September 25, 2006
Check against delivery
It is a real pleasure to be here to talk to the Canadian Club here in Ottawa. For over a century, the Canadian Club in Ottawa has talked about Canada and its future and where we should go as a nation. To have the opportunity to come and speak with all of you and about British Columbia's vision for Canada is a really exciting thing for me because we live in an incredibly pivotal time for Canada.
First, I want to say I appreciate federal Minister of Sport Michael Chong coming today.
Canada's hosted two Olympics so far and we're the only host nation that has never won a gold medal while we're hosting the Olympics. Well things are going to change, Michael. When we have an Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia – when we have Canada's Olympics – we are winning gold medals, and we want to serve notice to the world about that.
I also said to Michael I was pleased he is here, because my whole speech was going to be about asking Ottawa for more money.
That's actually not the case. In fact, today I want to ask you to think about Canada in a different way than you often are asked to by premiers. You know, I've been serving in public life now for over 20 years. I do believe – and I know many times we hear this – but I think that we are at a pivotal time in the history of our country, a pivotal time when we decide where we want to go, what we want to be and what are the values that we want to reflect as a country, as a nation, as a people that have something very special to offer to the world.
So I'm asking you to think of Canada in a different way than we've heard over the last almost 40 years. We've heard about, really, a federation that often talks and focuses on divisions. I think it's time for us to think about this country and what unites us, what brings us together as a country. What are the goals we share?
We used to talk about the Canadian mosaic, and the Canadian mosaic in some ways was comfortable. It was fixed. It was a clear picture. And we now live with a Canadian kaleidoscope. The colours are changing all the time. It’s by holding those colours and that variety within a value framework that we actually strive as a country to reach out for something that's even higher, that's even better, that's an even greater future for all Canadians – young and old, east and west, rural and urban, Aboriginal, French, English, African, Asian. Our country is changing all the time, and as we face those changes we can be afraid of them, we can try to hold them back, or we can open up to them, and we can say the world that lies in front of us is an exciting world for all of us in Canada to share.
Our country has a welcoming tradition, and it's time for us to build on that welcoming tradition as we invite a new host of immigration to come to our shores to help us reach our full potential and to meet all of our objectives. We need to strengthen our relationships with our closest ally, the United States. We need to fulfil our historic role as a strong and reliable ally. We need to be a world leader in promoting peace and openness and exploration in all fields of human endeavour. Canada has that to offer. In fact, we have an obligation to offer that when we think of how much those who came before us have brought this country together to this place and to this time.
So today as I stand before you, I ask us all to be bold enough to recognize that the world has changed. My bet is that if you asked Jean Ness what Canada was faced with when she started 42 years ago, she'd tell you that the world is a different place today. You know, I started 20 years ago. The world is a different place today. How many of you can remember 1990? The world is a different place today.
As we see that change, I think we have to recognize if we can reach out and build on Canada's promise, if we in fact turn away from sort of the grasping and divisive politics and federalism of the past and look to a uniting federalism for the future, look to a federalism that's built around the needs of all our citizens
