How do you run a working relationship across a 17-hour time difference?

Scott Cundill · 2026-10-29 · Vancouver

You stop trying to share a working day and start sharing a handover instead. When it is Monday evening in Vancouver it is already Tuesday afternoon on the Gold Coast, so one side finishes its day just as the other is in full swing. Treat that as a relay, not a problem, and the distance starts working for you.

Find your golden hour

There is almost always a window that suits both sides. Late afternoon on the Canadian west coast lands in the Australian morning of the next day, so a 4pm call in Vancouver is a sensible coffee-time call on the Gold Coast. Find that hour, protect it, and use it only for things that truly need a conversation.

Write everything else down

Most of the work should travel in writing. A clear note at the end of your day, what was done, what is stuck, what you need, means your partner wakes up to a plan instead of a puzzle. It also means nobody has to be awake at 2am.

Name the day, not just the time

"Tuesday at 9" means two different moments in Canada and Australia. Always say whose Tuesday, and add both local times to every invitation. It sounds fussy. It prevents the classic empty video call where each side thinks the other forgot.

Mind the seasons and the clocks

Daylight saving changes on different dates, and in opposite directions, in the two countries, so the gap shifts by an hour or two through the year. Put a reminder in your diary for March, April, October and November, the months when it moves.

Meet in person, then lean on trust

A long-distance relationship runs best once you have shaken hands at least once. After that, trust does the heavy lifting. And trust is much faster to build when the relationship begins with an introduction from someone both sides respect.

Where do the referrals come from?

From the hosts and members of the Bridge. You describe the client, supplier or partner you are after on the other side of the Pacific, and a host who genuinely knows someone suitable introduces you both, in a short note that explains why. There are no quotas and no lists, only introductions that make sense for both people.

The Canada-Australia Business Bridge

Susan Jarema holds the Canadian end from Vancouver, and Darren Bartsch holds the Australian end from the Gold Coast. Between them they know how business really moves on both coasts, and they hand introductions across the ocean the way good colleagues hand over a shift.

The best way to start is simple. Name the one company on the other side you would most like to work with, and ask who might already know them.