Residential Residential

Mr. Justin Trudeau, M.P.
Leader, Liberal Party of Canada
House of Commons
111 Wellington Street OTTAWA, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Dear Prime Minister-designate Mr. Trudeau,
On behalf of business leaders across the country, I write to congratulate you and the Liberal Party of
Canada on your victory in this week’s national general election.
As you prepare to be sworn in as our nation’s 23rd Prime Minister, we know you face many demands.
Against a backdrop of accelerating global change and disruption, Canadians are looking to
you and your team for solutions to a broad range of social and economic challenges.
Satisfying these expectations will not be easy. It will require vision, sound judgment and an approach
to governance that emphasizes consultation and consensus-building rather than partisanship and
top-down authority. On that note, I hope that you will allow me to share a few preliminary thoughts
on behalf of the men and women who lead Canada’s largest and most globally engaged enterprises.
During the campaign, you put forward a proposal to reinvigorate the economy by investing in programs
and projects that will create jobs and foster productivity growth, even at the expense of modest
short-term deficits. In principle, we would support such a fiscal plan, provided that the federal
government’s net debt as a share of GDP continues on its current downward path toward a goal of
25 per cent by 2021.
In our view, the principal ingredients of such a strategy include:
A national skills strategy. Canada’s education and training systems have long been among the
world’s best, but recent international assessments show that Canadian students are not keeping up
with their peers in a number of developed and emerging countries. To ensure a high quality of life for
all citizens, it is time for a new approach and an honest conversation among governments, employers
and educators on ways to improve outcomes and enhance career opportunities for young Canadians.
Of particular importance is the need to address the unrealized potential in Canada’s aboriginal
population, one of the fastest-growing demographic groups in the country.
Together with my colleagues in all regions of the country, I offer congratulations and best wishes.
The members of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives look forward to working with you and
your government in the interests of a stronger and better Canada.
Sincerely,
The Honourable John Manley, P.C., O.C.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Canadian Council of Chief Executives
Adapted from: http://www.ceocouncil.ca/publication/letter-mr-justin-trudeau-prime-minister-designate
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