This edition of The CCI Newsletter was originally shared with CCI’s subscriber community on March 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,

We are now officially into budget season in Canada. Last week, British Columbia delivered their 2024 fiscal plan, and yesterday, the Alberta government tabled their budget in the legislature. We're hearing rumblings that the federal budget is just around the corner.

So far, we haven't seen a true innovation budget, and by that, I mean a budget that is focused on turning homegrown companies into wealth and job creators that fuel long-term prosperity for years to come.

Increasing the housing supply and helping to mitigate the increasing cost of living these days are important measures from governments to take. It's good to see politicians responding to the immediate challenges Canadians are experiencing. But at CCI, we take the long view, and we believe smarter industrial policy is essential to ensuring Canada is able to pay for these strategies and programs well into the future.

What I love about working alongside Canadian innovators is that they don't wait for the government to solve these issues. In Winnipeg this week, on the sidelines of the province's first Tech Week, I met with several founders, CEOs, and ecosystem leaders who, despite the economic headwinds facing their businesses, continue to build, grow, and scale. They find creative solutions to their biggest challenges, and then they find a way to commercialize them. Turning adversity into ingenuity not only fuels their spirits but also their coffers, helping them hire more workers and reinvest into R&D.

Turning the biggest challenges Canada faces – be it national security, increasing access to health services, climate change, or housing supply – into opportunities our homegrown innovators can seize is how we can continue to build the future Canada we all wish to see. Procurement is an important tool in the toolkits of all governments, yet it is under-utilized as an economic development driver. We'll have more to say on this in our upcoming procurement report – Buying Ideas: Procuring Public Sector Innovation in Canada – out soon.

I'm really hoping that this year we hear a message from governments that they're listening to innovators and hustling to keep up with the pace of business.

As always, we'll be keeping you posted on what's happening in tech policy across Canada.

Keep growing,

Benjamin Bergen

Benjamin Bergenis 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

CCI's policy report on SR&ED was published in February and submitted to the federal government's consultation on ways to adjust Canada's marquee tax credit. Finance Canada's SR&ED consultations continue until April 15.  

The House of Commons Finance Committee recommended the government review all innovation programs to ensure that "freedom to operate" is a core objective for public policy. We have been calling for this.

In Quebec, we met with Finance Minister Eric Girard to talk tax credits and language laws. Just this week we've seen a new bout of concern over the provincial government's French language regulations. Our Quebec members have always been clear: we fully support policies that sustain a strong and distinct Quebec culture, including the French language, but to be vibrant, Quebec must also be economically competitive. We hope the government will give a closer look at ways to ensure that French language laws don't put Quebec companies at a competitive disadvantage.

Ottawa has cut funding to Innovative Solutions Canada, a program that was supposed to be the federal government's version of the U.S. SBIR program.

On this topic, CCI's Year of Procurement Reform is picking up steam. CCI Director of Policy and Research Laurent Carbonneau has some smart ideas for how we can drive growth and support innovators through government procurement.

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THE BIG READ

You're probably sick of hearing about Canada's "early lead" in artificial intelligence. Yes, Canadian taxpayers funded researchers who were responsible for the breakthroughs that led to deep learning and neural networks, the foundation of modern artificial intelligence.

But tech doesn't stand still, and breakthroughs from more than a decade ago don't count for nearly as much as the work we're doing today and what we're building for tomorrow.

AltaML Co-CEO Nicole Janssen has a thoughtful examination of what it'd take for Canada to be a leader in responsible AI implementation.

Give it a read and share it with your network!

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THE BIG DEAL

Technology companies tend to create jobs and wealth here at home, while selling products and services around the world.

One reason why CCI members are such a potent force for Canadian prosperity is because they're competing in global markets, delivering world class products.

When Canada goes to Paris for the Olympics this summer, they'll find Montreal-based Connect&GO technology enabling a smooth experience.

"We’re delighted to collaborate with Connect&GO to help provide a seamless guest experience at Canada Olympic House. Canada Olympic House will be Team Canada’s home away from home this summer. This relationship will make it easy for us to open our doors to the world this summer," said Jacqueline Ryan, chief brand and commercial officer of the Canadian Olympic Committee and CEO of the Canadian Olympic Foundation.

This is actually the second time Connect&GO will be enabling the Olympic experience, after deploying their technology in Pyongchang in 2018.

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SCALE-UPS TO WATCH

Our movement keeps growing! CCI is a national network of Canadian-headquartered scale-up technology companies. We advocate for smarter economic policy to support their growth, and we're building a network of innovators who are leaders and experts in their field.

In February, we were thrilled to welcome several new members to CCI.

• Four Eyes Financial, based in Saint John, New Brunswick, and led by CEO Lori Weir, is a financial technology company focused on providing better data. Lori sat down for a 5 Questions interview with CCI President Benjamin Bergen, to talk about financial technology, and what it's like building an innovative firm in Atlantic Canada.
  
  
• Sciteline, led by CEO Chad Walsh, is a medical technology company working to increase access for patients to clinical research and to use digital tools to attract more clinical trials in all regions across Canada.
  
  
• Certn, led by CEO Andrew McLeod, is an innovator in background checks and screening, Certn is known for its comprehensive and efficient hiring solutions, used by large global players like Tesla, Deloitte, WestJet and Saks Fifth Avenue.

In the news this month, these headlines caught our attention:  

• Helcim raised a $27 million series B financing round
• Geotab's CEO Neil Cawse said "winning is having happy customers, not beating competitors"
• Crypto4A and Xanadu both secured funding for quantum-related projects
• Givex played an integral role in upgrading KFC Canada's kitchen technology nationwide

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DISPATCHES

At CCI, we spend a lot of time with officials inside government and MPs across all party lines, bringing their attention to the challenges innovators face in scaling their businesses globally. The success of innovative Canadian companies is paramount in ensuring that our country has prosperity and economic security for the future.

In this month's dispatch from Ottawa, CCI's Federal Director Nicholas Schiavo identifies smart industrial policy and public procurement reform as obvious targets for the federal government to be looking at right now.

Happy reading!