Flying the Maple Leaf for those sparks of Canadian genius
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Canada’s 159th birthday comes halfway through a year that so far has been defined by “big” — big retooling, big projects, big numbers and big goals.
Canada’s economic opportunities are defined in terms of millions of tonnes of rural Canada’s critical minerals, billions of tonnes of potash, hundreds of billions of barrels of oil and trillions of cubic metres of natural gas.
There has been considerable discussion about Prime Minister Mark Carney's effort to run government more like a business, and with a strong (big) emphasis on attracting investment and driving economic growth. His travel has been dominated by the search for deals and memoranda of understanding aimed at unlocking billions of dollars in new investment in Canada. That approach will be on display again this fall when he leads the Canada Investment Summit, hoping to bring some of the world's most influential investors to Toronto and with them, billions more in potential investment.
Canadians are counting on that ambition. But as can be expected, the big projects will take time, and the window for Canadians to feel the outcomes remains unclear. In the meantime, Canada already has one of the world's greatest competitive advantages: the entrepreneurial know-how of millions of Canadians. If we want to succeed on the "big," we should celebrate and learn from the founders, builders and risk-takers whose ingenuity has quietly shaped Canada's economy for generations.
Celebrating the spark of small business genius
Right now, Canadian small businesses account for almost half of private sector employment and one-third of our GDP. More importantly, they embody a way of thinking. Their entrepreneurial energy and innovation are engaged at a faster speed and with an agility and nimbleness that is tough to replicate.
Indeed, Canada is an entrepreneurial hotspot. We rank first in the G7 for early-stage entrepreneurial activity. From sea to sea to sea, they are developing new products and creating cutting-edge agricultural, mining and manufacturing processes. They are trailblazing and innovating on next-generation digital technologies, revolutionizing customer experience and commercializing academic and other research.
From the storefronts where everything began to the online marketplaces, small and medium-sized businesses meet Canadians where they are. They are closest to their customers, their communities and the real-world problems that need solving. They spend only where there is the highest impact.
Armed with laptops, wifi, now AI and a spark of genius that revealed a gap, a niche, or an opportunity not seen by others, these Canadian builders were pressed by their own clock and the urgency to meet their next client for whom they will deliver the very best outcome. With a bias toward action, they simply get on with it. As the affable and always sharp John Weir used to say, "It all starts with an idea."
Working at the kitchen table, or the library, or the lecture hall, or during their off hours, fueled by Timbits and dark (Ken) or traditional (Jacquie) roast, they have worked with a will and purpose to make something, quite literally, from nothing.
Building an economy made by and for Canadians is an idea we have all gotten behind. Small businesses are just glad Canada is finally showing up.
Increasingly, they are one of the driving forces behind Canada's biggest ambitions. Though it is not widely known or understood, the capabilities being developed by Canadian entrepreneurs are helping make many of tomorrow's major projects possible.
A way of building worth borrowing
Across every province and territory, entrepreneurs are already building pieces of the aspirational "One Canadian Economy." They are solving problems, commercializing research, modernizing traditional industries and proving that Canadian innovation is either formed in their immediate ecosystem or in equal partnership with a larger one.
Their way of building is worth borrowing. Their bias toward action, sense of accountability, willingness to experiment, end-user focus, agility, financial discipline and relentless problem-solving are qualities that governments, businesses and institutions alike would do well to embrace as they pursue Canada's biggest ambitions at home and across the world.
Our greatest competitive advantage has never been measured only in tonnes, barrels or dollars. It is found in the entrepreneurial know-how of millions of Canadians who build, invent, adapt and create every day. If we want to succeed on the "big," we must also celebrate — and learn from — the "small." In a world of “big”, small is forever constant.
The opportunity is simple: match Canada’s big ambitions with a willingness, at every level, to learn from the small businesses already building here every day, again and again.
As we celebrate our unmatched blessings as a country, spare some time to reflect on the oft-undercelebrated sparks of small business genius that have made and continue to make and remake this great country.
Happy Canada Day.
