Finance Minister Bill Morneau has said that innovation is the key to boosting the Canadian economy. He believes this will help both high-tech companies and traditional manufacturing.

After the budget, all eyes are on the federal government’s Innovation Agenda. This plan will have an all-encompassing effect on how the government works with private sectors, small business owners, post-secondary educational institutions and provinces. The Liberal government believes the agenda will help Canadian firms big and small to compete in the changing global economy.

Morneau said: “If you look at successful innovation strategies around the world, they can be very helpful in growing an economy.” He added that the first budget by the Liberals was a starting point towards the agenda, which provides financial assistance to post-secondary students and has financial provisions for academic research and science.

The federal government surprised everyone when it announced a $2 billion investment in its budget for university labs and research facilities. Morneau stated that this type of investment was crucial to prepare the leaders of tomorrow for an evolving working environment.

“We need to push hard to make sure that people are getting the kind of education that is going to make them resilient against those challenges and creating the environment that fosters innovative growth. The students of today are the innovators of tomorrow,” Morneau said.

The Canadian budget has made provisions to promote innovation clusters, which will allow businesses and education to work together to create an environment of growth. Morneau believes that focusing on ways to grow the economy will help create more jobs along with better-quality employment.

Some provinces in Canada have several well-performing sectors that are helping not just the provincial economy but also the overall economy. Through its Innovation Agenda, the government is looking to give a boost to the sectors that are already performing well and also those that are under-performing. It will help the nation maintain its existing job opportunities while creating newer and better opportunities in the near future.

Innovation is an integral part of the UCW MBA program. MBA students at UCW learn to strategically analyze business challenges and develop and implement out-of-the-box solutions for optimal business success. UCW MBA graduates also have sharp critical thinking skills that can be used to formulate effective and efficient business decisions to spur business growth in a competitive global business environment.