The CCI Newsletter: July 2024

This edition of The CCI Newsletter was originally shared with CCI’s subscriber community on July 1, 2024. To receive our monthly briefing on the scale-ups shaping Canada’s future, the policies that matter, and insights you won’t find anywhere else—subscribe here.

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Dear Innovator,

Over the past few months, nearly every conversation I've had has been drenched in pessimism.

We’re grappling with the national productivity crisis flagged by Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers. She says it’s an emergency, and it’s time to break the glass.

We’re digesting the OECD forecast that pegs Canada for the slowest growth among advanced economies in the coming decades.

We’re still debating capital gains, with many entrepreneurs questioning how the federal government became so out of touch with the challenges of scaling a business in 2024.

Canadians across all sectors are feeling the sting of a stagnant economy. Housing is wildly unaffordable, food costs are soaring, and political leaders are stuck in 20th-century policy “solutions.”

I know I'm often seen as the skunk at the garden party on Canada's innovation record because I'm not shy to share feedback on how governments across Canada are doing when it comes to commercialization and supporting homegrown companies working hard to scale-up globally.

But here’s the thing: despite the current gloom, I’m bullish on Canada’s future.

Our country is a breeding ground for brilliant and inspiring entrepreneurs. You know them, I know them, and the world knows them, too.

Every day, someone launches a new venture with a fresh idea and boundless ambition, and year after year, some of these startups hit their stride and enter a high-growth phase. Many of these companies go on to join us at the Council of Canadian Innovators, linking arms with fellow scale-ups to succeed globally.

At CCI, we’re driven by a fundamental belief that Canada’s potential is vast, and that belief is reaffirmed daily when I speak with founders and tech workers building the innovative solutions that will change the world.

Yet Canadian policy and institutions — the structural backbone of our economy — need to step up. Our politicians must better grasp the 21st-century digital economy and the economic strategies that drive success with intangible assets and innovative ideas.

Reorienting Canada's economic thinking towards the intangible economy and building the policy capacity to succeed in the modern world is why CCI exists.

Everything we do - including our advocacy, this newsletter, our upcoming Innovation Governance Summit on July 18 in Toronto, and our Mooseworks pieces that drill deep into the policy issues that can make Canada a more supportive place for scale-ups - we do them to build Canadian capacity.

This Canada Day, I’m proud of our collective work towards a more prosperous country. As a reader and follower of our work, thank you for being here for the journey and supporting the ecosystem in the ways you do.

Innovation builds a nation, and together, we can keep working to make this country better.

Happy Canada Day, and keep innovating.

Benjamin

Benjamin Bergen is the President of the Council of Canadian Innovators, a national member-based organization reshaping how governments across Canada think about innovation policy, and supporting homegrown scale-ups to drive prosperity. If you are interested in learning more about the Council or joining our cause, get in touch.