CCI's 2027 Pre-Budget Recommendations for the Ontario Government

Ontario’s technological strengths should translate into more Canadian companies winning customers, growing their businesses and retaining ownership of the ideas they develop. Budget 2027 is an opportunity to connect the province’s purchasing power, investment programs and industrial strategies to those outcomes.

The opportunities are practical. A proven Canadian health technology should have a clear route from a successful hospital pilot to wider adoption. Ontario’s artificial intelligence (AI) companies need access to customers and infrastructure to turn research into commercial revenue. Provincial investments should strengthen domestic supply chains, support research and development (R&D) and help companies build lasting capabilities in Ontario.

Success means looking beyond the number of projects funded or technologies tested. It means measuring how many homegrown companies secure contracts, commercialize intellectual property and become competitive suppliers in Canadian and international markets.

On behalf of Ontario’s homegrown technology leaders, the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI) is putting forward five recommendations for Budget 2027:

1. Scale Canadian technology through strategic procurement policies.
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2. Improve patient outcomes and health-system productivity by creating a province-wide pathway to scale proven Canadian health technologies.
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3. Boost Ontario’s productivity and global AI leadership by accelerating the adoption and commercialization of AI across the economy.
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4. Maximize the long-term benefits of Ontario’s strategic investments by prioritizing projects that create jobs, strengthen Ontario supply chains, support R&D and build lasting capabilities in the province.
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5. Build more resilient supply chains and globally competitive strategic industries by creating dedicated pathways for Ontario companies to participate, scale and become strategic suppliers.

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.