No, Canada Will Not Be the Next Silicon Valley
It takes more than government money to spark a creative revolution.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pledging $800 million over the next four years to create "technology incubators" aimed at transforming cities like Waterloo, Ontario, into the next Silicon Valley. Finance Minister Bill Morneau laid out the vision during a speech in the House of Commons on Tuesday:
Science, insight and innovation tend to develop in clusters. The most famous of these clusters is Silicon Valley.
Everyone knows Silicon Valley is the world's capital of digital technology. But, I'll tell you, everyone in Silicon Valley knows that Canada's own Waterloo region is home to some of the most brilliant, innovative minds and companies in the world.
This is a model that Canada can and must build on. We believe that businesses, post-secondary institutions, governments and other stakeholders can work together to accelerate economic growth. We will invest $800 million over four years to support innovation networks and clusters designed to increase collaboration and create value through innovation.
Canada is not alone in their push to create the next great hub of genius. Dubai, London, Rwanda, and Shenzhen are just a few cities investing in the idea. But according to Eric Weiner, author of The Geography of Genius: A Search for the World's Most Creative Places, From Ancient Athens to Silicon Valley, these attempts will inevitably fail. "I wish I could sit here and tell you that there was a formula and if you applied that formula you could create the next Silicon Valley," he explained during an interview with Reason TV earlier this year. "There is no formula."
Watch the full interview below.
