Turning Disparate Noise into a Unified Voice

As the federal governments of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico were traveling to Montreal in January 2018 for their sixth round of NAFTA negotiations, the Montreal Chamber of Commerce saw an opportunity to make a statement about the importance of the trade agreement to North American businesses.

Growing tensions among federal leaders were casting a shadow over the 2018 NAFTA negotiations. With the outcome uncertain, the Montreal Chamber approached PSW for guidance on how to develop an international summit with business leaders from major metropolitan areas across the continent.

Our mission was twofold: to keep these business leaders informed on the issues surrounding the renewal of NAFTA, and to send a clear message to elected officials about the importance of maintaining open access across the North American market.

PSW worked quickly to attract Chamber leaders from the U.S., Mexico, and Canada and convince them to travel to Montreal for the event — “Metro Cities for a Renewed NAFTA.” We recruited and vetted panelists to speak at the two-day summit and helped create the content for a range of panel discussions. We also provided feedback on the joint press release and circulated media coverage to local stakeholders.

Ultimately, representatives from 25 major cities attended the trilateral summit, including leaders from Mexico City, Los Angeles, and Toronto. The business leaders gained deeper insight into all angles of the NAFTA negotiations, returning to their area chambers motivated and better prepared to promote continuing free trade across North American borders.