By Karen Aagaard (Guest Contributor)

Photo by Gabi~ from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

Apparently, Canada’s “best and brightest young people” are all between the ages of thirty-two and thirty-nine. Or so today’s issue of the Globe and Mail would have you believe. In their annual quest to name the “Top 40 under 40,” Caldwell Partners International Inc. (or, rather, their independent advisory committee), has selected forty almost-forty-year-olds, and the Globe and Mail has, once again, devoted an entire section of the newspaper to these findings (see section “E” in today’s print edition).
Now let’s get something straight: we certainly don’t have anything against recognizing talented individuals or celebrating their contributions to their respective industries. In fact, that’s something we (sort of) do at the end of every year. But when we see something advertised as “A special report celebrating Canda’s best and brightest young people”—and we find ourselves gazing at the mugshots of forty coiffed-and-bespectacled go-getters in their mid-to-late thirties—we can’t help but wonder: is there really a deficit of “best and bright” twenty-odd-year-olds in this country? In case you’re wondering, the selection process isn’t arbitrary; Caldwell Partners has created a list of “Top 40″ criteria. According to the Globe and Mail, nominees (this year there were 1,200) are whittled down based on the following benchmarks: “vision and leadership”; “innovation and achievement”; “impact”; “growth and development strategy”; and “community involvement and contribution.”
While we realize the corporate ladder can’t be scaled in a day, we still maintain that there must be at least one young, talented twenty-something out there (in all of Canada!) who meets—and exceeds—these expectations.