The Mark 2010

If we want Canada to succeed as a country, we as individuals need to tackle the problems we see around us.

Imagine Canada in 2017. The country is celebrating its 150th anniversary. The economy seems to be doing well; the TSX is at record levels and energy and mining stocks are prospering. The commodity sector is booming. The dollar is strong. Canada is the talk of the G-20. The country’s economic power base is decisively migrating westward to where there are abundant natural resources. The oil sands are bustling with activity; the demand for labour insatiable. The Province of Alberta has further reduced corporate and personal tax rates. One of Canada’s chartered banks has moved their head office to Calgary and other companies are studying similar moves.

On the other side of the economic ledger, structural declines in sectors such as automotive, forestry, publishing, printing, and broadcasting have eroded key pillars of our traditional economic base. The Canadian dollar (trading at a premium to the U.S.) has adversely impacted tourism and our relative cost competitiveness. Tighter access to traditional U.S. markets has caused the rate of Canadian exports to decline significantly from their historical 30 per cent of GDP. Our standard of living, as measured by GDP per capita, which in 2007 ranked us 10th among OECD countries, has declined. While thriving, our economy has returned to relying on its natural resources, leaving it precariously undiversified.

Too negative a view? Perhaps, but not implausible. Long an agile, export-driven nation with a solid manufacturing base and stores of natural resources, Canada is facing complex challenges from the relentless globalization of markets, the implications of a weaker U.S. economy and, critically, the digital revolution.

Our manufacturing sector is maturing rapidly and, as a nation, we need to reinvent it while we still can. The iPad, Kindle and other smart mobile devices are radically redefining the way we live, as are social media networks. Yet our Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) sector still accounts for only 5 per cent of GDP. Canada is lagging in innovation and R&D investment (16th among OECD countries). If the future is digital, we have catching up to do.

Our country is at a crossroads. If we choose to remain passive in the face of this change, we risk jeopardizing gains in our hard-fought standard of living and missing out on all the excitement.

As professionals we have heard this before: we need an economic action plan; an industrial blueprint for long-term growth; a national digital strategy; a knowledge-based jobs strategy. We need more leaders, entrepreneurs, venture capital, research grants, and tax incentives. While there is little disagreement about our pressing need for renewal, the question lingers: as individuals, what can we do about it?

We could blame others: politicians for not showing leadership; “old economy” leaders for not fostering innovation; the stock market for encouraging short-term thinking. Or we can simply look to ourselves, the present generation of leaders, who see the issues but remain passive. We must adopt a culture of “can-do” leadership at the individual level.

Last summer, I read my way through a dozen books on the American Revolution. To my surprise, the most interesting character (in a star-studded cast) was Benjamin Franklin. Author, journalist, inventor, printer, publisher, politician, scientist, investor, and diplomat, Franklin had an unyielding commitment to three basic principles: How are you improving yourself? How are you improving others? How are you improving your community?

Franklin was not only deeply civic minded; he also recognized the need to institutionalize solutions by engaging others to take ownership. He created the precursor to today’s think tanks, setting up the “Junto” in 1727, a club whose principal purpose was to debate and solve the pressing issues of the day.

Indeed, the matters pressing upon us today extend far beyond the state of the digital revolution. Challenges abound in education, health care, homelessness, and foreign policy. All will impact our standard of living in the future.

During Franklin’s 84 years, he individually attacked similar challenges of his day, and launched a plethora of initiatives, including the first lending library, first college, first volunteer fire corps, and the first insurance company association. He was an unbounded thinker and problem solver – a role model for us all.

Chances are, you are already engaged in making a positive difference in your own way. Is it enough or can you reach for more? Franklin’s best talent lay in his ability to continually reinvent himself and to act boldly. For the present generation of leaders, the question is clear – do we take it up a few levels and get fully engaged as individuals, or do we let this opportunity pass us by?