Guelph, Ontario, Thursday, June 25, 2015

What a pleasure it is to be with you in Guelph—truly one of this country’s smartest, most caring communities.

The evidence for that is right here in this room. The kind of excellence shown by this evening’s award recipients is a big part of the reason why this city is thriving.

To each of you, I offer my thanks for your contributions to Guelph and to Canada.

Congratulations to all of you!

Cities are such important centres of knowledge and creativity, and this is particularly true today in this era of rapid and sometimes unsettling change.

It’s certainly true of Guelph, one of the fastest-growing cities in the country.

I think it’s fair to say that Guelph, much like Canada and indeed our world today, is at a hinge point in its history.

This is a time of profound globalization.

Of disruptive technologies.

Of major demographic shifts.

Of changing attitudes and expectations towards governments, institutions and public services.

Of challenges related to our environment, our energy supplies and our health care. 

This is the context in which we live, and what happens in Guelph matters not just to the people who live here, but to all Canadians.

Why?

Because smart and caring cities are key to our future. The resilience, viability and sustainability of our communities is our future.

And what you do here can inspire and elevate other communities in the region, across this province and throughout Canada.

So what needs to happen?

The answer is to create a culture where as many people as possible take ownership of this community, feel they have a stake in its future and contribute to making it smarter and more innovative.

And I believe that intelligent, compassionate communities will be built upon three major elements:

1. Leadership;

2. Collaboration;

3. Innovation.

Let me start with leadership.

Whether your specialty is business, philanthropy and volunteerism, heritage preservation or some other aspect of citizenship, each of you—the recipients of a Guelph Award of Excellence—is a leader in your own way.

And you’re exactly what this community needs.

Leadership, of course, means having a vision and the ability to articulate and act upon it, but it also means recognizing your dependence on the people around you.

Most goals in life are indeed 1 per cent inspiration and 99 per cent perspiration, and leaders need to reach out and work with others as much as possible. Indeed, when it comes to community building, this is a must.

A community leader recognizes that he or she doesn’t sit at the top of a pyramid, but rather occupies a position in a network. He or she is only as strong as that network, only as successful.

This brings me to my second theme: collaboration.

Collaboration is critical not just because of the need to share tasks and ensure support from key partners, but for yet another reason entirely: the possibilities that arise when people of different talents and perspectives come together.

Let me share an example from this community that I find so inspiring: the Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington.

As you may know, the Children’s Foundation’s mission is to help children and youth reach their full potential through programs that support their intellectual, emotional and physical well-being.

And one of the key values the Children’s Foundation embraces in pursuing this worthy goal is collaboration.

When it comes to supporting our children, such collaboration is critical.

It’s the only way to help more than 15,000 children annually, which supporters of the Children’s Foundation are doing. They’ve also provided more than 1 million school meals and have supported, at last count, more than 1,400 sports, arts and recreational activities.

They’re even providing holiday gifts to hundreds of families!

Again, this is only possible through the shared efforts of Children’s Foundation volunteers and staff, local schools, sports and arts organizations, social service and family support agencies, donors and fundraisers, and sponsors and funding agencies.   

Today, thousands of children in this community are happier, healthier and have a better chance in life—and broad collaboration made it possible.

This brings me to my third and final theme: innovation.

What do I mean by innovation?

I mean developing new and better ways of doing things and creating value that have a meaningful and positive impact on our quality of life.

It’s important to remember that innovation is not invention. Innovation is an economic and social process, a means by which productivity is improved and better ways of organizing and operating are achieved as a society.

Such improvements are crucial in times of change. They’re vital to maintaining our well-being.

One thing I’d like to emphasize is that, as we work to become more innovative, we need to recognize that there is no cookie-cutter approach.

This is especially true when it comes to our communities, which have unique strengths and weaknesses. There really is no place like home.

Our challenge is to build on the strengths in creative ways, to amplify and leverage them to create new possibilities. Differentiation is emerging as a key ingredient for success in today’s world, whether you’re talking about an individual, an organization, a city or a country.

What attributes does Guelph possess that are unique and valuable—perhaps more than you even realize?

You’re already building on this city’s strengths. What possibilities remain? Surely there are a number of them if you know where, and how, to look.

I’d like to close by sharing an example of how this community has successfully combined leadership, collaboration and innovation: the City of Guelph’s partnership with the University of Waterloo’s Faculty of Applied Health Sciences to enhance the quality of life of residents.

I was so pleased to see the City work together with the University to conduct a “wellbeing survey” of residents. The guiding framework for the survey was the Canadian Index of Wellbeing, a set of indicators that broadly measures Canadians’ quality of life. The aim is to go beyond simple measures of GDP. The indicators measure well-being in the following spheres:

• Community vitality;
• Democratic engagement;
• Education;
• Environment;
• Healthy populations;
• Leisure and culture;
• Living standards; and
• Time use.

The results of the survey are helping to inform and improve public policy and services. The goal is to help ensure residents “lead healthy, active and happy lives,” and I was pleased to see this project recognized internationally by the U.S.-based Community Indicators Consortium, which awarded it a 2013 Impact Award.

The wellbeing index is a great example of how our “smartness” can reinforce our “caring.”

It goes without saying that we must be caring and compassionate, but limited resources paired with growing needs means we have to be smart about it. Measurement allows us to chart progress, improve performance and communicate value. It also allows us to avoid unnecessary duplication of efforts and administrative costs.

It’s not a question of either/or, but rather both/and. Equality and excellence. Intelligence and compassion. Smart and caring.

I’m certain that if any city can take this formula to the next level, Guelph is that city.

Together, you can show all Canadians what’s possible when people come together from diverse backgrounds and perspectives with a common cause—that of building a better community.

Indeed, you’re already doing so. Keep going. Don’t look back.

Congratulations once again on your accomplishments. You are worthy recipients of these awards of excellence.

Thank you.