Edmonton’s growing role as a business hub is taking on a renewed emphasis with the official opening of the city’s World Trade Centre.
Housed in the historic Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce building in the heart of the downtown core at the intersection of Jasper Avenue and 100th Street, the operation is also part of a move to bring back life to a landmark that has been vacant in recent years.
Joining the centre, whose licence is held by the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, is the chamber itself, which has relocated its headquarters to the seven-storey building, Edmonton Economic Development Corp. and Edmonton Tourism – both having moved from offices in the Shaw Conference Centre as they make way for the expansion of conference facilities there.
But while the main floor also houses a visitor information centre and a downtown check-in location for passengers headed to Edmonton International Airport, chamber officials are glad that the World Trade Centre Edmonton (WTCE) is now front and centre.
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| Historic bank building is now World Trade Centre Edmonton. |
Paul Byrne, chair of the board of directors of the Edmonton chamber, said the WTCE will not only open doors to new businesses and customers across the country, it will also draw international attention.
“The WTCE will be a gathering point – a hub, if you will – of connectivity. That’s Job 1,” he said. “We’ve got the second-largest chamber membership in the country. This is a tremendous value-added service for everyone.”
Already, South Carolina’s center has contacted Edmonton chamber president Martin Salloum about becoming an entry vehicle for local members who want to do business in the southern U.S.
On hand for the inauguration was Guy Tozzoli, president of the World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) and a key player in the planning and construction of New York’s World Trade Center in the early 1960s.
A three-time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in promoting peace through international trade, Tozzoli said international trade can change the world for the better. “As we understand each other’s culture and respect each other’s culture, the more unlikely we are to make war on each other,” Tozzoli said.
The only World Trade Centre in the Prairie provinces, WTCE joins a network of six others in Canada and a total of about 300 globally, all part of the WTCA and its goal to promote trade.
“WTCA members are integral to the smooth flow of international trade and commerce in an increasingly global economy. The new WTCE further signifies the strength and robust expansion of the WTCA, contrary to those who sought so dramatically to destroy its headquarters and its principles,” said Tozzoli in reference to the terrorist attacks in September 2001.
Closer to home, chamber members from Edmonton and areas north of the city will be able to take advantage of the services offered by the WTCE.
“We want business travellers from the north (and around the world) to consider this their home away from home,” said Salloum, noting that the Edmonton chamber is providing northern businesses with the opportunity to access WTCE facilities simply by being a member of their local chamber of commerce.
“For Grande Prairie chamber CEO Lionel Frey, the increased linkage is welcome.
“Northern Alberta has yet to discover its real potential,” Frey said. “The reality is that a lot of opportunities exist beyond the north. The new World Trade Centre (Edmonton) is a big step in the right direction.”
