An inviting business environment is a necessary condition for attracting foreign direct investment. Without it, foreign investors will bypass a country in favour of other locations. Unfortunately, more than three-quarters of the executives from foreign multinationals who responded to our survey felt that Canada's business environment is not favourable for direct investment.1 (See Chart 8.)
According to the executives surveyed, the three factors that do most harm to Canada's business environment are:
• the quality of local suppliers and employees;
• the state of business infrastructure; and
• the tax and regulatory environment.