François-Philippe Champagne is attempting to orchestrate a major technological shift
Published Dec 30, 2022 • Last updated 1 day ago • 4 minute read
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François-Philippe Champagne, the federal innovation minister, said he is busy making the business case for Canada around the globe as a clean-tech superpower. Photo by Justin Tang /The Canadian Press Bécancour is a city of approximately 12,000 people about 150 kilometres north of Montreal. Up until recently, it was safe to assume that few outside Quebec knew it existed. But they do now, thanks to Canada’s energetic industry minister, François-Philippe Champagne.
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“When someone in Tokyo talks to me about Bécancour,” he said, referring to the city that will soon host a new electric vehicle battery plant, “I know we’re onto something. That’s not typically what you would have heard from CEOs in Asia-Pacific referring to Canada.”
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Champagne takes his inspiration from Clarence Decatur Howe, a former minister who served under William Lyon Mackenzie King and Louis St. Laurent from 1935 to 1957. Howe was commonly referred to as the “Minister of Everything” and is credited with transforming the Canadian economy from an agricultural to industrial one. Like Howe, Champagne is attempting to orchestrate a major technological shift.
The government wants to position Canada as an important tech player on the international stage, and Champagne, who has reams of international business contacts, is leading the charge. The goal is to make Canada a one-stop-shop for electric vehicles, batteries and EV battery components such as lithium.
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He is also advocating that the big telecom suppliers diversify to avoid another “Great Rogers Meltdown,” which left millions of Canadians without internet access this July.
After holding previous roles as the minister of foreign affairs, minister of infrastructure and communities, and minister of international trade, the role of innovation minister ties together everything Champagne has learned in his personal and professional life, he said.
If Champagne appears to be everywhere, all at once, it’s because he is. From Nov. 21 to 25, he visited South Korea and Japan, this country’s fourth-largest trading partner, to promote Canada as a “green supplier of choice” in Asia. Barely a week later, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 6, he travelled to Belgium and Germany to pitch Canada as a hub for electric vehicle manufacturing.
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“Not everyone wakes up thinking about Canada. You need to bring the message,” he said. “That’s why you see me everywhere.”
His travels revealed a stark reality to him: Canada is not seen as a major economic player, globally.
It’s incumbent among Canadians to “make our case to the world,” he said. Canada has “pretty much everything,” he tells CEOs, but is an especially lucrative place to invest in electric vehicles, EV batteries and EV battery components.
Canada, he has said, is also a “trusted, responsible, sustainable” partner in a world where the “friendshoring” trade mentality is becoming increasingly accepted among national ministers.
Canada as an international player Champagne said he approaches his role with “boundless energy” because Canada is at a critical juncture.
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Article content “We’ve been driving internal combustion cars for a century,” he said, but that is set to change. “That’s why I’m so upbeat, because every morning that I wake up, I see the opportunities.”
Champagne said many of these opportunities are just a phone call away. Years of business experience in countries across Europe mean he has amassed a long list of business contacts, who he often cold calls to “make the case for Canada,” he said. “I know these people already.”
Moderna Inc.’s vaccine manufacturing facility in Montreal was the result of such a call, he said.
Canada’s traditionally low productivity rate is the one thing holding the country back.
“We should all be concerned as Canadians,” he said. “Because productivity is key to prosperity, in many ways.”
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Article content There are three solutions, he said, and they all end in -tion: automation, globalization and innovation.
“Either you seize the moment now, or you’re going to need to wait for the next shift of technology,” he added.
‘We were all shocked’ Productivity skidded to a halt this July, when a Rogers Communications Inc. outage left many without internet access.
“Let’s face it: when it comes to wireless services, Canadians deserve and need better options,” Champagne said in an Oct. 25 statement.
The lack of competition in the telecommunications industry makes Canadians particularly susceptible to widespread outages. The oligopoly also means that cellphone and internet rates continue to be among the highest in the world.
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Article content Why OSFI head Peter Routledge is ‘optimistic and wary at the same time’ heading into 2023 Cryptic crossword-loving billionaire Stephen Smith is solving the mortgage business Tiff Macklem reflects on debt, lessons learned and why inflation ‘messes up’ competition “We were all shocked with the Rogers outage,” Champagne said.
Following the incident, he encouraged the CEOs of big telecom to agree to share their networks in the case of a future emergency.
Since the meltdown, government officials have expressed the need for telecommunications providers to be better diversified. Earlier this month, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom affirmed a commitment to “ensuring the security and resilience of our telecommunications networks” primarily by fostering “a diverse supply chain,” and by developing new technologies, such as 6G.
“I think, now, Canadians will be better protected to face other outages,” Champagne said.
Next year, the pace of EV and telecommunications innovations will only increase.
“What they saw in 2022 was the tip of the iceberg of what we can do together,” said Champagne. “I can assure you that my batteries are fully charged in 2022 and certainly going into 2023. Batteries made in Canada.”
• Email: mcoulton@postmedia.com | Twitter: marisacoulton