Welcome Home Mark Carney

Canada has a heritage of creating that most strange and unique type of celebrity. The Rockstar Politician. While most politicians are regarded for their policy, their media savviness and what they achieved in office, Canada has had several whose personas – and the reaction they receive around the world – is more akin to a music, rather than political, icon. 

Our current Prime Minister has certainly ridden that wave and, ironically, appeared on the bastion of music immortality – the cover of Rolling Stone. His father Pierre was another whose charisma, personality and lifestyle was more akin to the rock stars of his generation than the stodgy politicians. 

Mark Carney is another to which the moniker of “Rockstar” has been attached in the past. However, with his financial stewardship of Canada during the 2008 crisis, helping us avoid the meltdown that most of the other G-7 countries faced, and his tenure at the Bank of England during that most fractious period in recent European history – Brexit – Mark Carney’s "Rockstar" reputation is perhaps ground more in sheer ability than in brilliant white smiles, funky socks and stage presence. 

And it is that ability and track record that makes his recent return to Ottawa and Canada so fascinating – and so timely. 

Others more knowledgeable about the machinations of Parliament Hill and the Liberal Party have shared their opinions about what Mr Carney’s return means. With Finance Minister Morneau deeply embroiled in the growing WE scandal and the stewardship of Canada’s economic response to COVID-19 under equal scrutiny, political hacks and armchair conspiracy theorists are having a field day in both the national and social media. 

However, as a Canadian businessman who has proudly spent his career building and investing in Canadian businesses and entrepreneurs, my interest in Mr Carney’s return lies exclusively in how he might influence the economic and financial direction of our country. 

There are numerous global trends that are having a profound impact on how the world is evolving and reconstructing at the moment. Trends I’ve no doubt Mr. Carney has seen “upfront and personal”.

Trends that Canada cannot – and should not – dodge. Trends that Canada needs a genuine action plan for not just another vacuous soundbite during Question Period.    

Globalization versus Nationalism

COVID-19 has ripped down the thin veneer of many of the institutions we in the 1st World have long taken for granted. For someone steeped in global logistics I have a very keen sense how goods and services traverse the world and how Canadians can enjoy fresh Kiwi Fruit from Loblaws all year round. The dexterity of those supply chains has meant we didn’t really wonder where our goods were manufactured or how they got here. But when we realized that our critical ventilators and PPE masks were reliant on suppliers halfway across the planet currently on shut-down, phrases like “Food Security”, “Energy Security” and rhetoric about “Build and Buy Local” entered the discourse. These concerns are legitimate and there certainly needs to be an urgent review of what Canada imports and what we export to ensure we’re not exposed unnecessarily. However, this topic is too important to be a binary debate about do we build here or import from somewhere else. The notion of sovereign borders feels increasingly antiquated at a time where capital can – and does – slip in and out of countries for one fundamental reason. Capital always seeks a return. If fiscal, particularly tax, policy is too rigid or too punitive capital will disappear as quickly as the morning dew.

If Canada is going to adopt a stronger stance on building locally then we must recognize that an appeal to the national pride of Canadian business owners alone is not sufficient. The business environment must be conducive too.

Overhauling our much bemoaned and beleaguered tax policy might be a great place to build that foundation on. 

Collaboration

The trend lines we’re watching highlight that collaboration between organizations, sectors and industries is on the increase. The rise of global platforms or “ecosystems” that facilitate the smooth and efficient transfer of goods and services is inexorable. Canadian phenom Shopify is an excellent example of this and one that is crushing it on the world stage.

Ironically if collaboration is on the increase in business and society globally, it is increasingly absent in our political leadership.

Division and derision are, sadly, the default setting of much of what we witness in the media. Bi-partisanship and working across the aisle seem to be concepts that are forgotten at the door of Parliament. 

With respect to Mr Carney, he’s very familiar with working inside the clamour of vitriol and venom. I can only imagine what the political environment inside the Bank of England was during Brexit. Particularly for a man whose responsibility was to paint an objective and unemotional picture of the economic impact of leaving the EU. With the possible exception of being the Social Media Director for POTUS, I can’t think of a more difficult and delicate task.

Instilling an environment of collaboration, not competition, couldn’t be more critical inside politics (and Canada) than right now. As the cliched advertising slogan says, we’re all in this together so why are our politicians so adamant about standing apart?  

Better Utilization Of Our Diverse Assets

Canadians speak proudly of our deep assets in natural resources. Timber, fresh water and oil spring readily to mind. Sadly, our plans for those assets are so fractured, ill-conceived and ineptly executed that they seem more likely to tear the West and East of this country apart. Millions of dollars, and thousands of jobs, lie in the balance while we argue without end about extracting oil in Alberta. With the national coffers running desperately low because of critical relief plans for all Canadians, the oil debate seems as bizarre as preferring to go and beg outside your house because you’re not prepared to break into the piggybank by your bed.

Additionally, it is time for Canada to recognize that IP and intellect are equally assets that need nurturing and utilizing alongside our lakes, forests and oil sands. Silicon Valley North is a very real asset for this country. Equally the strong cadre of Canadian venture, angel and private capital firms are asset multipliers of the highest order. While global organizations are feverishly working to remove the structural imbalances and inefficiencies that come between the manufacturers of goods and services and their customers, it is a sad and strange irony that our political leaders aren’t taking a similar view to asset creation and asset utilization. 

Canada has benefitted from the H-1 Visa restrictions enacted by the USA but that was serendipitous not intentional. If Canada is going to remain a magnet for the type of talent that will propel us into the next era of business, then our politicians must be looking at all the structural imbalances our current system has created and remove them post-haste. In much the same way that capital always seeks a return, intellectual capital and talent always has a choice about where its domiciled.

Inefficient and friction-filled economies seldom get the highest return on their assets.

For the record I am incredibly enthused by the return of Mr Carney to Ottawa. His track record and calm steady demeanour are exactly what every country, not just Canada, needs at this unprecedented time. My hope is that he is given the latitude and the authority to tackle some of the systemic economic issues outlined above. 

Welcome home Mr Carney, welcome home.