By Cathy-Anne O’Brien, Co-Founder & CEO
When I moved to the UK last year, I started paying closer attention to how businesses build trust in a new market.
Partly because I’m naturally curious, partly because I run a communications firm, and partly because I found myself wondering: What would it actually take to launch BlueSky here?
With many Canadian business owners thinking about the impact of recent U.S. trade tensions, we’re seeing more clients start to have serious conversations about diversification and international expansion. A recent EDC report found that 65% of Canadian exporters are planning to enter new markets over the next two years.
But international expansion is rarely as simple as copying and pasting what worked at home.
Successfully entering a new market is often less about having the best product or service and more about understanding local expectations, building trust, and adapting faster than you think you’ll need to. In Canada, we’ve seen failed attempts by U.S. companies to expand into our country without taking this into account, including retail giants Target and Nordstrom.
Living in London has certainly stoked my entrepreneurial curiosity and appetite for growth. While we haven’t formally launched the business internationally, a year of observing how companies operate here, talking to founders, spending time in coworking spaces, and paying close attention to how people buy, work and build relationships, a few themes stand out.
Here are some things I think Canadian companies should think about before making the leap.
Start with a Market That Feels Familiar – But Not Identical
It’s tempting to think globally from day one, but there’s something to be said for starting where there’s already some cultural alignment.
For many Canadian businesses, the UK feels like a relatively soft landing. We share a language, have similar business norms, and overlapping consumer expectations.
One thing I’ve noticed about UK consumers is that they are incredibly discerning about quality and customer experience. Returns are easy here. Service expectations are high, yet tipping is not a big thing.
People are surprisingly practical in how they shop, which helps explain why Canadian brands like Arc’teryx and Canada Goose resonate here. Outdoor culture is strong, quality matters, and products that feel durable and purposeful are well received. Starting in a market where people naturally understand your offering can shorten the learning curve considerably.
Don’t Underestimate the Power of Being Canadian
This is a big one. The more I travel throughout Europe, the more I see how positively Canadians are viewed internationally. And that is not new. Rumour has it that when PM David Cameron told the Queen that Mark Carney would be the next Governor of the Bank of England, she reportedly said, “Jolly good. They are very reliable, the Canadians.”
The data support this reputation. Canada consistently ranks among the world’s most trusted, outperforming larger nations in respect and influence according to the Canadian International Council (CIC), and this reputation can quietly open doors. In a world where trust feels increasingly hard to earn, being Canadian can actually be part of your value proposition.
Relationships Matter More Than You Think
Another thing I’ve observed since moving to London is how much business still happens through in-person relationships.
Yes, digital matters, and building brand awareness online is crucial when launching abroad. But the credibility that comes through proximity, introductions and connections can accelerate your progress.
The after-work pub meetup is almost an institution, and relationships are built as much over casual conversations as formal meetings. Between coworking spaces, industry events, and conversations with founders launching internationally, one theme keeps coming up: partnerships can fast-track trust.
But that does not mean you have to relocate. Many European cities are very international and people are always on the move. Here in London, I’ve met professionals who live in Spain and commute to their London office four days a week. I see job postings inviting “global” applicants offering remote work. The normalization of remote work has removed much of the friction that once made international expansion feel out of reach.
As a Canadian business launching abroad, connecting with local distributors, complementary brands, marketing partners, regional advisors or simply people who understand how business gets done locally can go a long way.
AI May Make Going Global Easier for Smaller Companies
This may be one of the most interesting moments for Canadian businesses thinking internationally. For years, expanding abroad often meant large teams, big research budgets, and expensive local resources. Now, AI is changing the equation.
Smaller businesses can research markets faster, localize messaging, analyze competitors, summarize regulations, and create content more efficiently than ever before. For lean companies, this creates a real opportunity to compete above their weight.
That said, AI can’t replace local understanding.
It can tell you what people are searching for. It can’t fully explain why they buy, what they trust, or how culture shapes decisions, so as we feel our way through this AI revolution, we keep coming back to the same conclusion: the tech needs to be combined with human insight.
Trust Is the Real Growth Strategy
International expansion is ultimately a trust-building exercise. You may have a fantastic product or service in Canada, but in a new market, you are unknown.
People don’t automatically trust brands they don’t know. But when companies focus on a few clear priorities and deliver a strong, consistent customer experience, reputation can build surprisingly quickly.
Expanding internationally is no longer reserved for massive corporations with unlimited budgets. Digital tools, stronger global networks, remote work, and AI have made international growth more accessible and more necessary than ever.
That, and a healthy dose of curiosity can go a long way. Curiosity about how people think, what they value, how they buy, and what trust looks like in different places. The Canadian companies most likely to succeed abroad may not be the biggest but they may simply be the ones willing to listen, connect and adapt, while staying grounded in what makes them Canadian in the first place.
