Frank McKenna’s keynote address fires up Board of Trade audience

• Posted on: February 01, 2010
• Submitted by: votetoronto2010 staff

Last Monday at the Toronto Board of Trade’s 122^nd Annual Dinner, TD Bank Financial Group Deputy Chair Frank McKenna – the former New Brunswick Premier and Canadian Ambassador in Washington DC – wowed an audience of 1,200 “muckymucks” with a rousing and energetic keynote address.

Mr. McKenna, who now lives in Toronto and has become one of the city’s most effective ambassadors, set out to boost Toronto’s civic confidence – but also to prod the city to stop “coasting” on current success and build for the future.

Declaring that Toronto “needs to get its swagger back,” Mr. McKenna shared a long list of everything that Toronto has going for it, from world-class cultural attractions, to the city’s appeal to immigrants, to its status as North America’s fastest-growing financial centre.

“To a guy from New Brunswick who spent his life marketing the tidal bore – one of the most aptly named attractions in the world – marketing Toronto would be a dream assignment,” Mr. McKenna said.

Toronto’s biggest shortcoming, said Mr. McKenna, is the flipside of its success: “things are pretty good in Toronto, and when things are pretty good, it’s hard to create a sense of urgency.” Yet, he emphasized, it’s vital to seize opportunities to achieve even greater prosperity.

Mr. McKenna recommends Toronto become known as a knowledge centre, improve productivity, and break the logjam in transportation to revitalize the city.

The text of Mr. McKenna’s speech is available here. But if you want to take in his performance, watch here.

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