May 2005

Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters embarked on our Manufacturing 20/20 initiative to create a blueprint that ensures the future prosperity of Canada’s largest business sector. Entering into this landmark consultation, we were overwhelmed by the support of Canadian industry. After 98 meetings involving 2,500 manufacturers and stakeholders in communities across Canada, we heard virtually the same message from Newfoundland to British Columbia – business as usual is not an option.

Change is reshaping our industry, not only in Canada, but around the globe at an unprecedented pace. The result is the emergence of a new paradigm of manufacturing where innovation instead of volume drives growth; where global business systems instead of production systems are employed; where companies do business not only across the country, but around the world and where competition is not among companies, but in supply chains.

Welcome the 21st century and the new age of manufacturing and global business. Welcome to the future.

Manufacturing 20/20 is in essence a look into the future, to encapsulate the industry’s vision for manufacturing 15 years from now. Our goal is to make Canada the most prosperous country in the Americas by that time. In order to achieve that objective, manufacturers and stakeholders across Canada must identify what is within their power to change, focus clearly on priorities for action, and then follow through by implementing solutions, working together to get the job done. Not only must we preserve our industrial base, but we have to enhance it and further develop our ability as a global competitor. If we stand idle, we will be left behind, threatening our industry, our economy and in essence, our way of life. We can’t take anything for granted, especially our future prosperity. We must act now. That’s the message in Call To Action, a plan by industry, for industry that acts as a compass as we move into the future. The vision set forth by manufacturers across Canada is one of far-reaching change. It is one of significant challenge. However, it is a vision we must embrace if we wish to sustain and strengthen the wealth creating capacity of the Canadian economy, the vitality of communities across the country, and the living standards of all Canadians. Manufacturers have done much more than define a vision. They have emphasized the need for a coherent and integrated approach to managing change. Manufacturers have affirmed the need for more action rather than more words. They have underlined the urgency of situation, because they are at the forefront of the competition and the change that will transform the Canadian economy over the next 10 to 15 years.