How to Fix Canada's Political Parties: The Conservatives

Canada must compete where the world economy is heading.

Innovation is the lifeblood of today’s global economy. What used to take five years to be adopted in advanced economies now takes two or three. New ideas are sourced in many countries, spread faster, and die a quicker death.

All this puts greater pressure on Canada to be a critical source of innovation if we want to retain our standard of living. It is too easy for us to sit back and enjoy being an energy- and resource-rich country. Yet this will not allow young Canadians to play in the big leagues of where the world economy is heading. We have had some notable success stories: RIM, Bombardier, CAE, and Nortel in its day, yet there are two areas where we must do better.

First, we need to make it easier to obtain funding from Ottawa. The government, at both the federal and provincial levels, provides good to excellent levels of support for some sectors, but I frequently hear from business that the paperwork associated with obtaining this support is simply too much. I understand that accountability is a big issue for governments these days and reducing bureaucratic controls runs counter to that, but I believe the risk is worth it. Yes, it might mean there will be more money lost, but the upside is too attractive to ignore.

Only one or two of every 10 new ventures make it to profitability. So there will be a lot of misses before you get the hits you need to be a great economy. Our country has the entrepreneurs, but we need to provide them the capital and other support they require for success. The federal government has an important role to play here.

More important is dealing with the risk adverse culture that seems to be part and parcel of the Canadian mentality. This is what I hear repeatedly from business people. Culture change at this level is a huge, couple-of-decades type of effort. Better we get started now than wait for even more time to go by. High schools, business schools, the media, provincial and federal governments, the financial services industry, and, above all, business all have parts to play. Government cannot possibly do this alone, but it can be the orchestrator and encourager of this culture shift. This is a challenge that will have to be taken on by successive governments. Let this government start now.