Vancouver, British Colombia, Wednesday, January 28, 2015

What a pleasure it is to speak before this distinguished group of visionary business people.

I’m delighted that you’re here today because I hope to share a vision of mine with you.

My remarks today are titled, “The Next Spike: Innovation as the Key to Building a Smarter, More Caring Canada.”

“The last spike,” is the famous final piece of the Canadian Pacific Railway, driven in Craigellachie, B.C., in 1885.

Back then, the completion of the coast to coast railway—an extraordinary engineering and political innovation—was integral to the development of Canada, politically, economically and socially, joining the country from east to west.

Today, innovation is the next phase—the key to driving home “the next spike” in building the Canada of tomorrow.

Innovation—defined by Canada’s Science, Technology and Innovation Council as “the process by which individuals, companies and organizations develop, master and use new products, designs, processes and business methods”—is the key to extending our historic east-west orientation overseas to access emerging markets in the Asia-Pacific and become a truly global nation.

Why this is important? Innovation is not invention.  Invention is a scientific process; innovation is an economic and social process. While both are vital to the success of an economy and society, innovation is a key attribute, a means by which productivity is achieved in an economy and an important contributor to the standard of living and the quality of life in a society. 

Remember too that innovation has social dimensions, and can be applied to improve the way we organize ourselves and operate as a society, enterprise or common endeavour. Such improvements are crucial to adapting to changing times and maintaining our quality of life.

As a country, Canada is inventing at a higher rate than our share of global population; however, we are not producing enough innovators—or innovations—to keep pace with international competition. In other words, we are not creating sufficient societal benefit from our knowledge.

Innovation is an enterprise accessible to all and in which each of us can and should eagerly participate with open and inquiring minds.

Remember, minds, like parachutes, work best when open.

Today, a significant window of opportunity exists for Canada and Canadian businesses and entrepreneurs among the nations of the Asia-Pacific.

You also know that windows of opportunity do not stay open forever.

Already, Canada enjoys deep and meaningful economic, political and social ties with the Asia-Pacific region. This is particularly true here in Vancouver. More and more, led by the growth of emerging markets and the strength of our immigration program, Canada is becoming a Pacific nation.

And the opportunities for engagement are increasing with the growing wealth and influence of Asia-Pacific nations in the world.

I’ll focus on four key areas for Canada to concentrate on to succeed as an Asia-Pacific partner.

(1) building and maintaining trust;
(2) practising the diplomacy of knowledge;
(3) strengthening our talent base through diversity; and
(4) recognizing and celebrating excellence in innovation.

Let me start with building trust: both the right thing and the bright thing to do for a smart and caring nation such as Canada.

It is difficult to overstate the importance of trust in our world today—whether you’re a private citizen, a member of a board of governors or a high profile public figure.

The relationship-based nature of transactions in the Asia-Pacific region puts added emphasis on the importance of trust. Success in the region lies in seeing beyond the next deal, to the long-term health and vitality of our relationships with Asia-Pacific partners.

Fortunately for Canadian businesses and entrepreneurs, one of Canada’s comparative advantages resides in our reputation for being a trustworthy, reliable partner. We value fairness, the long-term view and the rule of law, and prefer co-operation and compromise over conflict.

One current example of Canada’s reputation as a trustworthy partner comes from Mongolia, where I travelled on a State visit in the fall of 2013.

Mongolia—a nation of the Asia-Pacific, I might add—is undergoing a fascinating evolution toward a modern, democratic state, which is rare in its immediate region. One of its priorities is to strengthen democratic governance, build independence into its judiciary and the administration of justice, and create a professional public service.

And Mongolia has chosen to partner with Canada to achieve this.

I ask you: what could be a greater compliment to the integrity and credibility of Canada’s public service? Of course, this is not to say we cannot do better, but it does reflect the strength of Canada’s international “brand” when it comes to matters of trust.

Remember: a strong, politically neutral and professional public service and judiciary are a nation’s best safeguards against corruption.

Trust is an area in which Canada enjoys an existing competitive advantage, but we must not allow ourselves to become self-satisfied or complacent.

Building trust is also an opportunity to innovate. Corporate social responsibility is one area where new initiatives in trust-building are taking place, and we can do more.

We can also be more innovative in our understanding of the strength of our networks—for example, the people-to-people ties that exist between millions of Canadians and their family members who are living in the Asia-Pacific. We should ask ourselves: how can they help us build trust in the region?

We are fortunate to live in a country that has done a better job than most in integrating immigrants and breaking down the barriers between “us” and “them.” Let us go further in breaking down such barriers between Canada and our partners abroad.

Trust is critical to success in the Asia-Pacific today, and is key to driving home the next spike in building Canada.

The second priority area is education and the diplomacy of knowledge.

Currently, China, India and Korea are the top three sources of international students to Canada. Japan is seventh. Canadian postsecondary institutions are highly trusted among the nations of the Asia-Pacific—a legacy we must build on today.

I was privileged, while at McGill University, to have first travelled to Beijing in 1980 following the Cultural Revolution to re-establish the Norman Bethune Medical Exchange—in itself a fascinating example of trust built around one Canadian’s work in China.

From that and later visits by many others came a successful partnership between Canadian and Chinese universities called the Canada-China Management Education Program. From the mid-1980s to the mid-2000s, this program saw Canadian universities play a major role in helping top Chinese universities establish management education as a serious discipline in China.

With the support of the Canadian International Development Agency, the program linked 47 Chinese and Canadian universities in friendship and co-operation. The result: improved Chinese institutional capacity in management education, the formation of more than 60 MBA programs, and the training of hundreds of faculty members in China. This was a key part of the transformation of China’s economic development and its own business innovation.

I have come to refer to this kind of exchange as the diplomacy of knowledge, which in essence is about learning and innovating together across borders and disciplines. I believe international education is one of the most effective ways to expand our learning and to build prosperity and partnerships between individuals and societies.

The diplomacy of knowledge is, of course, a two-way street, so it is also imperative that we support Canadian students who wish to study overseas. Canada must do as many of our Asia-Pacific neighbours are doing—Australia, the United States, New Zealand, for example—and support the next generation of Canadians in learning the languages and skills that will enable them to engage effectively with Asia.

There are some great examples of this in Canada—the Alberta Abroad Program for young professionals comes to mind. British Columbia, with its International Education Strategy, is also a leader in Canada in terms of international education linkages. According to the B.C. government, the province now hosts almost one-third of all international students living in Canada. In 2012–2013, that amounted to 112,800 international students from 180 countries around the world. These are truly impressive numbers and a wonderful illustration of Canada’s international appeal, which we can and must build upon. Canada has a unique educational brand.

I also want to say this: education, innovation and trade are linked. If, for example, you’re involved in the energy business with Asia-Pacific partners, it would be worthwhile to seek out educational institutions—Canadian and international—involved in energy research and development in the region. There are many.

Partnerships in education, innovation and trade are critical to success in the Asia-Pacific today, and are key to driving home the next spike in building Canada.

All this is a hinge to my third point. Success in education, innovation and trade is the product of success in talent. Our long-term success depends upon our ability to find, foster, motivate and deploy talented people at home and abroad. And here again, thanks to our remarkable diversity and multiculturalism, Canada has another comparative advantage in the Asia-Pacific region. This is the one element of talent creation on which I wish to dwell today. There are others. Diversity is a good cradle for talent.

In 2011, Canada had a foreign-born population of almost seven million people—20 per cent of our total population. Vancouver is home to almost a million immigrants, or 14 per cent of the total immigrant population of Canada. Approximately 40 per cent of Vancouver’s total population is foreign-born; many hail from Asia-Pacific countries, representing a natural link between Canada and those countries of origin.

Look at this through just one lens: language. I believe more languages are spoken in Canada than in any other country in the world. Add to this the fact that new Canadians are encouraged to maintain their mother tongues, heritages and cultures while embracing the traditions of their adopted country. Just think of the trade, talent and trust advantages that come from the ability to speak the languages of our trading partners in the Asia-Pacific, and elsewhere in the world.

Think also of what this diversity does for Canada’s innovation or IQ—it’s innovation quotient—as I prefer to call it. A diverse population broadens our horizons and provides a rich reservoir of ideas and experiences from which to draw new ideas. Remember what Saint Exupery said in Le Petit Prince: “I am different from you, but because I am different I do not diminish you, I enrich you.”

As a nation that continues to be built on immigration, Canada must reaffirm its commitment to diversity, and to viewing it as a key asset for engaging with the world. The people-to-people ties that exist between Canada and the countries of the Asia-Pacific are deep and rich. We owe it to ourselves and to the world to find innovative ways to connect and form partnerships for mutual benefit.

Understanding the link between talent and diversity and deploying talent are key to driving home the next spike in building Canada.

Lastly, and this applies to everything I’ve been saying, our business and innovation culture must aspire to excellence, a trite but essential statement. In the interconnected world that is emerging, good is no longer good enough. Canada is quite capable of leading on innovation, but to lead we have to want to be the best.

In fact, I believe our greatest danger is complacency and immersing ourselves in a tendency towards insularity and contentedness when it comes to competing with the world beyond. One example is our level of private sector R&D investment as a percentage of GDP. According to STIC’s most recent report, gross domestic expenditures on research and development in Canada have steadily fallen to a low of 1.7 per cent in 2011. That puts us 23rd among OECD nations and leading developing economies. That’s a full 1.5 percentage points behind the top five performers: Israel, Finland, Korea, Sweden and Japan.

Remember: research is turning money into ideas and development is turning ideas into money and innovation.  We can learn some lessons from Asia-Pacific nations on raising our expectations. We also have a great example of higher aspirations that originated right here in this city: the Own The Podium program that produced such success for Canada at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, leading to a record 14 gold medals and an entire nation’s ownership and enthusiasm.

Similar to that program, we must set our expectations high, innovate to win and, importantly, we must also recognize and seek global recognition for our leading innovators, researchers and entrepreneurs.

Many opportunities to lead exist, but doing so will require imagination, critical thinking and a drive to not only be the best in the world, but to be known as the best in the world.

Global excellence in education, innovation and trade should be Canada’s signature—that is key to driving home the next spike in building this great nation.

With Canada’s 150th birthday fast approaching in 2017, I would like to call upon you, as business leaders and entrepreneurs, to take up this great challenge, the challenge to make Canada a nation of innovators.

Let me end with my favorite lines from George Bernard Shaw: Some people see things as they are. We dream if things that ought to be and ask, ‘Why not?’

Thank you.