Council of Canadian Innovators Celebrates 10 Years of Driving Prosperity, Productivity, and Sovereignty

Toronto, ON – September 29, 2025 — The Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI), Canada’s business council for the 21st-century economy, today marks 10 years of championing policies that position Canadian companies for success in the global marketplace.

Since its founding in 2015, CCI has evolved into the definitive voice for Canada’s fastest-growing businesses, representing 175 CEOs whose companies are reshaping industries, creating high-value jobs, and driving national competitiveness in an increasingly digital and knowledge-based world.

“As we celebrate our first decade, CCI stands at the forefront of Canada’s economic transformation,” said Benjamin Bergen, President of CCI. “Our members are building the companies that will define Canada’s prosperity in the decades ahead — not only in traditional technology sectors, but across every industry being transformed by innovation. Looking forward, our mission is clear: to ensure Canada has the policy architecture to compete globally and to position our innovative companies as engines of sustainable economic growth.”

A Decade of Shaping Canada’s Economic Future

Throughout its history, CCI has:

• Redefined business advocacy by creating a council exclusively for scale-up leaders — ensuring Canada’s most innovative CEOs had a united voice in shaping the national agenda across sectors such as advanced manufacturing, life sciences, fintech, cleantech, cybersecurity, and more.
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• Secured major policy wins, including the creation of the Global Talent Stream, reforms to SR&ED, and reversing damaging changes to Canada’s capital gains policies — while consistently pushing for procurement reform, stronger IP protections, and regulatory modernization to give Canadian companies a fair chance to scale and compete.
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• Convened more than 300 events connecting innovators, policymakers, and thought leaders, including Canada’s CEO Summit, now the premier gathering for leaders building globally competitive companies.
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• Built Canada’s most dynamic peer network of scale-up CEOs, fostering collaboration among innovators navigating global markets while anchoring jobs and prosperity at home.
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What CCI Does for Canada

Over the past decade, CCI has become a national platform that builds capacity for Canadian innovators while shaping the policies that determine Canada’s economic future.

• National & Regional Advocacy: CCI has secured major reforms, including stopping harmful changes to capital gains tax, winning a federal commitment to SR&ED modernization, and influencing procurement reforms across provinces. By mobilizing members during key national debates, we ensure innovators’ voices are heard where they matter most.
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• Policy Leadership through Research: CCI has earned a reputation as the leading source of innovator-driven policy thinking in Canada. Over the past decade, we have published landmark reports that have reframed national debates, including:
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  • Buying Ideas & Building Winners — a blueprint for modernizing government procurement to support Canadian innovators.
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  • Talent & Skills Strategy — a comprehensive plan to ensure Canada develops, attracts, and retains the talent needed for a knowledge-based economy.
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  • SILICAN — a collaboration of leading quantum and semiconductor firms to shape Canada’s next-generation industrial strategy.
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  • AI Leadership Roadmap for Canada — charting a path for responsible adoption and global leadership in artificial intelligence.
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  • A Mandate to Innovate — this year’s forward-looking policy agenda for the new federal government, setting priorities for talent, capital, and sovereignty.
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• Programs that Build Capacity: With more than 1,200 alumni from our Innovation Governance Program and new learning tracks for Chiefs of Staff, AI governance, and next-generation leaders, CCI is equipping the people behind Canada’s scale-ups to lead with confidence and sophistication.
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• Platforms that Strengthen Connection: In 2025, CCI launched Cannector, a national platform connecting scale-up leaders with Canadian board and executive talent.

In a country where the instinct is often to go it alone, CCI has made it easier to grow together — by uniting innovators, shaping better policies, and building the institutional capacity Canada needs to thrive in the 21st-century economy.

Positioning CCI and Canada for the Next Decade

As CCI enters its second decade, the organization is focused on the structural challenges and opportunities that will define Canada’s place in the global economy. In an era of rapid technological change, geopolitical realignment, and intensifying competition for talent and capital, CCI is working to ensure that:

• Canadian companies in innovation-intensive sectors have the policy environment to grow, scale globally, and remain headquartered in Canada.
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• Innovation becomes the central pillar of Canada’s economic strategy, driving productivity, prosperity, and sovereignty.
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• Canada develops a business ecosystem to rival the world’s most competitive jurisdictions, from access to scale-up capital to regulatory frameworks that enable, not impede, innovation.

Anniversary Milestone

CCI’s 10-year anniversary was marked at the 2025 edition of Canada’s CEO Summit in Toronto, where more than 200 of the nation’s top innovators and business leaders gathered to celebrate a decade of advocacy and impact. The summit itself was a fitting tribute to how far CCI has come. From its origins at a 2015 dinner with a small group of committed leaders — including our founders, Jim Balsillie and John Ruffolo — who saw the urgent need for a business council dedicated to Canadian scale-ups, CCI has grown into a thriving community of 175 CEOs shaping Canada’s economic future.

The celebrations continued the following morning at the Toronto Stock Exchange, where CCI President Benjamin Bergen, CCI staff and members were joined by Dani Lipkin, Managing Director of Global Listings at TSX, to ring the opening bell. Together, they marked not only ten years of progress but also the start of CCI’s next chapter of leadership in Canada’s innovation economy.

“The next ten years will be defining for Canada,” added Bergen. “CCI will continue to ensure the voices of those building the future economy are heard — and that Canada seizes the opportunity to lead in the innovation era.”

À propos du Conseil des innovateurs canadiens

The Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI) is Canada’s premier business council for the 21st-century economy. Founded in 2015, CCI represents 175 of Canada’s most innovative and fastest-growing companies. CCI advances policy frameworks that enable innovation-driven businesses to compete globally while creating prosperity at home, representing the CEOs building Canada’s economic future. To learn more about CCI or inquire about joining the Council, visit www.canadianinnovators.org. 

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Contact presse

James McLeod
Directeur de la communication
jmcleod@canadianinnovators.org