Canada’s Head of State David Johnston has just started his Innovation Tour of the US, with his first stop in Atlanta, Georgia.
As part of the tour, Johnston visited the Tech Square Labs incubator, where representatives from start-ups such as Vericlean, Stackfolio, and Luma gave presentations. He also met with the youth learning coding programs. Johnston stressed the importance of Canada and the US working together for mutual benefits.
Many Canadian companies are supplying products and services to the US. One example is the 75 C-Series jets Delta Air Lines has purchased from Canada’s Bombardier. The other is the construction of the Mercedes-Benz / Atlanta Falcons stadium. The stadium is scheduled for completion in 2017, and Canada’s Can-Am Steel Corp. is supplying more than 700 precision engineering components for the stadium’s retractable roof.
Johnston pointed out that more than 250 Canadian companies were operating in the US state of Georgia and were providing employment to more than 10,000 people. He stressed how learning and innovation go hand-in-hand and can benefit both nations.
Johnston praised the Southeastern US-Canadian Provinces Alliance and NAFTA, which he claimed has helped the three nations involved – the US, Canada and Mexico. He stated that NAFTA has helped strengthen the countries’ supply chains, and it benefitted Mexico by ensuring economic growth and strengthening the justice system. He emphasized how Canada, with its civil and common law, could work well with both the US and Mexico.
However, Johnston was quick to state that Canada’s success as a business partner is subject to the nation working with other nations and learning from one another. A country like Canada is successful because of its creativity, collaboration, culture, curiosity and celebration, all of which spur productivity. The diverse cultures and languages found in Canada promote social harmony and make the country more global and outward-looking, opined Johnston.
He reminded businesses, students and prospective entrepreneurs that Canada was investing in innovation and research in areas such as life sciences, energy, information and communications technology, and environment, and he said these investments were reaping results.
There is no doubt that Canada is encouraging and promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. The provincial and federal governments have established incubators and also have several incentives in place to help entrepreneurs succeed in a global business environment. Many entrepreneurs can benefit from a UCW MBA degree. The UCW MBA program emphasizes critical thinking, making the best use of opportunities, and overcoming business challenges with innovative yet pragmatic solutions. This helps make UCW MBA graduates into efficient and effective global leaders.
