Microsoft president pitches Cascadia tech corridor

VANCOUVER — The president of Microsoft is pushing to make a Vancouver-Seattle technology corridor a success, despite the uncertainty around cross-border trade posed by the administration of President Donald Trump.

Brad Smith was in Vancouver on Wednesday to promote the Cascadia Innovation Corridor, an agreement signed by British Columbia and Washington state that aims to grow high-tech industries and strengthen collaboration across the region.

Speaking to reporters after a speech to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, Smith said the company was optimistic about investment in Canada, despite the possibility of Trump’s administration renegotiating North American Free Trade Agreement to impose levies on goods flowing across the border.

“First, the issue is not without risk, but the world is not without risk. We don’t really have an alternative that says: ‘Let’s only focus on the places that have no risk,’ because I’m not sure there are any such places,” he said.

“Second, we do bring to the whole issue some sense of optimism. As Prime Minister (Justin) Trudeau has pointed out, NAFTA has been revised and improved over 15 times since it was initially signed. I’d almost go so far as to say evolution and improvement have been an inherent part of a healthy trading agreement.”

The company opened its Microsoft Canada Excellence Centre in downtown Vancouver last June. It now employs more than 600 people, although some are skilled foreign workers destined to be transferred the United States.

B.C. Premier Christy Clark and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed the Cascadia Innovation Corridor agreement last September, promising to grow high-tech, life sciences, clean technology and data analytics industries across borders and foster ties throughout the region with joint action in research, education, workforce development and transportation and investment.

Washington has also allotted $1 million US toward a feasibility study for a high-speed rail link between Seattle and Vancouver.

Smith urged Vancouver to become a hub for “mixed reality.” The term refers to virtual reality technology that merges with a person’s surroundings, rather than creating an entirely separate environment.

He said the estimated revenue for mixed reality video games, including both hardware and software, is expected to top $12 billion by 2025, and noted Vancouver already has a thriving video-game industry with more than 17,000 employees in 3D technology.