Canada—Sweden Strategic Partnership - From Geopolitics to Business Decisions

Why is this relevant — now?

In a highly publicized speech at World Economic Forum in Davos described the Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney how the rules-based international order that has long favoured medium-sized economies is no longer functioning as it once did.

His message was clear: we are not in a gradual transition, but in actual crime. Economic integration is increasingly being used as a means of power -- through trade, finance, energy and supply chains -- and continuing to act as if this were not the case means “living within a lie.”

The Canada-Sweden Strategic Partnership is a concrete expression of this shift: an effort to replace outdated fictions with practical frameworks for trade, security and long-term competitiveness.

The partnership is officially documented in a joint statement issued by the prime ministers of Canada and Sweden. Read the full text here: Joint statement by Prime Minister Carney and Prime Minister Kristersson

For companies, this means an increased flow of:

• bilateral programmes and cooperation platforms
• public and semi-public ventures
• changing requirements for security, resilience and supply chains
• new opportunities — but also new risks — in market entry

For Swedish companies

For Swedish companies, the partnership opens up new opportunities in Canada in areas such as industry, AI, energy, life science and advanced technology.

• Strategic interpretation of the partnership from a business perspective
• Assessing Canada as realistic expansion market
• Risk and dependency analysis linked to supply chains and geopolitics
• Concrete action plans for market entry or partnership

For Canadian companies — via Sweden into the EU

For Canadian companies, the partnership creates a political and institutional framework that makes Sweden a natural and low-friction entry point to the EU single market.

• Orientation in the EU regulatory and commercial landscape
• Sweden as a pilot and reference market
• Structured market entry to avoid costly missteps
• Navigation in the borderland between business, government and procurement

Sweden as a transparent test and reference market

Sweden is one of the world's most transparent economies. The principle of public disclosure — which has no international equivalent — makes much of company, owner and government information publicly available.

I follow and analyze over 640,000 Swedish companies, of which 823 are publicly traded.

This makes it possible to work with actual data rather than assumptions.

For international companies, this means that Sweden acts as:

• an unusually predictable market
• a regulatory-clear testing environment
• a reference point for further expansion within the EU

What I can help you with

• Strategic analysis— what the partnership means for your business
• Decision support for management — clear choices, priorities and demarcations
• Risk and compliance assessment — export control, security, resilience
• Action Plan — what you should do now, later — or not at all.
• Data-driven decision support — based on deep insight into the Swedish company and market structure

Formats

The assignment often begins with a structured strategic review (1-2 workshops with a management team), followed by a written decision basis or a concrete action plan.

Results

You will gain clarity on whether — and how — the new collaboration between Canada and Sweden is business-critical for you. And if the answer is yes: a clear way forward.

Last updated: 2026-01-21