Smart Prosperity

#NewThinking is good
for the environment
and the economy.

The Smart Prosperity Leaders' Initiative was launched by respected Canadian leaders from business, think tanks, labour, Indigenous Peoples, youth, and NGO communities. Our purpose: To harness new thinking to accelerate Canada’s transition to a stronger, cleaner economy.

The Initiative's activities are focused on:

  • Mapping out a course to a stronger, cleaner economy by establishing a 10-year vision for making Canada a clean growth leader, supported by specific goals, metrics, and policy road maps
  • Bringing together a diverse group of Canadian leaders who provide a balanced, evidence-based voice for implementing this vision
  • Demonstrating what a stronger, cleaner economy looks like to show that clean growth is a critical economic opportunity - not a threat - and to build a psychology of success in Canada 


Why Canada Needs a Stronger, Cleaner Economy
The world is changing and the most advanced economic players are forging cleaner, more innovative economies. An emerging consensus of the world’s most trusted economic and business authorities agrees that the global economy is moving toward a new, low-pollution model built on clean innovation. This transformation is inevitable, and Canada must act fast to secure a prosperous future as the world’s leading economies reinvent themselves.

The old idea that we must choose between a strong economy and a healthy environment has been proven false. Around the world, nations are demonstrating that doing the right thing for the environment can also do right by the bottom line. This includes China’s and the U.S.’s massive clean energy investments, Finland’s bet on energy-efficiency technology, and Sweden’s pacesetting pursuit of a low-pollution economy.

This changing global economy offers opportunity for Canada, across all sectors. The rapid growth of emerging markets is putting greater pressures on already stressed resources and ecosystems. This reality, combined with the imperative to address climate change, is creating a lucrative market for low pollution innovation across every field.

Read more in our Launch Report.