WATCH: Business leaders headed on Mayor Tory's India trade trip say Toronto can capitalize on US immigration furor. @jamesontheradio reports pic.twitter.com/WjVJWkFS7N
— NEWSTALK1010 (@NEWSTALK1010) March 2, 2017
The Mayor is out with plans to fly to India later this month with the goal of establishing more business connections for Toronto.
John Tory will take 2 city councillors and a delegation of 20 business leaders with him on a 10-day tour of India and Sri Lanka.
The upcoming tour will be Tory's 8th international business-related trip since he became Mayor of Toronto in 2014.
Tory plans to meet with people who run companies the tech, financial, and education sectors.
A draft itinerary also shows he has meetings set up with firms that produce Bollywood movies.
The Mayor wants to convince these business leaders and professional that Toronto is an ideal place to invest, and also to make a home.
Sunil Sharma is the co-founder of a venture capital firm called Extreme Venture Partners and will serve on Tory's delegation.
He agrees with the Mayor's assessment that Toronto has a unique opportunity to take advantage of the political climate in the United States.
President Trump's tough talk on immigration reform has many overseas business owners and professionals looking to cities like Toronto, Sharma says, to invest and grow their companies.
He adds that potential changes to US visas has investors and potential immigrants seeing unnecessary risk.
"What we're seeing is that Canada is seen more than ever and a very stable and secure place to move to," Sharma says.
"We are seeing an increase (in interest) not only from the 6 or 7 countries on President Trump's Executive immigration order, but from other countries, as well."
Sharma says its up to people like the Mayor to promote the benefits of living and working in Toronto, in person.
The business mission leaves for India on March 15th.