When we talk about Canada’s prosperity, we often focus on what lies beneath our feet — our energy, our minerals, our forests. But the truth is, our most valuable resource doesn’t come from the ground. It’s found in each other.
Human potential is the source of Canada’s true wealth. It’s the young person discovering their purpose. The newcomer building a better life. The researcher imagining the next cure. The volunteer helping a neighbour.
Every one of those stories is a thread in the fabric of this country and, together, they form our collective success.
But that potential doesn’t realize itself. It needs to be nurtured. It needs opportunity, encouragement and belief.
That’s what the Rideau Hall Foundation’s Realize Ambition campaign is all about. It’s an assertion that “our greatest resource is people,” and that unlocking potential, in every community, in every generation, is both our moral responsibility and our most powerful economic strategy.
Because when we lift people up, we lift Canada up.
We know what it takes: ensuring every young person achieves their learning goals; supporting teachers and mentors who shape futures; investing in innovation that’s inclusive and sustainable; and building communities that value belonging as much as achievement.
We also know the barriers that remain. Too many Canadians still feel unseen or unheard. Too many live without the means or the confidence to pursue their ambitions. Closing those gaps is not charity — it’s nation-building.
As president emerita of the University of Calgary, I’ve seen what happens when potential meets opportunity. A student mastering coding. A social innovator tackling housing inequity. A researcher leading global breakthroughs in biotech. None of these successes happen by accident. They happen because someone believed — in an idea, in a person, in Canada itself.
The Rideau Hall Foundation’s Realize Ambition campaign calls on all of us to make that belief contagious. To invest not just in what we extract or export, but in what we imagine and create.
The future of this country will not only be measured in barrels or bytes, but in realized potential. In the skills, compassion and creativity of Canadians who know their contribution matters.
That’s both our inheritance and our opportunity. We know Canada is rich with resources.
Let’s make sure we invest in our richest resource — our people. Because we know when Albertans put our energy behind something, the opportunities are endless.
Dr. Elizabeth Cannon. O.C., A.O.E. is president emerita of the University of Calgary and a director of the Rideau Hall Foundation. Realize Ambition is an initiative of the Rideau Hall Foundation.