You could hear a pin drop. You could feel the goosebumps in the room. Twelve hundred people in Hall D sat in wonderment as the mysteries of healthcare began to be unveiled.

Darren Entwistle, CEO of TELUS, and the 30th recipient of the Alberta School of Business Canadian Business Leader Award, brought to life a vision that blended public and private, technology and humanity, research and delivery, data analytics and mother’s intuition.

I will never forget that speech. Enlightening. Compelling. So Promising.

As an Edmontonian, I felt the momentum. Capital Health was the pride of the city and the gold standard across the country. Our advances in medical research filled the headlines. New products and new companies attracted capital. And we were attracting the best and the brightest on a weekly basis.

Edmonton was the center for health care excellence in Canada …
… and our entrepreneurial spirit needs to rise once again.

Building on our strengths and capitalizing on our resolve to be the leader for the country, it is time for Edmonton to advance the conversation about high-performance health and health care.

High-performance means doing what others believe to be impossible. It’s a mindset that needs to permeate everything we do, every day. It is a mindset that will bring about criticism. It is a mindset that will be challenged publicly and we will be ostracized by our peers … because it is a mindset that will create progress and excellence … the very things that are the enemy of the status quo.

But that is what leadership is all about.

And at a time when we have a new Premier, a new Health Minister, a new CEO of AHS, a new President of the University of Alberta … we need a new ambition and new intention … and the entire community will rally with you to make Alberta the very best.

As spoken once by Mr. Entwistle … Boldly Go.