CCI's 2027 Pre-Budget Recommendations for the Newfoundland and Labrador Government

Newfoundland and Labrador’s resource industries and technology companies can strengthen one another. Expertise in oceans, defence, software and cybersecurity can help the province develop its natural resources while creating technologies with customers around the world. Budget 2027 can help more of that commercial growth take place here.

Making government easier to do business with is a practical starting point. Procurement policies that recognize Canadian economic contributions, paired with a clear route from successful pilots to contracts, would help homegrown companies generate revenue and establish reference customers.

A provincial artificial intelligence (AI) strategy would extend those opportunities across energy, infrastructure, health and resource projects. Supporting responsible adoption and secure access to provincial data would help local firms develop and commercialize solutions to challenges facing the province.

Companies also need a direct channel to raise barriers involving investment, talent and market access. Regular engagement with chief executive officers (CEOs), alongside a provincial intellectual property (IP) strategy and Atlantic cooperation, would help businesses expand while retaining ownership of the ideas behind their success.

The Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI) is putting forward four recommendations for Budget 2027:

1. Strengthen Newfoundland and Labrador’s Innovation Economy and Enable Home-Grown Companies to Scale by Making It Easy to Do Business with Government.
   ‍
2. Capture AI productivity and Commercialization opportunities through a comprehensive provincial AI strategy.
   ‍
3. Remove barriers to scale for Newfoundland and Labrador innovators through a Premier’s CEO Roundtable.
   ‍
4. Retain more commercialization value through a provincial IP strategy and an Atlantic IP agency.

‍

About the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI)

The Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI) is Canada’s business council for the 21st century economy. We are a collective of over 175 of Canada’s fastest-growing and most ambitious companies, and the founders, CEOs, and executives behind them, working together to improve the business conditions that help more homegrown companies scale, compete globally, and drive long-term prosperity. Learn more at canadianinnovators.org.