If it were a country, the Great Lakes economic region would be the third largest economy and twelfth largest nation in the world.

Built on a foundation of hard work, discovery, ingenuity, perseverance, and renewal, the United States and Canada, along with the eight U.S. states and the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, must seek new ways to work together more effectively in today’s climate of global commerce, investment, innovation, and labor mobility.

The theme of this year’s conference – Powering Forward in the Great Lakes Economic Region: Our Prosperity. Our Sustainability. Our Future. – signifies the importance of the region’s binational economic strengths, revival, and ability to lead the new global economy. More importantly, it underscores the critical importance of working collaboratively, across key sectors and the border, to build action plans that will ready the region to compete and win in the new global economy.

Plenary and concurrent panels will cover a wide range of important sector dialogs and working group discussions, such as:

• Fifth annual State of the Great Lakes Economy Outlook
• The Age of Disruption: Taking Advantage of our Binational Innovation Ecosystem
• Filling the Jobs Gap: Deepening Collaboration between Learning Institutions, Business & Government
• Shifting to a Clean Energy Future: Creating a Path Forward
• Great Lakes Ready: Supporting Small Business Growth & Exports
• Changing Global Food Systems: Growing More Great Lakes Food Sustainably for a Hungry World
• Smart Freight: A Connected, Adaptive & Resilient Great Lakes Transportation System
• In the Driver’s Seat: Reinventing the Great Lakes Auto Sector and Defining the Future of Mobility
• Reaching New Heights: Building a Globally Competitive Great Lakes Aerospace & Space Sector
• Risky Business: Managing Climate Change Risk. Building Resiliency. Taking Action
• Great Lakes Circular Economy Partnership: A New Path to Sustainability and Economic Growth
• Smart, Sustainable Great Lakes: Building Prosperous, Livable & Connected Cities
• Global Great Lakes: Capturing our Share of World Tourism
• Smart Border Management: People, Infrastructure, Shared Systems, and Preclearance

Established in 2013, the Council of the Great Lakes Region (CGLR) is an independent, member-driven, non-profit corporation that was launched to think strategically about the Great Lakes economic region and its future success. The Council achieves this mandate by building innovative collaborations between the private, public, and non-profit sectors that drive systemic change, convening interactive events and sector dialogs that stimulate conversations and ideas that harness the region’s strategic strengths and assets, conducting insightful research and generating sensible policy solutions, and creating a stronger regional voice on socioeconomic and environmental issues that matter most to the region.

For more information about CGLR and the issues below, visit https://councilgreatlakesregion.org/.

Research Areas

Water Levels & Climate Change

One of the key characteristics of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Region is the highly integrated nature of its economy and environment. Many of the region’s key industries rely on its water.

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Infrastructure Modernization

In an effort to eliminate infrastructure deficits and investment gaps in the Great Lakes region the Council of the Great Lakes Region will lead an effort to modernize infrastructure…

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Travel & Tourism

Over the past six decades, tourism experienced continued expansion and diversification, becoming one of the largest and fastest-growing economic sectors in the world…

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Energy

The rise of unconventional oil and gas and of renewables is also transforming our understanding of the distribution of the world’s energy resources.

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Cross-Border Trade

Develop mechanisms to encourage cross-border trade by the region’s SMEs by increasing knowledge-sharing, reducing regulatory and capacity barriers, and engagement with the current round of consultations on Beyond the Border and the Regulatory Cooperation Council.

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Workforce Development

Facilitate agreements and regulatory arrangements to mutually recognize certifications in the skilled trades across Great Lakes-St. Lawrence jurisdictions.

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Security

Create a forum to convene all government agencies working on security issues in the region to encourage increased coordination and communication.

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Advanced Manufacturing

The Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Region is a mega-marketplace in the North American and global economy.

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Multi-modal Logistics

The region is home to one of the world’s most inter-connected and integrated multi-modal systems, from the United States’ largest rail hub in Chicago to the vast network of airports, roads, pipelines, ports and waterways.

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Border Management

The United States and Canada share the longest border between two nations in the world.

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Economic Corridors and Clusters

Each year, the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Region contributes roughly USD$232 billion to United States – Canada trade.

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