Toronto, Ontario, Thursday, October 29, 2015

What a pleasure it is to be at this gala among so many bright, shining lights! 

I first attended this awards ceremony almost exactly five years ago, shortly after my installation as governor general.

Now, as then, I’m inspired by the efforts of others to build a smarter, more caring Canada and a more fair and just world.

Now, as then, the Canada Gairdner Awards are helping us to do just that by celebrating and encouraging some of the world’s top researchers.

I want to talk briefly about two essential elements of our overall success as members of societies that care about people and that value learning:

Equality of opportunity, and excellence.

Canada needs to have both equality of opportunity and excellence, too. We must see them as complementary, not competing, objectives.

To square that circle we must understand that equality of opportunity is not just the right thing to do, but the smart thing. It’s the key to ensuring a critical mass of Canadians is able to achieve full potential. And from that mass of talented, empowered Canadians we will see the peaks of excellence emerge that will raise the bar for all, creating a culture of aspiration.

The Gairdner Foundation contributes to this superbly, and shows us how to proceed. One important way the Foundation does so is through outreach and educational efforts such as public lectures and visits to universities. These events have an important “knock-on effect” and help to raise awareness of the health sciences and the ground-breaking research being done. 

These awards demonstrate the good things that happen through a balanced approach to equality of opportunity and excellence. The Canada Gairdner Awards are very often a precursor to other major international prizes.

In fact, out of 321 Canada Gairdner Award recipients since 1959, a remarkable 83 have gone on to win the Nobel. In percentage terms, that’s just over 25 percent of Gairdner recipients who go on to win the Nobel Prize!  

So if you want to win a Nobel, win a Gairdner first!

The Gairdners are a Canadian beacon of excellence. They are synonymous with superb!

As for the health sciences, they are the epitome of smart and caring. As some of the world’s top researchers, the recipients of these awards are literally helping to save lives and improve the health of people around the world.

The need for such expertise is only growing.

We recently passed a significant demographic milestone in Canada: for the first time ever, there are more Canadians aged 65 and over than there are under 15 years of age.

And tomorrow, in fact, I’ll be attending the official opening of the Centre of Excellence for Innovation in Aging in Waterloo. This centre aims to be a global leader in the study of aging and improving seniors’ quality of life.

Already, the Centre is home to 6 research chairs and has the ambitious goal of hosting 25 research chairs in total!

That kind of dedication to research and innovation is exactly what we need—and not just in Canada.

But let me get back to the great researchers in our midst.

The recipients of these awards have done some truly outstanding work.

They’ve dedicated themselves to exploring the frontiers of knowledge and to achieving breakthroughs—all for the sake of our health and well-being.

I thank and congratulate each of this year’s recipients on their remarkable achievements.

You are most deserving of these prestigious awards, and I look forward to following your progress.

Let me close by thanking another great contributor to the health sciences: Dr. John Dirks.

After two decades of leadership, John is retiring from his position as Gairdner president and chief scientific officer. He has made very significant contributions to global health and medical education. He’s a wonderful leader.

He has also made valuable contributions to an initiative we’ve been working on called Enhancing Global Recognition for Canadian Research Excellence.

The initiative is designed to boost Canada’s profile on the world stage by ensuring that our leading researchers and academics are put forward for the world’s top prizes—including the Canada Gairdner Awards.

As they say in hockey, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

Such awards are important in a globalized world, where competition for talent and resources is intense. As you know, nothing attracts and retains talent and resources better than success at the international level.

That’s the kind of success we celebrate tonight.

And that’s a good thing, for all of us.

Congratulations again, and thank you.