The World Needs More Canada: Trust, Technology and the Future

Canada Day has never been about looking backward for me. It’s about spending time with family and friends, celebrating what it means to be Canadian, and appreciating the values that make this country one of the best places in the world to call home.

This year, though, I find myself thinking about the future. Not because I’m worried about Canada. Because I’m optimistic.

That may seem like an unusual sentiment in a world shaped by geopolitical instability, economic uncertainty and rapid advances in artificial intelligence. Every day brings another headline predicting disruption. Governments are rethinking alliances. Businesses are rethinking their strategies. Entire industries are being rebuilt. The world feels like it is entering a new chapter.

History often remembers these moments as periods of uncertainty. Looking back, we give them names: the Industrial Revolution, the Information Age, the Space Race. Living through them is different. They feel uncertain because there are few maps to follow and no proven playbook. I believe we are living through one of those moments today, and I believe Canada is uniquely positioned to help write what comes next.

During visits to Brussels and the United Kingdom in 2024, one observation surfaced repeatedly, regardless of who we were speaking with: “The world needs more Canada.” At the time, I took it as a compliment. Today, I think it is something much more significant.

The world is looking for countries that are dependable. Countries whose institutions work, who honour their commitments, whose financial systems are stable. Countries whose universities produce exceptional talent, who can generate clean energy, steward natural resources responsibly, protect critical infrastructure and collaborate with trusted partners. In other words, the world is looking for countries like Canada.

For years, we have defined ourselves by what we are not. We are not the United States. We are not the largest economy. We are not the loudest voice in the room. Perhaps it is time to define ourselves by what we are.

Canada’s competitive advantage is trust.

In the digital age, trust is not simply a virtue. It is infrastructure. Artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital identity, cloud computing and critical infrastructure all depend on it. Businesses need trusted partners. Citizens need trusted institutions. Democracies need trusted information. Nations need trusted allies. Canada’s reputation has become one of our greatest strategic assets.

That reputation is supported by real strengths. Canada is home to world-leading researchers and universities, an education system that continues to attract global talent, stable financial institutions, and democratic institutions that, while not perfect, continue to earn confidence. We have abundant clean energy, critical minerals, water and the space needed to build the infrastructure that will power the next generation of computing. Most countries have some of these advantages. Very few have all of them.

This is why I believe Canada’s technology strategy should be much bigger than technology. Artificial intelligence is not simply a software industry. It is an energy strategy, an industrial strategy, an education strategy. Most importantly, it is a nation-building strategy.

Generational nation building projects? Yes, please.

Generations ago Canada built railways, ports, highways, hydroelectric systems and public institutions that connected our country and strengthened our economy. Today’s nation building includes those things, but it demands something more: investing in sovereign digital infrastructure, helping Canadian companies grow into global competitors, connecting research to commercialization, using public procurement to strengthen Canadian innovation. It means ensuring that the value created by AI benefits Canadians and stays connected to Canadian talent, ideas and communities.

It also means recognizing that the disruption around us is not only a challenge. It is an opportunity. As the global order shifts, countries are searching for dependable partners. Supply chains are changing. Technology ecosystems are evolving. New alliances are forming around shared democratic values, trusted technology and economic resilience.

Canada does not need to choose between working with our closest allies and building greater capability at home. Those objectives reinforce one another. We can build Canadian capacity while partnering with like-minded countries that share our commitment to openness, democracy and responsible innovation. Leadership today is less about standing apart. It is about becoming the partner others want beside them.

There is another reason I am optimistic and it’s personal.

I have two millennial children. Both are kind. Both are capable. But they are each trying to build meaningful lives in a world that feels much less predictable than the one I entered. I have every confidence in them. What I have less confidence in is the certainty of the path ahead. And it’s not because of who they are or their abilities but because what is coming has not really been seen before. There are no reliable maps for them to navigate.

Artificial intelligence will reshape work and new industries will emerge while others disappear. Careers are already becoming less linear as we are required to evolve our skills faster than ever before.

My job, as dad, is not to solve that uncertainty for my kids. It is to help build the foundation from which they can succeed. Let’s build an economy where they can start companies, invent technologies, commercialize research, build careers, raise families and create prosperity here in Canada. Let’s ensure they are not simply adapting to the future. Let’s give them the opportunity to build it. If we get this right, the next generation won’t simply inherit a great country. They’ll inherit one whose best chapters are still ahead.

That is why I remain optimistic. Not because the future will be easy. Because Canada already has what many countries are searching for: trusted institutions, world-class talent, abundant natural resources, strong public services, a stable financial system, a tradition of collaboration, and values that the world increasingly needs.

Canada has never succeeded by trying to become someone else. We have succeeded by being ourselves. Perhaps that is exactly what this moment calls for.

The world needs more Canada. Let’s build it together.