The CCI Newsletter: April 2025

This edition of The CCI Newsletter was originally shared with CCI’s subscriber community on April 1, 2025. 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 innovators,

Last week on the campaign trail, Prime Minister Mark Carney said something remarkable:

"The old relationship we had with the United States based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation is over."

Even six months ago, it would have been a radical and unimaginable thing for the Canadian prime minister to say. Today, it’s a sober admission of fact.

But what’s more striking is what hasn’t been said. Despite rising geopolitical tensions, trade hostilities, and a global economy shifting beneath our feet, no political party has yet articulated a serious plan to reposition Canada for this new era.

The assumptions that shaped Canadian economic policymaking for the last century—branch-plant economics, deep U.S. integration, and a reliance on raw resource exports—no longer apply.

This election must be about more than platitudes. It must be about strategy. And at CCI, we believe any credible economic strategy starts with a few core truths:

• Canada will only thrive as a sovereign country if we engineer our own economic prosperity.
• Governments must work hand-in-glove with the innovation economy—not as passive actors, but as strategic partners.
• Future growth depends on producing and owning high-value goods and services, and selling them to the world.

CCI is proudly non-partisan, but we are not neutral on outcomes. We’ll be measuring every platform, announcement, and debate against the principles laid out in our What Innovators Need to Scale document—shared with all parties before the writ dropped.

The innovators building Canada’s next-generation companies aren’t asking for hand-outs—they’re asking for a government that sees the stakes and is prepared to act accordingly.

So as this election unfolds, we're asking politicians: Which side are you on?

The side of bold industrial strategy, procurement reform, domestic capacity building, and economic sovereignty?

Or the side still clinging to outdated thinking that says prosperity will come from subsidizing foreign companies to come and create jobs in Canada while wealth and prosperity is realized elsewhere.

I hope you know where we stand: We've been fighting for a strong, secure and prosperous Canada since 2015, and over the coming weeks, we will keep putting forward ideas about what this country needs to compete, scale, and win.

Keep growing,

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.

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INNOVATION UPDATES

Canada Votes 2025: The federal election is in full swing. Election day is April 28, and there will be two national debates on April 16 and 17. We haven't seen too much talk about innovation policy yet, but there have been a slew of economic announcements and tax cut proposals, along with some new ideas about defence spending and capital gains tax deferral on profit reinvested in Canada.

Trade War Escalation: It's another week of furious activity on the trade file. The exact situation is rapidly changing, but it seems that U.S. President Donald Trump is escalating tariffs on Canadian goods, alongside goods from Mexico, Europe, China and other countries. Prime Minister Mark Carney has indicated that he intends to retaliate. Thus far software and digital services have been untouched by the tariffs, meaning that most innovators are not directly impacted. However, CCI's view is that this fundamental shift in the economic landscape requires swift and serious policy action from the federal government, especially in working to drive our homegrown firms.

Our Open Letter to Doug Ford:  We have seen enormous support for the 'Buy Canadian' movement among citizens, but we're still waiting to see governments follow suit. We shouldn't be shy about throwing our weight behind Canadian companies, as the engine of economic resilience.

As the Ontario government gets back to work following the February election, now is the time for Premier Ford and his ministers to get serious about supporting domestic innovation. In March, 75 CEOs of Ontario technology companies co-signed a letter calling on Doug Ford to get serious. Read the letter here.

Provincial Budget Season: We've now seen provincial budgets from across the country, (except from Ontario, and the federal government, where elections have disrupted the normal cycle of things.) The general theme has been fiscal restraint, as governments grapple with the American trade war. Read our analysis of budgets in Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. on the updates section of our website.

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BY CANADIAN INNOVATORS

In our "By Canadian" series, we’re highlighting companies that are driving prosperity and building an innovation-driven economy here at home.

Check out a few recent profiles:

• Vive Crop Protection
• VanHack
• Santé numérique Smile
• CentML

We're going to keep profiling these great Canadian companies because we believe innovators play a key role in fortifying the Canadian economy and it's important for us all to celebrate their contributions to our country and economy.
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SCALE-UPS TO WATCH

In March, we were thrilled to welcome several new members to the Council, including:

• MIMOSA Diagnostics, a Toronto-based medtech company led by Co-Founder and CEO Dr. Karen Cross, is transforming patient care with portable imaging tools.
  
  
• Conscia, a Toronto-based tech company led by CEO Sana Remekie, helps enterprises streamline digital infrastructure with its zero-code orchestration engine.
  
  
• Killick Capital, a St. John’s-based private equity firm led by President and Founder Mark Dobbin, supports high-growth companies across Atlantic Canada.
  
  
• Click & Mortar, a Quebec-based digital consulting firm led by CEO Olivier J. Bergeron, helps organizations turn complex data into high-impact marketing strategies.
  
  
• BigGeo, a Calgary-based geospatial tech company led by CEO Brent Lane, helps businesses across sectors process and visualize geospatial data—unlocking faster, smarter decisions.

Here are a few other highlights from CCI members recently:

• Tehama Technologies has been prequalified under a federal SaaS Supply Arrangement, enabling secure AI adoption across Canadian government agencies.
  
  
• MIMOSA Diagnostics and Intellijoint Surgical were featured in a Globe and Mail story about the urgent need for Canadian procurement reform to support homegrown health tech innovators.
  
  
• Clarius Mobile Health has launched a new AI education tool that helps plastic surgeons identify breast tissue anatomy in real time during ultrasound exams.
  
  
• Levven released a new video spotlighting its all-in-one Edmonton HQ, where design, manufacturing, and innovation come together under CEO James Keirstead’s leadership.
  
  
• ZeroToOne Strategic is hosting a panel discussion about how to leverage non-dilutive funding to drive growth without giving up equity.
  
  
• AbCellera CEO Carl Hansen shared insights on the future of biotech, highlighting breakthrough innovations and the challenges of drug development.
  
  
• Float and Loop were featured in The Logic for leading Canada’s fintech resurgence.

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WHAT INNOVATORS NEED TO SCALE

When we saw that a federal election was on the horizon, we knew that innovation and economic policy would be vital topics for all parties to discuss. In early March, we published What Innovators Need to Scale—a policy brief with tangible actions to grow the Canadian innovation economy.

The ground is shifting beneath our feet, and now is the time for a new vision for the Canadian economy as a sovereign and competitive engine of Canadian prosperity. We have concrete policy ideas around eight themes:

1. Make Canada’s Tax System Globally Competitive‍
2. Strengthen Canada’s Security and Economic Resilience‍
3. Own and Commercialize Canadian Intellectual Property
4. Reform Underperforming Government Incentive Programs‍
5. Seize the AI and Deep Tech Opportunity‍
6. Modernize Governance to Support Innovation‍
7. Adopt a Strategic Approach to Trade‍
8. Use Government Procurement to Drive Innovation

Throughout the election campaign, and indeed throughout the economic tumult that will likely extend past April 28, CCI will be speaking up on behalf of Canadian entrepreneurs, investors, builders and citizens who are passionate about our country's economy future.

We'll keep fighting on your behalf for a more prosperous Canada, but we're stronger when we're all fighting side-by-side for a stronger Canadian future, so we invite you to share our advocacy with your network on LinkedIn.

Happy reading!