Canada25 asserts that Canada's identity as a Middle Power is outdated and uninspiring to a growing number of Canadians. The concept fails to reflect how Canadians have evolved, while the global hierarchy upon which it is premised has eroded. To be effective on the international stage Canada needs an identity that speaks to these important changes.
We submit that Canada should cease assessing its influence on the basis of its size or position within an obsolete global hierarchy. Instead, Canada25 calls on Canadians to look at the world as a network, where influence is based on the capacity of an individual, company, non-governmental organisation or country to innovate and collaborate. Building on this perspective, we propose that Canada become a Model Power — a country whose influence is linked to its ability to innovate, experiment, and partner; a country that, by presenting itself as a model, invites the world to assess, challenge, borrow from, and contribute to, its efforts.
