The Canadian Entrepreneurship Advantage

In Dubai yesterday, as part of my work with NextStars, a Toronto-based business advisory/mentoring firm, I gave a speech to a group of entrepreneurs and immigration consultants from many nations about what makes Canada such a great place to start, grow or invest in a business. My theme was "community."

In the spirit of sharing, here's an excerpt from that speech.

"A few facts about Canada you may not know. Canada is the world's second-largest country - but 90% of us huddle within 300 km of our southern border. We have 40 million people, and the world’s ninth-largest economy. Our official languages are English and French, but we are proud to be one of the world’s most culturally diverse societies. Wherever you come from, you will find community in Canada.

Canadians don’t like to boast, but we also have a proud record of invention and innovation. Canadians gave the world the snowmobile and the snowblower - well, duh - but also the light bulb, the telephone, insulin, Pablum, peanut butter, standard time, and the first cell phones with email (remember the Blackberry?). But we're not done yet. Canadians also developed kerosene, color movies, alkaline batteries, the Java programming language, and the push-up bra (are we allowed to say that in Dubai?). Something for everybody.

Canada also produces amazing entrepreneurs. Have you heard about the World Entrepreneur of the Year program run by the accounting firm EY? Canadians won this global crown in Monaco twice in its first 16 years - one of just  three countries to do so (along with the US and India).

The first winner was Guy la Liberte, founder of Cirque du Soleil, still dazzling audiences with shows and tours around the world.

Ten years later, the world crown  went to another globally minded Canadian, Murad Al-Katib, founder of AGT Foods in Regina, Saskatchewan. AGT is the world’s largest producer of pulse crops (that is, beans, lentils and chickpeas). Murad, the son of immigrants from Turkey, didn’t win just for surpassing $1 billion in sales, from changing the future of agriculture in Saskatchewan, or for his dream of ending world hunger with plant protein. The EY judges loved that AGT had provided 700 million rations for the United Nations’ food program for Syrian refugees.

Canadians. Community.

Two more all-star entrepreneurs. When the U.S. network ABC licensed the rights to Dragons' Den, the hit British TV show with superstar entrepreneurs competing for deals, they renamed the show Shark Tank. And they hired two successful Canadian entrepreneurs, Kevin O'Leary and Croatian-born Robert Herjavic, to pretend to be American entrepreneurs. So, never let anyone tell you that Canadian entrepreneurs are not world-class - or that you have to be born in Canada to succeed there. 

In fact, Canada’s version of Dragons’ Den has featured three other immigrant entrepreneurs: chef Vikram Vij, from India; fashion mogul Joseph Mimran, from Morocco; and financier Wes Hall from Jamaica.

Canada has always depended on  immigrant entrepreneurs and investors - and we still do. Because they don’t just bring money, ideas and business savvy - but an appetite for change and improvement. 

As a business journalist for 30 years, I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many outstanding Canadian entrepreneurs. Those experiences, and working with Saeed Zeinali of NextStars, has enabled us to articulate a new model of Canadian entrepreneurship.

For too long, we’ve bought the Silicon Valley ethos of “disruption”. Move fast and break things. But Canadian entrepreneurship is different. Canadians believe in collaboration over confrontation. They love their customers. They want to fix things, not break them. They make business more efficient, more human. They believe in win-win-win - for their suppliers, their customers, and themselves. And they pursue global markets from the get-go. 

All these characteristics give Canadian entrepreneurs a strong start and ongoing advantage."

What do you think of our thesis?