Canada Lacks Advanced Strategies to Help Companies Design and Lead in New Markets, CEOs Say

TORONTO, April 1, 2026 — Canada does not lack access to international markets. It lacks advanced strategies that help technology companies design and lead in global markets increasingly shaped by powerful nations pushing for winner-take-all positions for their own industry.

That is the central finding from a new survey of 125 CEOs of Canadian-headquartered technology firms, who say their focus in 2026 is not entering global markets, but embedding and owning technologies that define the 21st-century economy.

Thirty-nine per cent of respondents identified building a base of customers as their top strategic priority, ahead of access to capital (31 per cent), regulation (16 per cent), and talent (14 per cent).

The findings come from the 2026 Great Canadian CEO Survey, released today by the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI), which represents over 175 of Canada’s fastest-growing, technology-intensive companies.

Most companies surveyed are already global, selling into over 190 countries around the world, including in countries where Canada doesn’t have “free trade” agreements. What they are working to secure are pole positions that allow them to scale, shape product categories, and establish leadership in emerging industries.

“Canadian innovators are trying to secure powerful positions in global value chains so they can dictate the terms of competition,” said Patrick Searle, CEO of the Council of Canadian Innovators. “They are building the technologies and capabilities that global industries will depend on. The real question is whether Canada will put in the necessary policies to help our industries become part of dominant global technology infrastructures, not merely compete within it.”

In today’s economy, markets are structured around technologies, standards, and value chains. Companies that secure pole position, such as having their IP embedded in global standards, are better positioned to scale globally, shape industry, and be the leaders in the systems others rely on.

The survey shows this dynamic is most visible in sectors where demand is shaped by large buyers and system design, including telecom (67 per cent), manufacturing (60 per cent), supply chain (58 per cent), and cybersecurity (57 per cent). In these sectors, companies are focused on becoming part of foundational infrastructure, securing early customers that validate their technology and accelerate adoption.

The findings point to a gap in Canada’s innovation system. While technology companies are focused on building new markets, public policy remains oriented toward improving access to existing ones.

CCI is calling on governments to develop advanced strategies for how modern markets are built by creating early demand, shaping standards, and helping domestic firms embed in global value chains. That includes using public procurement as an economic lever, not just by buying Canadian technologies and acting as a first customer, establishing reference buyers, and accelerating the adoption of Canadian technologies at home and abroad. It also requires a much more deliberate role in standards-setting and system design, ensuring Canadian firms help define the rules, architectures, and platforms that global markets are built on.

Without that alignment, Canadian companies risk scaling within markets defined elsewhere, limiting their ability to capture long-term economic value and advance prosperity of our country.
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Media Contact:
‍Lisa Brody Hoffman
Director of Communications
‍lhoffman@canadianinnovators.org
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About the Council of Canadian Innovators
‍The Council of Canadian Innovators is a national business council representing more than 180 of Canada's fastest-growing companies. CCI's mission is to help Canadian technology companies scale globally and create the jobs of the future.