CANADIAN CITIES ENJOY A FIRM FOUNDATION – NOW IT’S TIME TO “BUILD UP”
- Canada25 Releases Report on Making Canada’s Cities Magnets for Talent -

Toronto, Ontario – December 11, 2002 – An innovative group of young Canadians believes that great things are possible if we begin to “build up” our cities.

Canada25, a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to involving young Canadians in public policy debates, is pleased to announce the release of Building Up: Making Canada’s Cities Magnets for Talent and Engines of Development. Building Up offers a vision of great Canadian cities, which Canada25 believes are the primary unit for economic and social development in this nation, and key magnets for attracting and retaining young talent.

Building Up identifies three elements upon which Canadian cities need to build– diversity, density and discovery. The report also outlines eight priorities of action for improving our cities such as; building top-notch city universities, fostering creativity and supporting the arts, and fighting urban sprawl.

“We believe that, with work, money, and a lot of goodwill, Canadian cities can attract the finest global talent and become centres of development and innovation,” says Andrew Medd, Executive Director, Canada25. “We hope that the ideas generated by the membership of Canada25 foster discussion and help promote change in both the private and public sectors.”

The report represents the collective work of more than 350 outstanding young Canadians, 22 of whom were selected to meet at Canada25's second national forum held in Victoria, British Columbia in July 2002. As well, eleven of Canada25’s chapters held regional roundtables prior to the national forum and several of the chapters prepared local reports including; Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal. Delegates spent three months preparing, debating and researching issues related to business development, culture and community, networks and linkages, social potential and urban design.

“We were able to make Building Up a reality thanks to our broad base of support from many generous partners,” says Medd. Canada25’s sponsors include McKinsey & Company, the RBC Financial Group, Aliant Inc., Canadian National Railway Company, Aventis Pasteur, Petro Canada, Enterprise Saint John, the McCain Foundation, the Province of Manitoba and the City of Winnipeg, the Schulich School of Businss, Queen’s University, and the Government of Canada.

Founded in 2000 by six young Canadians with an interest in getting involved in the public policy process outside of traditional partisan avenues, Canada25 currently has a membership of more than 800 young Canadians and supports 11 chapters across Canada, and world-wide. We are actively recruiting new members, and encourage young Canadians to visit www.canada25.com for further information about the organization and getting involved.
An electronic version of Building Up: Making Canada’s Cities Magnets for Talent and Engines of Development is available at www.canada25.com

Regional reports are available from the following cities: Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, and Toronto.
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For further information, or to arrange an interview with our executive director and/or regional spokespeople, please contact:

(Également offert en français)