Ottawa, ON | November 21, 2016 – Startup Canada, Google Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) today announced the findings of a three-month national dialogue series called Building a Creative and Entrepreneurial Canada.
Joined by the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, the partners highlighted key themes and top recommendations from more than 1,000 Canadian artists, content creators, cultural entrepreneurs and leaders within the innovation, entrepreneurship and academic communities who shared their vision for an inclusive innovation agenda with potential to create significant opportunities and advancements in education, innovation and entrepreneurship.
“By building creative and entrepreneurial capacity in rural, Indigenous, and newcomer communities, our diversity can be leveraged as our greatest strength,” said Victoria Lennox, CEO and Co-Founder of Startup Canada. “As ‘One Canada’, we can celebrate this diversity and brand Canada to the world as a leading innovation nation that attracts students, researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, and multinational corporations to advance our economy and culture.”
“Today’s creators have a tremendous opportunity to share their voice and their creativity directly via the open internet. Whether they are speaking to their own community or to an audience that is halfway around the world the barrier between who is a creator and who is a consumer has been fundamentally altered by the web,” said Colin McKay, Head of Public Policy and Government Relations at Google Canada. “Our goal has to be helping ensure that access to the vast potential of the internet is available to all creative Canadians, and that they have the skills to build businesses that can compete on a global scale.”
“SSHRC is proud to have been part of these discussions to harness the creativity of Canadians,” said Dr. Ted Hewitt, President of SSHRC. “Social science and humanities research has the power to transform the way we do things. It also provides the knowledge needed to inform evidence-based policy and commercialize ideas to create jobs and sustained economic prosperity.”
Key themes from this series, which emerged through forums in six cities, a digital consultation and dozens of in-person interviews, include the following:
- Fostering inclusivity through innovation. A national vision that inspires every Canadian with equal opportunity to create and innovate in today’s digital world will have a resounding impact on Canada’s culture and economy.
- Re-imagining what and how skills are taught in educational institutions at all levels. According to the World Economic Forum, by 2020, one-third of all jobs will require complex problem solving skills. Critical thinking, analytical, digital data and interpersonal skills will also be core requirements. To prepare Canadian students for this future workforce, partnerships are needed to ensure every student has access to this skills training.
- Breaking down silos between the arts and business communities. Innovation is taking place across sectors, and if we are to succeed in the new economy, startup communities and innovation clusters must be welcoming to all.
- Reflecting Canada’s creativity, innovation and entrepreneurialism in national branding and in public spaces. Canadian values are rooted in peace, order and good governance, but a lesser-told story is the reality that Canada is also brimming with creators, innovators and risk-takers. To instil confidence and pride in Canadian-made content, products and services, now is the time to augment Canada’s brand and procurement practices to reflect these core values.
The report includes more than 20 top ideas from participants across Canada to accomplish these goals. These ideas include, but are not limited to:
- I Am Canada | Launch a national storytelling campaign celebrating and championing Canada’s greatest and emerging entrepreneurs as heroes, leaders and role models through digital and mainstream channels that reflect the diversity of our people, regions, and industries.
- Entrepreneurship Leader and Innovation Sandboxes | Appoint a National Entrepreneurship Leader for the Government of Canada to build a network of Entrepreneurs in Residence and Innovation Sandboxes across every government department and agency.
- Newcomer Startup Services | Partner with local business organizations and diaspora groups to provide startup information and support to newcomers and entrepreneurship education as part of settlement service offerings across Canada.
- Access to Capital for Indigenous Entrepreneurs | Work with financial institutions and implement the necessary regulatory changes to allow for business loans for Indigenous entrepreneurs who do not have access to land title ownership.
- Digital Skills | Work with provinces, industry, and non-profits to encourage early access to digital literacy education for all youth – both inside and outside the formal school system – by encouraging inclusion of computer science and computational thinking in curriculum and building the capacity of organizations that promote these skills via workshops, camps and clubs.
- Career Counsellor Entrepreneur and Startup Kit | Work with the provinces, industry and non-profits to equip every guidance counsellor with the information, training and resources they require to identify and support entrepreneurial students and to foster awareness of entrepreneurship as a viable career option.
- Startup Campuses | Support a national network of student-led entrepreneurship clubs at colleges and universities across Canada, providing a national platform for student enterprises across all disciplines with regional and national conferences, competitions and opportunities to engage the private sector and startup community in student-led programming and incubators on campuses.
- Creative Capital | Develop a map of funding and programs available for digital and creative entrepreneurs and make it accessible to the entrepreneurs themselves. Any gaps uncovered through the mapping should form the basis of a plan to find creative approaches to fill funding gaps.
- Brand Canada Globally | Undertake a global digital and mainstream campaign to brand Canada as an international powerhouse for innovation, creativity and prosperity to attract the best entrepreneurs, investors and businesses.
- First Adopter Nation | Through intentional, bold and ambitious reforms to procurement and the opening up of public and private sector first adopter sandboxes to rapidly test and provide feedback on early stage technologies in environments where failure is an option, Canada can intentionally build a culture of rapid prototyping, testing, pivoting, iterating and launching world-class innovations.
- The First Mile | To connect Canadians to stories and to give them access to means of expression, innovation, communication and opportunity, every community and every Canadian should have have access to high speed, affordable and quality Internet. The Government of Canada should work with major telecom providers to aggressively connect all of Canada through high-speed Internet access, seeing rural communities not as last mile, but first mile communities.
For more key themes and top ideas, read the full report at www.startupcan.ca/creativecanada.
To arrange interviews, and for more information, contact:
Kathryn Forrest
Communications and Marketing Manager, Startup Canada
1-844-782-7801 ext. 106
press@startupcan.ca
About Startup Canada
Startup Canada is the national rallying community for Canada’s 2.3 million entrepreneurs. Through flagship programs, digital platforms, and cross sector partnerships between entrepreneurs, private sector, and government, Startup Canada offers training, resources, and a peer network to give every entrepreneur equal opportunity for success. As members of Startup Canada, entrepreneurs are championed by the community and are given a national voice to media, industry and government. For more information, visit www.startupcan.ca.
About Google
Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. As a global technology leader, Google’s innovations in web search and advertising have made its website a top internet property and its brand one of the most recognized in the world. Google Canada has offices in Waterloo, Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa with nearly 1,000 ‘Canooglers’ working on teams across Engineering, Sales, Marketing, PR, Policy, and HR.
About the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)
The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council is the Canadian federal agency mandated to promote and support postsecondary-based research and training in the humanities and social sciences. Through its Talent, Insight and Connections programs, SSHRC helps to train the next generation of talented leaders and creative thinkers; build knowledge and understanding about people, cultures and societies; and drive the innovations that address the challenges of today and tomorrow. For more information, visit www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca.