Toronto, Thursday, December 2, 2010

I would like to thank Premier McGuinty for inviting Sharon and me to this wonderful event. 

Since my installation, I have been inviting Canadians to join me in imagining our country as it could be. We strive for a smart and caring nation where all Canadians can succeed, contribute and develop their talents to their fullest potential. We want to be a nation that increases and applies the knowledge of its citizens to improve the condition of all—at home and around the world. 

To achieve this vision, I have set out three pillars; supporting families and children; reinforcing learning and innovation; and encouraging philanthropy and volunteerism.

We all know that Canada’s early settlers learned to care for, and collaborate and share with, their neighbours—to build barns and villages in the hope of a better life for their children. They understood the essence of family building and fostered the collaboration to affect it.

The smart and caring Canada that we envision will measure itself in terms of how well it develops the talents of its people—and how it uses their knowledge to improve the human condition.

Knowledge provides every child every opportunity to grow intellectually, to the best of their ability and then to experience the joy of applying it.

Canada must build a nation that learns, but it must also foster a nation that cares, a nation that looks outward, beyond its borders, to the wider world. 

But it all begins with learning. In our globalized world, leadership comes from the strength of our ideas and the pace of our innovation.

In 2017, Canada will mark its 150th anniversary.  We want to be a smart and caring nation—a society that innovates, embraces its talent and uses the knowledge of each of its citizens.

Let me end with a quote by George Bernard Shaw:

“Some people see things as they are and wonder why.
We dream of things that ought to be and ask why not.”

Thank you.