Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Saturday, June 25, 2011

I want to thank you for warmly welcoming my wife, Sharon, and me to your community today. We arrived this morning aboard the Canadian Coast Guard Ship George W. Pearkes, and it was a great thrill to see the shores of Fogo Island approach on this, our first official visit to Newfoundland and Labrador.

As you may know, one of my priorities as governor general is to reinforce and celebrate innovation in Canada. That is why I was so eager to visit Fogo Island, and to learn more about its remarkable transformation into a hub of creativity and experimentation.

This conference and the wonderful Fogo Island arts community have clearly demonstrated that the arts are much more than simply a response to the world. You have shown that art itself can be the agent of change, and that it can change our lives for the better.

Today, we live in an era of profound globalization, where our ability to work together and to innovate will determine our quality of life. That is equally true for both small rural towns and villages, and the great cities of Canada and the world.

I would like to speak for a moment on the theme of this conference, which focuses on the idea of "remote" communities and their relation to creativity and innovation. It is an important topic, one that has implications for all Canadians—not just those in smaller communities.

I believe that smaller and more remote places such as Fogo Island have a central role to play in fostering innovation. This opinion was shared by Harold Innis, one of Canada’s most original and influential thinkers, who suggested that new ideas and technologies are more likely to take root in so-called marginal regions, where the status quo is less entrenched.

Indeed, history is full of examples of the powerful impact of smaller communities and clusters of innovation. Think of the influence of the comparatively small city of Renaissance Florence on the future course of Western civilization. More recently and closer to home, consider the evolution of the small city of Waterloo, Ontario, into a thriving hub of technological innovation.

I see the same effect at play on Fogo Island, where a relatively small group of people has gathered to create something new and important. The world now looks to you as a model of community development.

I want to congratulate you on all that you have achieved, and to wish you an enlightening and productive conference. And, as we approach the 150th anniversary of Canada in 2017, I also want to challenge you to think of new ways to innovate and to help us build a smarter, more caring nation.

Thank you.