"I think probably our universities and colleges have not been vigorous enough in producing the kind of people who go into industry and say, “How do we do things better?” Secondly, we have two economies, really: We have a resource-based economy, which is flourishing with commodity prices being where they are, but I don’t think we have been adding as much value as we should add with that wonderful resource base. We’ve been too content to hew the rock and draw the water and ship it out, with some exceptions, but not enough exceptions. On the other hand, we have a manufacturing-service economy with some 5/95 companies – 5 per cent of your business Canada, 95 per cent business with the rest of the world – and we need more of those, but it’s very competitive. What do we do about it? I think we simply have to be hungrier within the private sector, saying you constantly have to reinvent yourself."

Governor-General of Canada, David Johnston on innovation in Canada.

I have mixed feelings about him but this is spot-on.