Canada finds itself in a unique position at a distinct time in history. We are suddenly and auspiciously the nation with the greatest immediate capacity to make a positive difference and help solve some of the world's biggest challenges.
We may be the smallest G7 country, but we are positioned to punch well above our weight. Meanwhile, the United States and Britain are in the midst of political turmoil. France and Germany are engrossed in domestic challenges and European Union reform. Italy and Japan are lodged in a financial quagmire. We are the ones left standing, a kind of custodian of hope in a world adrift, stubbornly insisting on the values that have come to represent the "Canadian way": peace, order, and good government, diversity and equality, and the value of scientific research and technology.
