The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition the U.S. move to open up relations with Cuba could eventually generate opportunities for some Canadian companies, and increased competition for others. The Globe's Richard Blackwell and Luke Kawa write Bank of Nova Scotia and Royal Bank of Canada are positioned to take advantage of increased activity in Cuba once capital is allowed to flow more freely into the country, given their ties to the area and surrounding regions. Across all industries, Canadian firms could face new, stiff, competition. John Price, a Canadian at Americas Market Intelligence, thinks a full end to the embargo -- when and if it comes -- "will take some of the lustre out of Canada's position in Cuba. Right now, he said, Canada has "a sort of disproportionate influence in importance as a source of tourism, as a source of trade and as a source of investment." However, that "will certainly be weakened if suddenly there's a normalization of economic relations between the U.S. and Cuba." For some, however, an opening up of trade between Cuba and the United States is entirely bad news. An end to restrictions on U.S. imports of Cuban cigars would be very damaging to Canadian cigar importers.