughly 50% of the total value of goods traded between the two countries each year, as well as an increasing amount of trade in services and millions in direct investment.

In 2019 the leaders from all levels of government, industry, academia, and the non-profit sector in the Great Lakes, gathered in Cleveland, Ohio May 6-8 for the annual Great Lakes Economic Forum. These leaders committed to finding new ways of creating a more favourable climate for commerce, trade, investment and innovation in the Region while improving the prosperity and well-being of the Region’s citizens and protecting our shared environment for future generations.

Key issues addressed included the nuts and bolts and future of the Great Lakes auto sector, taking the Great Lakes aerospace sector to new heights, growing more food sustainably in the Great Lakes for a hungry world, creating a more favorable business climate through regulatory reform and alignment, transitioning to a circular economy, and much, much more.

For more information on issues, research, and dialogue at the Council of the Great Lakes Region, see ‘Our Work.’