Sharpening Canada's economic edge has never been more important than it is today. This challenge brought together some of our best business leaders, academics and politicians for our sixth Microsoft CAN>WIN summit in Toronto in October, 2009. We discussed opportunities for Canada to compete and win when the global economy emerges from recession.

The Honourable Bob Rae, Liberal Foreign Affairs Critic and former Premier of Ontario, opened the day and Prime Minister Stephen Harper closed it. In between, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer spoke of the critical role of technology in innovation, and experts from the private and public sectors shared their insights about our challenges and how they might be solved.

I want to share some highlights of the day including video clips from the speeches as well as interviews with panellists.

Allan Gregg, a well known broadcaster and political commentator, moderated the day and set the tone. Allan has been the  CAN>WIN facilitator for five years and he told the audience there is a remarkable consensus about what needs to be done to close Canada's productivity gap, an ongoing and key obstacle to Canadian competitiveness. He noted the obvious solutions: more research and development, better access to venture capital, better relationships with our universities, recognizing credentials of new Canadians and eliminating regulatory overlap.

If we know the problem, and we know the answer, why aren't we seeing great productivity improvements?  Here's Allan:

I couldn't agree more. And I said so when I welcomed everyone to our event.

Urgency and action were central themes at CAN>WIN 2009. Perrin Beatty, President of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, our co-sponsor, didn't mince his words:

Mr. Beatty asserted that Canada lacks vision and will. And Mr. Rae agreed we lack strong political leadership on these issues. He identified the need for our federal and provincial governments to set aside their differences and work for the common good and called for a change in the culture that permeates Canadian leadership circles.

Our panellists, leaders that they are, focused on problem solving.

The world has changed, said Elyse Allan, President and CEO of GE Canada. GE is keenly aware of this. She said the company keeps its focus on performance and what contributes to its business success. It survives and thrives by being flexible, doing things differently, constantly changing.

So what can Canada do better? According to Ms. Allan, we can do a lot. She urged business leaders to put more emphasis on growing our manufacturing base.

An educated workforce comfortable with innovation and technology is surely the key to closing Canada's productivity gap. That recipe is missing to a significant extent in our energy sector, which is a major driver of the Canadian economy. Listen to John Manzoni, President and CEO of Talisman Energy, one of Canada's largest oil and gas companies:

Capacity building, training, education - we get some of it right, but according to Indira Samarasekera, President of University of Alberta, the strength of our university system is fragile. She sounded alarm bells regarding the underfunding of our universities. 

The Canada brand, or lack thereof, was certainly on the mind of Trish Wheaton, the Chief Marketing Officer for Wunderman, a global marketing company. Ms. Wheaton, who is also the Chairperson of Wunderman Canada, cited international research that ranks Canada poorly when it comes to communicating our positive attributes. Listen to this fascinating segment which describes how poor brand recognition impacts all Canadians.

Despite some brand issues, Canadian companies are heading out to grow market share around the world. Shauneen Bruder, RBC's Executive Vice President of Business and Commercial Banking, contends that mid- and large-sized Canadian companies that have successfully managed through this period of volatility  in currency markets, and are now learning to live with an expensive loonie, have used this period to introduce efficiencies. As a result, they are emerging from this economic downturn stronger than ever.

Michael Kergin, former Canadian Ambassador to the United States, reminded us that trade between Canada and the United States is becoming more challenging by the day. One way to penetrate that thickening border, he said, is for all Canadian governments to present a united voice when dealing with the United States on these important issues.

During a Q&A with Allan Gregg, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer spoke about government's role in addressing a productivity shortfall and emphasized that investment in education is paramount to success. He also praised Canada for creating a climate that attracts the best and brightest to live and work here.

Staying on the education theme, Allan asked Steve about improving relationships between corporate Canada and our universities. 

Wayne Wouters is a long time senior public servant and now Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet. Mr. Wouters listened to Steve Ballmer's remarks and saw how governments, federal and provincial, could benefit from sharpening their own IT edge.

Mr. Wouters was very frank when it came to identifying the problems facing Canada. We do have a productivity gap, he said, which will become more serious as our aging workforce retires, as trade with the U.S. declines and as we confront our growing commitments to a cleaner environment. On all this and more, he said the government needs closer collaboration with its stakeholders.

This CAN>WIN conference had a note of urgency to it. The public and private sector must find ways to become more globally competitive even as the recession has put huge pressures on our balance sheets. Government must fully embrace the advantages of information technology, Canada must improve its marketing, focus more on manufacturing and our educational institutions. There were lots of concrete solutions offered over this very interesting and intense day. I hope you found the comments we selected valuable.

Everyone left energized, undaunted by the work that lies ahead. And hopeful that come CAN>WIN number seven, we will be reporting great progress.

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