Canadian Failures

The Hill Times: Best Books of 2017

Successful Canadians write about failure, and how it got them where they are today.


What does it mean to fail? To some of the most successful Canadians, it was a rite of passage, a stepping stone to greater things, or even a brilliant source of inspiration. Olympic golds, successful businesses, pioneering medical advances — all came about after a series of missteps and countless attempts.


Canadian Failures gathers ten experts from the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors and academia, all of whom have grappled with failures and success throughout their lives. Their powerful argument: that Canada, and Canadians, must be willing to learn from failure if we hope to succeed.


With Chapters By …
astronaut Robert Thirsk
Olympic gold medalist, wrestler Erica Wiebe
Chair of OpenText and of the National Research Council, Tom Jenkins
co-founder of the Just for Laughs comedy festival, Andy Nulman
… and others at the top of their fields.