Ingenious : How Canadian Innovators Made the World Smarter, Smaller, Kinder, Safer, Healthier, Wealthier, and Happier

To celebrate Canada's 150th birthday, Governor General David Johnston and Tom Jenkins have crafted a richly illustrated volume of brilliant Canadian innovations whose widespread adoption has made the world a better place. From Bovril to BlackBerrys, lightbulbs to liquid helium, peanut butter to Pablum, this is a surprising and incredibly varied collection to make Canadians proud, and to our unique entrepreneurial spirit.


Successful innovation is always inspired by at least one of three forces -- insight, necessity, and simple luck. Ingenious moves through history to explore what circumstances, incidents, coincidences, and collaborations motivated each great Canadian idea, and what twist of fate then brought that idea into public acceptance. Above all, the book explores what goes on in the mind of an innovator, and maps the incredible spectrum of personalities that have struggled to improve the lot of their neighbours, their fellow citizens, and their species.
     From the marvels of aboriginal invention such as the canoe, snowshoe, igloo, dogsled, lifejacket, and bunk bed to the latest pioneering advances in medicine, education, philanthropy, science, engineering, community development, business, the arts, and the media, Canadians have improvised and collaborated their way to international admiration. Ingenious tells you why they did it and how they made the world a better place.

One of Canada's most respected and beloved governors general, DAVID JOHNSTON is a graduate of Harvard, Cambridge, and Queen's universities. He served as dean of law at Western University, principal of McGill University, and president of the University of Waterloo. He is the author or co-author of more than thirty books, holds honorary doctorates from over thirty universities, and is a Companion of the Order of Canada. Born in Sudbury, Ontario, he is married to Sharon Johnston, and has five daughters and twelve grandchildren.

TOM JENKINS is chairman of the board of OpenText and has served as a member of its board since 1994, as president and chief executive officer from 1994 to 2005, and as executive chairman and chief strategy officer from 2005 to 2013. He is the chancellor of the University of Waterloo and is an Officer of the Order of Canada (OC) for his contributions to education and innovation in Canada. He is a graduate of the Schulich School of Business at York University, the University of Toronto, and McMaster University. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (FCAE). Mr. Jenkins is a recipient of the Canadian Forces Decoration (CD) and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal (QDJM). The author lives in Waterloo, ON; Ottawa, ON.