Here’s how the country could look by 2067
Technological change will challenge our sense of unity, says Russell Mills.
To mark the 150th birthday of Confederation, we asked local residents from a variety of backgrounds to share their wishes for the future of the capital and the country. Today: Russell Mills.
Expo 67 has stayed in my mind for the past 50 years.
In 1967, I had just finished university and got caught up in the excitement of Canada’s centennial celebrations. On an impulse, two friends and I decided to hitchhike to Montreal from our homes in St. Thomas, Ont., to experience the international exposition.
We pooled our cash, borrowed some more and made our way to Highway 401. Ten hours or so later we were in downtown Montreal looking for a cheap room. We spent the next five or six days touring the Expo pavilions by day and drinking beer at La Ronde by night with people from all over the world. When our money ran out, we rode our thumbs back to southwestern Ontario, full of memories.
It was the international element that made Expo 67 so exciting and memorable. This wasn’t Canada celebrating alone; we had invited the world to help us mark our first 100 years. It was a taste of the growing internationalism that would mark Canada’s next 50 years. Wandering Expo with the multicultural visitors made me more proud to be a Canadian than I had ever been before.
Expo 67 was the start of a great time for Canada. Population has grown from slightly more than 20 million in 1967 to almost 37 million today. Per capita income has more than doubled in constant dollars and average life expectancy has increased from 72 years in 1967 to more than 81 years today. We are healthier and wealthier than ever. We are also much more diverse, with more than 20 per cent of our population born outside the country.
Some things have not changed so much. Our neighbour to the south was off the rails in 1967 and is heading for the ditch again today. In 1967, the U.S. had 450,000 troops being defeated in Vietnam. The best and brightest of American leaders had misconstrued an anti-colonial struggle by the Vietnamese to be just part of the battle between democracy and totalitarianism.
Ironically, our American friends recently elected an immature, ill-informed president who seems to have more affection for authoritarian leaders than traditional democratic allies.
There will undoubtedly be a few awkward years for Canada as the leadership of our largest trading partner thrashes around in a stew of ideology and ignorance. We must stay cool, but be firm about protecting our values and interests.
For Canada and the rest of the world, the more significant long-term challenge may be with the impact of artificial intelligence. In the past, technological changes have created better jobs and rising incomes. Artificial intelligence, the next big leap, may be different since it replaces brain functions, not just muscles. This may enable not only the goods but most of the services we need to be produced by a small fraction of the humans previously required. Many professionals may become as superfluous as assembly-line workers are today.
Canada needs to find ways to ensure that our country’s wealth is fairly shared in the artificial intelligence era, that people can have meaningful lives without traditional careers and that our increasingly diverse society remains united.
Let’s strive to be a beacon of creative solutions for the world and plan to show them off at an Expo 2067 where the struggling student visitors of the time will likely arrive in autonomous vehicles and have their beer served by robots.