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Fifty-two of western Canada’s next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders—all under 40 years of age—met in Calgary recently to discuss the factors they believe will shape the economy over the next 10 to 20 years.
Organized as part of the Canada West Foundation’s NEXT West Project, Generating Wealth: A Summit for Western Canada’s Next Generation of Business Leaders, also asked the participants what they want governments to be doing to help ensure that Canada’s economy is competitive over the long-term, and what they think the private sector should do to adjust to changing economic circumstances.
“Unlike a standard conference on economic policy, where most participants would be in their 50s or 60s and only a handful under 40, the Generating Wealth Summit reversed this and invited only people under 40 years of age,” Robert Roach, the Canada West Foundation’s Director of Research, said. “The result was a refreshing take on the regional economy, where it is headed and what public policy should be doing to ensure its long-term competitiveness.”
When asked what governments should do to help ensure that Canada’s economy is competitive, Summit participants identified the following priorities.
- Show leadership and take the long-view
- Greatly increase the speed of decision-making
- Ensure that experts play a larger role in policy-making
- Increase the availability of affordable housing
- Do more to attract and retain workers
- Expand Aboriginal participation in the workforce
- Include finances and entrepreneurship in high school curriculum
- Increase investment in universities and the knowledge economy
- Increase immigration and recognition of foreign credentials and experience
- Increase investment in communications infrastructure
- Increase support technology and knowledge transfer
- Improve tax incentives for emerging industries
- Use tax incentives to encourage private investment in the creative economy
- Reduce business taxes
- Reduce the regulatory burden
- Increase interprovincial cooperation and federal provincial cooperation
- Increase support for diversification of the economy away from natural resources
- Create a national securities regulator
- Exercise fiscal discipline and keep public debt low
For more information on the summit, contact Dr. Jason Bristow (bristow@cwf.ca).
Core funding for The NEXT West Project has been provided by Western Economic Diversification Canada and the Kahanoff Foundation. Additional funding has been provided by an anonymous foundation, the Canada West Foundation Founders’ Endowment Fund, Petro-Canada, Teck Cominco Limited, and Canadian Western Bank. Sponsorship funding for the summit was provided by CN, Philips, Hager & North Investment Management Ltd., and SaskEnergy. The Canada West Foundation expresses its sincere thanks for this generous support.
Author(s): Dr. Jason Bristow
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