GOVERNMENT FUNDING & NEWS

The Government of Ontario is investing $4.5 million through the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN) to launch the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) Innovation Corridor, transforming a 40-kilometre stretch of the QEW highway between Burlington and Toronto into a proving ground for advanced vehicle technologies and mobility innovation. The program will provide up to $150,000 to Ontario-based small and medium-sized enterprises to pilot innovative transportation and advanced mobility solutions, with a focus on electrification, smart mobility, infrastructure and connected vehicle applications. The corridor will facilitate collaborative piloting opportunities and strategic partnerships to support the safe evaluation of advanced technologies that improve mobility, strengthen sustainability and drive economic development. Nine Ontario-based companies have been selected through the initial intake to pilot their advanced automotive and mobility technologies in areas such as queue warning systems, work zone safety, predictive traffic management, and in-vehicle traveler information. Technologies and solutions that can be piloted include smart work zones and work zone safety, congestion management technologies, incidence response management, predictive traffic management, road hazard warning, in-vehicle traveler information, coordination and dissemination of real-time traveler information, data analytics, cyber security, geofencing and more. OVIN

The Government of Canada provided $1 million in December to Ottawa-based JSI to commercialize AI-enabled solutions for law enforcement and security agencies to automate the review and analysis of large databases. JSI makes devices and software for wiretapping, and has an open contract worth up to US$23.4 million with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency leading the Trump Administration’s violent mass-deportation campaign. ICE adds wiretapped information to vast troves of other data – including from Canadian information broker Thomson Reuters – to build dossiers on individuals and map their relationships, said Emily Tucker, a Canadian-American expert on privacy and technology at Georgetown University’s law school. Monique Smith, a spokesperson for JSI, said the company “is committed to operating with integrity” and complies with all relevant laws. The Logic

Canada's economy could gain nearly seven percent, or $210 billion, in real GDP over a gradual period by fully removing internal trade barriers between the country’s 13 provinces and territories, according to a report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). On average, regulation-related barriers are the equivalent of a nine percent tariff nationally, according to the report, co-authored by IMF economists Federico J. Diez and Yuanchen Yang with contributions from University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe. That would-be tariff is even higher in service-oriented sectors like health care and educational services – more than 40 percent – where professional mobility between provinces is highly regulated. The report also noted that smaller provinces and the northern territories are disproportionately impacted by internal trade barriers, facing higher costs compared to bigger provinces with diversified economies. "The result is a patchwork economy where geography and regulation jointly shape opportunity – and where advantages that normally come with scale are muted," the report said. The Atlantic provinces would benefit the most from the removal of trade barriers, according to the report. Prince Edward Island in particular stands to save nearly 40 percentage points in real GDP per worker by removing those internal trade costs. International Monetary Fund, CBC News

The Government of Ontario declared the Greenstone Transmission Line a priority project and designated Hydro One to accelerate construction of the 230-kilometre line that will run from Nipigon Bay to near Aroland First Nation and the gateway to the Ring of Fire region. The government committed to building the Greenstone Transmission Line as part of the Aroland – Ontario Shared Prosperity Agreement, which includes $70 million to advance work on the new line which will be essential for advancing mining operations in the Ring of Fire. Indigenous communities will also have access to Hydro One’s First Nations Equity Partnership Model which will include First Nation leadership in decision-making and 50-percent ownership of the line. Govt. of Ontario

Government of Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said there’s a proponent in sight for the Port of Churchill expansion. “We have one of Canada’s biggest energy companies interested in acting as a proponent for Churchill,” he said at the first ministers’ meeting in Ottawa. “Our government is about to sign an NDA [non-disclosure agreement] with this company so that we can engage more fully.” Kinew said his government has co-developed a charter for this project with the federal Major Projects Office. He expects a consultant will be hired in the coming month, and a final report to be released in the spring. The Port of Churchill expansion project involves a billion-dollar upgrade to existing rail and port structures, a billion-dollar all-season road, and an icebreaker strategy. It would expand export capacity in the North through Hudson’s Bay, giving another access route to global markets including Europe. Kinew also announced Manitoba will fund a study to create a Marine Conservation Area for the beluga and polar bear populations that would be impacted by the project. iPolitics

See also: Port of Churchill is attracting more investment as an option to diversity trade routes amid U.S. tariffs

The Government of Ontario is investing over $235,000 through Collaborative Research Agreements to support seven innovative research projects across the province that will help protect wildlife, improve fisheries management and strengthen the forestry sector. Funding will be provided over the next two to four years to the following universities:

• Trent University: $122,000 for three research projects involving the development of a new aquatic stress index, a study on wildland fire impacts on boreal lake fish communities, and genetic analysis of Lake Superior brook trout populations.

• University of Windsor: $50,000 for a research project to support sustainable fisheries and ecosystems in response to environmental stressors, such as aquatic invasive species and changing climates.

• Laurentian University: $36,000 for a project to study small mammals in Algonquin Provincial Park and explore the impact of coronaviruses on wildlife population health.

• Lakehead University: $15,000 for a project to research black spruce biodiversity and inform sustainable forestry management practices in support of Ontario’s Forest Sector Strategy.

• University of Ottawa: $15,000 for a project to further develop advanced modelling to help assess future climate and disturbance impacts on boreal forests, supporting Ontario’s sustainable forestry and biodiversity strategies.

These seven new projects build upon the 20 active collaborative research initiatives underway at universities across Ontario. Govt. of Ontario

The Government of British Columbia and BC Hydro are launching a new competitive process for artificial intelligence and data centres, to help manage rising electricity demand while creating a clear, transparent approach for future projects. Through Bill 31, the Energy Statutes Amendment Act, and a new regulation, there is now a requirement for prospective AI and data centre projects to take part in a competitive selection process to access clean electricity. This requirement does not apply to traditional industries, such as mining, liquefied natural gas, forestry, manufacturing or hydrogen for domestic use. In alignment with the objectives of the Look West strategy, this process will ensure B.C. is protecting electricity capacity needed by long-standing industries, while supporting strategic growth in newer sectors that align with provincial priorities, such as data sovereignty and innovation, the government said. BC Hydro will implement this legislation through the 2026 call for demand for emerging industries. The allocation targets for these projects are for as much as 400 megawatts for the first two years. Govt. of B.C.

The Government of Saskatchewan and SaskPower announced plans to formally evaluate large nuclear reactor technologies for use in Saskatchewan. The technology selection process will take place in parallel with SaskPower’s existing nuclear small modular reactor (SMR) project. “SaskPower will leverage partnerships with experienced nuclear operators, and will continue to engage with Indigenous Rightsholders, Saskatchewan’s communities and businesses as we consider the potential deployment of large nuclear reactors,” SaskPower president and CEO Rupen Pandya said. “Potentially bringing a large reactor online will take at least 15 to 20 years, which is why we need to start this process now.” Significant additional regulatory, siting and engagement work are needed before any construction can begin on a new nuclear project. SaskPower’s current SMR project continues to progress and a site for the province’s first SMR build near Estevan is anticipated later this year, the government said. Govt. of Sask.

The Government of Québec is now giving itself until 2035 to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 37.5 percent compared to 1990 levels, postponing its original target to do so by 2030, provincial Environment Minister Bernard Drainville said in a news release. This decision goes against the consensus expressed by about 30 economic, union, municipal, scientific and environmental organizations that participated in the public consultations on the subject last fall, urging Quebec to stay the course on a 37.5-percent reduction by 2030. Drainville, who is considering running to succeed François Legault, argued that the "international and North American context" requires such a postponement in order to "protect the economy and jobs.” The new target means reducing emissions by 100 percent by 2050 "will require much steeper and more costly emission reductions," said the Climate Change Advisory Committee, a group of independent experts tasked with advising the Minister for the Environment. La Presse

U.S. Big Tech companies and their industry associations are not only seeking to preserve the industry-friendly digital trade rules already embedded in the Canada-U.S.-Mexico (CUSMA) trade agreement, they ae pushing to expand them in ways that would further restrict the ability of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to regulate the digital ecosystem and, in particular, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. Nearly every major industry group has urged the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to preserve Chapter 19 (Digital Trade) in its entirety, despite the chapter’s well-documented threats to competition, consumer safety and digital rights, said Public Citizen, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit consumer advocacy organization. “Big Tech wants to double down on rules covering source-code disclosure, platform regulation, cross-border data transfers and localization, and non-discrimination, thereby restricting the ability of governments to rein in harmful practices and protect consumers,” the organization said. Many of the industry’s submissions go further, calling for more aggressive enforcement of existing CUSMA rules to challenge domestic public-interest regulation. This includes revenue-sharing obligations, such as Canada’s Online News Act and Online Streaming Act. Industry groups also argued that governments should avoid adopting local or national standards for emerging technologies, urging instead the adoption of “industry-led,” voluntary standards – even in areas as sensitive as data protection and cybersecurity. The industry also wants AI developers to be able to train their models on copyrighted material without having to consult or compensate rights holders. “These proposals would undermine digital rights, deepen corporate concentration, erode democratic oversight, and curtail the ability of governments to act in the public interest,” Public Citizen said. Public Citizen

RESEARCH, TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION

 Union, food executives warn of increased food risks and less innovation with closing of seven federal agricultural department research operations

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) is closing seven of its 20 research operations across Canada as the federal government looks to eliminate public service jobs.

Research centres in Guelph, Ont., Quebec City, Que., and Lacombe, Alta., are set to close, as are satellite research farms in Scott and Indian Head, Sask., Portage La Praire, Man., and Nappan, N.S.

Approximately 665 department positions have been reduced and 1,050 employees reportedly received notice of job cuts.

The department noted that the site closures are not imminent and could take up to 12 months. The centres in Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia were established in 1887 and have been responsible for significant agricultural discoveries in crop production, sustainability and food safety. They also support the Canadian fresh meat processing sector.

Researchers at these facilities assist farmers and Canadian agriculture by conducting research, helping cost competitiveness, fighting the effects of climate change and enforcing Canada’s high food safety standards.

The cuts will also impact a SaskOrganics research program in Swift Current that focuses on regenerative practices and seed varieties.

“These cuts will sabotage important gains we’ve made in agricultural research and set research on Canadian food products back by decades,” said Milton Dyck, national president of the Agriculture Union. “We have been warning the federal government for months about cutting an already-decimated department. There is simply no more room to cut.”

The Quebec centre focuses on how cold and humid climates impact agriculture, among other subjects.

AAFC’s Guelph plant is responsible for research and development of food safety and value-added food attributes. Recent publications include research into gut health and the impacts of probiotic bacteria on inflammation and immune responses.

The Guelph plant is unique as it contains a pilot-scale, food research facility to “test new and existing food processing technologies.”

The Agriculture Union notes staffing at AAFC has decreased 14 percent between 2012 and 2025.

Dyck and Keith Currie, the president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, are among many food sector executives who are urging the federal government to pause the cuts and shutdown of essential programs.

“Our safety standards in Canada are very well established and backed with decades of evidence-based solutions. These current cuts will impact our ability to create innovative new solutions that reduce hazards in food while maintaining high quality products,” Proulx said.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is also eliminating 1,371 jobs as part of the same government cost-saving measures.

CFIA conducts inspections on Canada’s food supply, plants and animals while enforcing food safety standards, identifying health risks, and regulating agricultural inputs, among other duties.

“Fewer CFIA inspectors means fewer frontline workers to catch food that should be recalled,” Dyck said in a release. The Agriculture Union noted that food recalls have increased 150 per cent over the previous decade. Food in Canada

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The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the National Science and Technology Council of Taiwan (NSTC) launched a new joint call for proposals on semiconductors and AI. This call aims to promote collaborative research projects that address fundamental challenges and explore cutting-edge applications at the intersection of semiconductors and AI. Through these joint projects, NSERC and NSTC will leverage the unique expertise and resources of the academic research communities based in both Taiwan and Canada. Proposals should focus on at least one of the following areas of research:

• embedding AI across design, manufacturing and packaging.
• compound semiconductors for AI technologies.
• AI technologies in micro-electro-mechanical systems sensors.

Refer to the NSERC-NSTC call for proposals on semiconductors and AI  for more information. Canadian principal applicants must submit a letter of intent to NSERC on behalf of the Canada-Taiwan team by March 25, 2026, before 8 pm (ET). NSERC

 Times Higher Education released its World University Rankings by Subject, which ranks universities from around the world according to 11 major subject areas. Several Canadian postsecondary institutions appeared in the top 100 for multiple subject areas. The top ranks earned by institutions that appeared in the top 100 for at least one subject area were: Dalhousie University (tied for #85 in Law); McGill University (#27 in Medicine); McMaster University (#42 in Medicine); Queen’s University (#95 in Law); Université de Montréal (#52 in Computer Science); University of British Columbia (#20 in Psychology), University of Toronto (#9 in Medicine); University of Waterloo (#41 in Computer Science), University of Alberta (#77 in Computer Science), University of Ottawa (#80 in Law), Western University (tied for #85 in Business), and York University (#65 in Law). Times Higher Education

Queen’s University launched an institutional campaign to invite outstanding established scholars to express their interest in joining the Queen’s community. The effort is part of the federal Canada Global Impact+ Research Talent Initiative announced in late 2025 as a suite of programs funded with $1.7 billion to attract leading international researchers to Canada. The federal initiative has four major program streams that will see support over 12 years. The first, the Canada Impact+ Research Chairs program, will provide established researchers with either $8 million or $4 million in funding over eight years, with the opportunity for a four-year extension. Chairs will lead mission driven, high-impact research programs and are expected to build strong Canadian and international partnerships, while translating research into practice, policy, and commercialization. Queen’s has begun a multi-stage recruitment for this stream in fields aligned to government priority areas, including advanced digital technologies, climate resilience, advanced materials, and health. Additional federal streams include the Canada Impact+ Emerging Leaders program for international early career researchers, and the Canada Impact+ Research Infrastructure Fund. Further details about Queen’s recruitment campaign for these two funds will be forthcoming. The fourth stream is the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards. This is a one-time national funding program designed to attract outstanding global doctoral and postdoctoral talent and strengthen Canada’s research ecosystem. A total of 15 awards is allocated to Queen’s. Applications are due February 9, with more information available on the School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs website. Queen’s University

The Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) will examine the state of citizen science in Canada and explore how it compares internationally, at the request of Public Services and Procurement Canada. Citizen science – sometimes referred to as community science or participatory science – engages the public as research partners with valuable skills, perspectives and experiences to contribute. Individuals, community groups and organizations can participate across diverse fields, such as ecology, astronomy, public health or history. Public participation can be critical to science and research initiatives, and in some cases, citizen science offers the potential to improve trust in institutions, leverage digital advances, and strengthen research and innovation capacity. A CCA expert panel will be appointed in the coming weeks, with the final report expected to be published in 2027. CCA

Finland-based Nokia and Montreal-based Hypertec announced the deployment of Nibi, an advanced supercomputing cluster at the University of Waterloo. This new system is designed to support more than 4,000 researchers annually, significantly expanding Canada’s capacity to advance breakthrough research in health, climate science, engineering and AI. Nibi represents Nokia’s first deployment of this class of AI-high-performance computing (HPC) data centre networking in North America and showcases a world-class collaboration with Hypertec, which acted as the system architect and prime integrator. This new infrastructure will be integrated into SHARCNET, a world-class, high-performance computing environment that allows faculty, students, postdocs and research fellows at Canadian academic institutions access to computational power for research. SHARCNET includes 19 academic partner institutions, making it the largest HPC consortium in Canada by number of institutions, and its resources are available to any Canadian academic researchers. Nokia

The University of Ottawa (uOttawa) and The Ottawa Hospital partnered to advance biotherapeutics manufacturing through the expansion of the hospital’s Biotherapeutics Manufacturing Centre (BMC). The centre, funded in part by $78 million in provincial and federal grants, will be located at UOttawa’s Advanced Medical Research Centre, which is set to open later this year. The BMC will continue to be governed and operated by the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. BMC is one of the most experienced and successful biomanufacturing facilities in Canada, having manufactured more than 20 different therapies that incorporate biological materials such as cell, genes and viruses to treat and prevent disease. These therapies have been used in human clinical trials in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia. The seven-storey, 350,000-square- foot Advanced Medical Research Centre will also house the Ottawa Health Innovation Hub, a signature initiative designed to incubate startups, develop novel therapies and accelerate the translation of research into real-world health-care solutions. The Ottawa Hospital

Western University was selected by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) to work on a concept for developing an innovative compact dual-camera imager for exploring the surface of the Moon. CSA recently awarded $3.8 million in contracts to advance instrument concepts for its lunar utility rover, which will be designed to handle logistics tasks, support astronauts during spacewalks on the lunar surface and perform science investigations. Lead investigator Jayshri Sabarinathan and an interdisciplinary Western team, in collaboration with industry partners Mission Control, INO, LightSail and Spectral Devices, were awarded an initial contract from CSA to advance Western’s Dual Sensor Multispectral Imager instrument (DS-MSI) for the Canadian lunar utility rover. DS-MSI, a made-in-Canada camera system, will be designed to address key lunar science objectives, like characterizing lunar regolith (the loose dust and rock on the Moon, Mars and asteroids), identifying “water ice” and analyzing critical mineral composition. DS-MSI is capable of providing high-resolution stereo images for rover navigation and features a compact filter wheel (currently under patent application), uniquely engineered to support two camera sensors – one visible to near-infrared and one short-wavelength infrared – with a single, integrated mechanism, unlike traditional designs that use separate wheels or multiple components. By rotating the wheel to place different filters in front of each sensor, the design will incorporate methods for accurate multispectral data capture, which is primarily used for monitoring and analyzing the physical, chemical and biological properties of planetary surfaces and atmospheres. Western University

Toronto-based water purification startup Xatoms secured a $308,000 grant alongside nine other global startups presenting at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) UpLink Ventures, the WEF’s early-stage innovation accelerator. Uplink helps impact-focused entrepreneurs scale through access to partnerships, resources and capital.  According to HCL Tech, which funds a $1.75-million Swiss franc (Cnd$3.1 million) prize pot through its Aquapreneur Innovation Initiative, Xatoms made the top 10 from amongst more than 300 submissions. Xatoms uses quantum chemistry and AI to identify photocatalysts to purify contaminated water. In addition to funding, the winners gain access to resources, mentorship, and global networks provided by HCL Group and UpLink, as well as opportunities to participate in events and initiatives led by the WEF. BetaKit

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Y Combinator accelerator removes Canada as a “permitted site of investment”

San Francisco-based Y Combinator revised its standard deal terms webpage to remove Canada as one of what was once four permitted sites of investment – leaving only the U.S., the Cayman Islands, and Singapore.

This means Canadian startups applying to the accelerator, which provides US$500,000 and fundraising support, would have to “flip” their parent company and incorporate in one of those countries – most likely the U.S. – to get a spot.

Garry Tan, the Winnipeg-born president and CEO of Y Combinator (YC), defended YC’s decision in a series of posts on X, claiming that the accelerator continues to fund Canadian startups, but that redomiciling in the U.S. increases access to capital.

Tan wrote that in YC’s 20-year history, Canadian startups that reincorporated in the U.S. have earned twice the average valuation of those that remained in Canada.

“We’re not saying Canadians should leave Canada,” Tan wrote in another X post, praising Canada’s tech talent. “Where you are incorporated increases your access to capital. That’s it.” John Ruffolo, co-founder of Maverix Private Equity and Council of Canadian Innovators vice-chair, told BetaKit that he strongly disagreed with Tan’s assessment about the success rates of Canadian-headquartered startups.

“This is sending the absolute wrong message – that’s not substantiated with fact – to leave Canada,” Ruffolo said. He added that Y Combinator is a great program and he has encouraged Canadian founders to pursue it.

But Ruffolo said there is no technical reason why investors should encourage startups to incorporate in the U.S. – especially if a company wants to benefit from Canadian government subsidies such as the Scientific Research and Experimental Development tax-credit incentive. Losing this would amount to missing out on “free non-dilutive capital,” he said.

In a LinkedIn post, Ruffolo said he suspects YC made the change because of the generous taxation benefits for U.S.-based individual investors – typically angels or seed funds.

“So it has nothing to do with what’s best for your company or what’s best for you as a Canadian founder, it is what is best for the U.S. investors who invest in YC-backed companies,” he said.

“If I am correct in my hypothesis, then this is really only about YC and not about Canadian founders, Canadian companies or what are the ingredients for success,” Ruffolo said.

However, Alistair Vigier, CEO of Vancouver-based legal tech company Caseway, said things move faster in the U.S. and that speed is often the difference between winning and fading out.

“In Canada, we stall. We set up committees, run small pilots and stretch timelines into quarters, and then years. Founders get stuck waiting for someone to make up their mind,” he wrote in an op-ed in The Globe and Mail.

The United States makes it easier to raise capital, close deals and scale, Vigier said. “Canada makes it easier to get stuck.”

Canada’s business landscape is dominated by large players who take forever to make decisions and rarely place bold bets, Vigier said. “Our investors play it safe and invest in mutual funds and real estate. Our institutions move slowly and are proud of it.”

Dozens of Canadian companies, including Montréal’s SRTX and Halifax’s CoLab, have been part of Y Combinator’s numerous winter and summer cohorts since the first one in 2008.

The share of Canadian startups in a given cohort grew after the pandemic, aided by remote work. The Y Combinator startup directory shows 144 graduate companies headquartered in Canada –  though the website notes it doesn’t include all companies originally founded in Canada or built by Canadian founders. BetaKit, John Ruffolo LinkedIn post

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Canada currently offers the world’s sixth most favourable business environment for building a technology startup, according to a report by Switzerland-headquartered Startup Blink. The research firm’s new Innovators Business Environment Index (IBEI) ranked Canada as one of the easiest nations from which to launch, operate and scale a tech startup or innovative company. StartupBlink’s IBEI assessed 125 countries, placing Canada’s business environment behind only the United States, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates. The IBEI ranks business environments in five categories: regulation and governance; access to capital and financial infrastructure; taxation; digital infrastructure; and global mobility and openness. The IBEI also takes into account business incentives and how financially attractive that country is for entrepreneurs and investors, and how countries are viewed globally in terms of governance quality, credibility, transparency, stability, human capital and international mobility. Startup Blink ranked Canada third globally in terms of rewards and penalties, meaning strong use of “friction-reducing” policy levers, and fourth globally on the ease of operating a business and regulatory and governance conditions. Canada’s internet freedom, lending rate, credit access and cross-border banking contributed positively to its placement on the IBEI. Startup Blink identified room for improvement when it comes to the tax burden that Canada places on entrepreneurs. Startup Blink

Ottawa-based startup Pluvo is heading to Silicon Valley as a member of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz’s latest a16z speedrun cohort. Pluvo is developing AI-driven decision intelligence software that it calls “System of Judgment.” According to the company, it uses AI to help organizations track their decisions over time, capture the context behind them, and turn that knowledge into a shared institutional memory across the organization. The a16z speedrun is a selective, 12-week accelerator program that comes with US$1 million in equity investment, access to millions of dollars in credits for software and AI tools, and hands-on mentorship and networking with one of the world’s most prominent venture firms. The program is meant to accelerate select startups from early traction to breakout scale. Unlike Y Combinator,  a16z speedrun doesn’t require teams to redomicile in the U.S. Pluvo said it has established a U.S. entity in San Francisco for a U.S.-led go-to-market push, but remains domiciled in Canada. BetaKit

South Korean defence contractor Hanwha has further expanded its industrial partnerships in Canada, announcing a series of strategic MOUs spanning steel, space, artificial intelligence and advanced technologies in support of the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP). Hanwha signed MOUs with Canadian companies Algoma Steel, Telesat, MDA Space, Cohere, and PV Labs. Under the MOU signed by Hanwha Ocean and Algoma Steel, Hanwha Ocean is to provide Algoma with an aggregate potential value of up to US$250 million, comprising support for the development of a new structural steel beam mill in Canada, as well as anticipated purchases of steel products for use in CPSP-related submarine construction and associated maintenance, repair, and overhaul infrastructure in Nova Scotia and British Columbia where the submarine fleet would be fully supported throughout its lifecycle. Hanwha Ocean, Hanwha Systems, and Cohere have entered into an MOU to explore collaboration on advanced artificial intelligence technologies in support of the CPSP. Hanwha Systems and Telesat signed a MOU to collaborate on next-generation sovereign satellite connectivity solutions and user terminals compatible with Telesat’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) network, Telesat Lightspeed. Hanwha Systems and MDA Space have entered into an MOU to explore collaboration on advanced satellite technologies, including secure Low Earth Orbit communications, aligned with sovereign defense and security requirements. Hanwha Systems and PV Labs have entered into a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop advanced capabilities for electro-optical tactical systems. Hanwha

Montreal-based independent IT and business consulting firm CGI announced a new global go-to-market alliance with San Francisco-based OpenAI to help clients deploy advanced AI capabilities securely, responsibly and at enterprise scale to drive measurable, transformative business outcomes. CGI and OpenAI will collaborate on feedback-driven improvements to enterprise deployment patterns, security practices and adoption models that are informed by CGI’s experience operating AI at scale. In parallel, CGI will integrate OpenAI’s training resources into its well-established AI literacy program, deepening advanced AI fluency across its teams at every level. CGI also will expand its use of OpenAI’s ChatGPT Enterprise platform to equip tens of thousands of its consultants and experts under the new agreement. This includes early adoption of agentic AI capabilities, where AI systems can execute tasks, coordinate workflows and support human decision-making across core enterprise operations. CGI

U.K. payments giant Wise (through Wise Payments Canada) and Canadian fintechs Float Financial Solutions, KOHO Financial Inc., Paramount Commerce and Brim Financial Inc. are the first tech companies to join the non-profit Payments Canada Inc. that operates the country’s payments infrastructure after Ottawa opened its membership in September. Payments Canada is broadening its membership to give fintechs access to the Real-Time Rail (RTR) instant payments system, which could launch this year. Fintechs now have a seat at the table alongside the banks, securities dealers and other traditional financial institutions that have historically steered decision-making at the institution, which some argue has contributed to delays in launching new infrastructure like the RTR that could boost competition. Membership in Payments Canada also grants fintechs direct access to other national payments infrastructure, expanding the products they can offer. In 2025, Payments Canada systems cleared and settled more than $411 billion every business day. Payments Canada

The Frontier carbon removal buyer coalition announced a multi-year, US$44.2-million, 122,000-ton carbon removal offtake with Saskatoon-based NULIFE GreenTech to deliver permanent biomass carbon removal and storage (BICRS) between 2026 and 2030. The agreement brings together some of the world’s most sophisticated corporate climate buyers and NULIFE’s modular BiCRS platform to unlock permanent, independently verified carbon removals at meaningful scale. Frontier buyers including Stripe, Google, Shopify, Autodesk, H&M Group, Workday, and Watershed. NULIFE’s BiCRS technology converts waste biomass – material that would otherwise decompose and release carbon dioxide – into carbon-rich biocrude for permanent geological sequestration. Using a patented hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) process, NULIFE can process a wide range of wet and dry organic residuals and produce stable biocrude suitable for long-duration storage. The company’s modular HTL units are designed for rapid, repeatable deployment, enabling scalable growth across Canada and internationally. Frontier

Toronto-based advanced recycling company Cyclic Materials announced it is investing more than US$82 million to establish a rare earth recycling campus in McBee, South Carolina. The new site will host Cyclic Materials’ second U.S. “spoke” facility, and the company’s largest “hub” facility to date, capable of processing 2,000 tonnes of magnet material, with a planned expansion to 6,000 tonnes per year. The facility will utilize Cyclic Materials’ proprietary MagCycle℠ and REEPure℠ processes to separate and recover mixed rare earth oxides from end-of-life products that are typically not recycled today, enabling a resilient, North American anchored source of rare earth elements. These materials are critical to the production of vehicles, advanced electronics, AI infrastructure and high-performance permanent magnets used in defense, wind turbines and advanced manufacturing systems. The facility will initially have the capacity to produce 600 tonnes of mixed rare earth oxides a year, with a planned expansion to produce 1,800 tonnes to meet growing demand. Business Wire

l-based 5N Plus Inc. (5N+_ announced it was awarded a US$18.1-million grant by the U.S. Government to expand capabilities and increase capacity to recycle and refine germanium at the company’s St. George, Utah facility, to feed optics and solar germanium crystal supply chains.In support of the U.S. government’s Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production Executive Order, the award will enable 5N+ to gradually increase its capabilities to recover germanium from industrial residues and mining by-products over the course of the next 48 months. In time, it should enable 5N+ to valorize up to 20 tonnes of high-purity germanium per year. Combined with its current sourcing capabilities, this will position 5N Plus to meet rapidly growing demand for germanium-based technological applications in the U.S., the company said. 5N+ manufactures and customizes high-purity, dislocation-free, electrically uniform and space-qualified germanium wafers vital for infrared optics, night vision systems, surveillance windows, electro-optical/infrared (applications and solar cells powering commercial and national security satellites. 5N+

Alberta’s fledgling hydrogen industry made progress in 2025, despite several high-profile hydrogen company bankruptcies and U.S. energy policy shifting away from clean energy, according to the Calgary Regional Hydrogen Hub (C2HR). Municipal mobility pilots in the Edmonton region continued to operate and refuel reliably with Azolla Hydrogen’s station. The hydrogen freight locomotive program led by CPKC demonstrated reliable operation of hydrogen in heavy-duty rail applications. The Alberta Motor Transport Association continues to lead in hydrogen heavy-duty trucking with its pilots. Also, the CRH2 is engaged with Atlantica to quantify and understand the potential for large-scale hydrogen blending in the Calgary District Heating system. Due to the headwinds, the hydrogen industry’s growth will be uneven across applications and timelines are likely to be slower than initially anticipated, C2HR said. C2HR

The University of Alberta (U of A) is teaming up with the City of Edmonton and Edmonton-based Diesel Tech Industries (DTI) to reduce carbon emissions from the city’s fleet of diesel-powered buses by integrating hydrogen fuel into combustion engines. If successful, the project will provide vehicle operators across Canada with a retrofit solution to immediately reduce their carbon footprint without replacing existing fleets, said David Gordon, co-principal investigator along with Bob Koch, both professors in U of A’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. Examining both hydrogen-diesel dual fuel combustion and 100-percent hydrogen combustion, researchers in the U of A’s Mechanical Engineering Energy Control Lab will explore ways to increase hydrogen-to-diesel fuel replacement. They will develop new control strategies to handle the higher combustion temperatures from burning hydrogen, and investigate the operating range and potential emission benefits of these engines. DTI will produce retrofit kits for Edmonton’s bus fleet that can then be sold to operators across Canada to help them transition to carbon-free transportation, all consistent with the goals of Alberta’s Hydrogen Roadmap. The collaborative project is funded through a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Canada Alliance partnership with the City of Edmonton and by an Emissions Reduction Alberta grant. U of A

Several Canadians are among the 34 global organizations and individuals who will officially help NASA with tracking Artemis 2 and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen around the Moon, by passively examining the radio waves from the Orion spacecraft. NASA selected the Canadian Space Agency, the University of New Brunswick and individual Scott Tilley (who has been posting about his setup and pre-flight testing regularly on X), among the list of participants announced January 23. NASA is aiming to increase its future commercial options under the SCaN (Space Communication and Navigation) program, as the greater Artemis program aims for a more permanent presence on the Moon in the 2030s or so. Artemis 2 is set to launch no earlier than February 6, carrying Jeremy Hansen and his three NASA crewmates, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch. Hansen’s seat was paid for principally using the Canadarm3 robotic arm being built by MDA Space, which will serve on the Gateway lunar space station later in the decade. NASA already has Artemis 2 mission tracking in place through its long-established Deep Space Network (a trio of antennas around the world, which track at all deep-space missions) as well as the Near Space Network, for mission phases closer to Earth. SpaceQ

Meta Platforms, TikTok and YouTube will face courtroom scrutiny over allegations that their platforms are fueling a youth mental health crisis, as the national debate about kids’ screen time enters a new phase. A trial in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County is a test case for thousands of other lawsuits seeking damages for social media harms, in a legal onslaught that could erode Big Tech's longstanding legal defense. The plaintiff is a 19-year-old woman from California, identified as K.G.M., who says she became addicted to the companies’ platforms at a young age because of their attention-grabbing design, according to court filings. She alleges the apps fueled her depression and suicidal thoughts and is seeking to hold the companies liable. Jury selection in the case began last week. Her lawsuit is the first of several cases expected to go to trial this year that center on what the plaintiffs call “social media addiction” among children. It will be the first time the tech giants must defend themselves at trial over alleged harm caused by their products, the plaintiff's attorney Matthew Bergman said. A factor in the case is a federal law that largely exempts platforms such as Instagram and TikTok from legal liability for the material their users post. The tech companies have argued the law shields them in K.G.M.'s case. A verdict against the social media companies would put a crack in that defense, which has protected them from lawsuits for decades. It would show that juries are willing to hold the platforms themselves liable. Reuters

The U.S.-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) saw at least a 15-fold increase in AI-related child sexual abuse reports, with the “vast majority” coming from Amazon. Amazon.com Inc. reported hundreds of thousands of pieces of content last year that the company believed included child sexual abuse, which it found in data gathered to improve its artificial intelligence models. Amazon accounted for most of the more than 1 million AI-related reports of child sexual abuse material submitted to NCMEC in 2025, the organization said. It marks a jump from the 67,000 AI-related reports that came from across the tech and media industry a year prior, and just 4,700 in 2023. Though Amazon removed the content before training its models, child safety officials said the company has not provided information about its source, potentially hindering law enforcement from finding perpetrators and protecting victims. An Amazon spokesperson said the training data were obtained from external sources, and the company doesn’t have the details about its origin that could aid investigators. The Amazon spokesperson said that, as of January 2026, the company is “not aware of any instances” of its models generating child sexual abuse material. Analysts from the U.K.-based group the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) detected a record 3,440 AI videos of child sexual abuse last year, up from just 13 videos the year prior, a 26,362-percent increase, CBS News reported. Of the AI videos they tracked, over half meet the description of what IWF refers to as "category A," a classification that can include the most graphic imagery and torture. Los Angeles Times

The European Commission has launched a new formal investigation against X under the Digital Services Act. In parallel, the Commission extended its ongoing investigation launched in December 2023 into X's compliance with its recommender systems risk management obligations. The new investigation will assess whether the company properly assessed and mitigated risks associated with the deployment of Grok's functionalities into X in the European Union. This includes risks related to the dissemination of illegal content in the EU, such as manipulated sexually explicit images, including content that may amount to child sexual abuse material. The Commission will continue to gather evidence, for example by sending additional requests for information, conducting interviews or inspections, and may impose interim measures in the absence of meaningful adjustments to the X service. European Commission

The Trump administration said it will be dismantling the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, one of the world’s leading Earth science research institutions. The centre, founded in 1960, is responsible for many of the biggest scientific advances in humanity’s understanding of weather and climate. Its research aircraft and sophisticated computer models of the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans are widely used in forecasting weather events and disasters around the country, and its scientists study a broad range of topics, including air pollution, ocean currents and global warming. But in a social media post announcing the move, Russell Vought, director of the U.S. administration’s Office of Management and Budget, called the centre “one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country” and said that the government would be “breaking up” the institution. Vought wrote that a “comprehensive review is underway” and that “any vital activities such as weather research will be moved to another entity or location.” Scientists, meteorologists and lawmakers said the move was an attack on critical scientific research and would do irreparable damage to cutting-edge meteorology and advances in weather forecasting. The centre is operated by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, a nonprofit consortium of more than 100 universities, but the vast majority of its funding comes from the federal government, including through hundreds of millions of dollars in grants from the National Science Foundation. The New York Times

The U.S. Congress has rejected President Donald Trump’s plans to slash this year’s budgets of several science agencies. Lawmakers hammering out final bills covering the National Science Foundation (NSF), NASA science, and Department of Energy (DOE) research programs unveiled an agreement to spend very close to current levels. The three appropriations bills were negotiated by a panel of senators and members of the House of Representatives. The proposed spending package would shrink NSF’s $9.06 billion budget by 3.4 percent this year, or $300 million, compared with Trump’s request for a 55-percent reduction. NSF’s research account would hold steady at $7.18 billion and its education programs, which Trump sought to essentially eliminate, would receive $938 million. However, that total is $180 million less than NSF received in 2025. At NASA, science missions would receive $7.25 billion, $84 million less than this year. That 1.1-percent dip compares with the 47-percent cut to its programs that Trump wanted. The space agency’s education activities, which Trump sought to eliminate, would receive $143 million, the same as last year. The budget for DOE’s Office of Science would actually grow by almost two percent this year, from $8.24 billion to $8.4 billion. Trump had wanted to lop off more than $1 billion. However, the budget for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy for this year is slated to drop by $110 million, to $350 million; Trump had wanted to shrink it to $200 million. The budget for the U.S. Geological Survey would drop by 2.1 percent, to $1.4 billion. But that’s tiny compared with the 59-percent reduction that Trump sought. Similarly, the science and technology programs at the Environmental Protection Agency would dip by 3.5 percent, to $744 million, rather than the 43-percent cut Trump requested. Science

VC, PRIVATE INVESTMENT & ACQUISITIONS

Toronto-based Waabi announced it has secured US$750 million in an all-equity Series C funding round co-led by Khosla Ventures and G2 Venture Partners, plus an additional milestone-based future investment from Uber to support a new partnership to deploy robotaxis powered by the Waabi Driver exclusively on the Uber platform.  In addition to the lead investors, the round included participation from strategic investors, such as Uber, NVentures (NVIDIA’s venture capital arm), Volvo Group Venture Capital, and Porsche Automobil Holding SE, as well as funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Radical Ventures, HarbourVest Partners, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Linse Capital, Incharge Capital, and others. The round also included participation by BDC Capital’s Thrive Venture Fund, Export Development Canada, TELUS Global Ventures, BMO Global Asset Management, and others. The funding, which Waabi said is the largest fundraise in Canadian history, will fuel the continued advancement of Waabi’s Physical AI Platform, further accelerate the company’s commercial progress in autonomous trucking, and support Waabi’s expansion into robotaxis. Waabi’s Physical AI Platform combines a verifiable end-to-end AI model capable of reasoning alongside the an advanced neural simulator. This approach enables – for the first time in the industry – a shared “brain” across both autonomous trucks and robotaxis, in which the same AI model powers both applications. Uber will invest additional milestone-based capital to support the development of Waabi’s robotaxis and the deployment of 25,000 or more Waabi Driver-powered robotaxis over time, substantially accelerating the adoption of robotaxis at scale. Waabi

Ottawa-based defence contractor Calian Group Ltd. announced a strategic initiative to help accelerate the development and deployment of sovereign Calian integrated defence systems capabilities through Calian VENTURES, which aims to “mobilize” $100 million. Calian wants to help smaller companies work better with the Canadian Armed Forces in joint lab facilities, said Chris Pogue, president of Calian’s defence and space division. “The Canadian government deploys a lot of capital into R&D and innovation development, but sometimes what’s missing is that last mile to get it into the customer’s hands,” he told The Logic. Pogue wouldn’t say how much of the $100 million Calian will put up itself – some of it is to come from governments and other companies. The company aims to establish the labs with existing organizations around the country, though it might need to build something new in the North, he said. Calian Ventures will focus on command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting systems, or “C5ISRT,” the electronic pipeline between incoming data and outgoing orders. Calian

Toronto-based Birdseye received a US$5-million investment from Drive Capital to spin out its internal artificial intelligence-driven competitive intelligence tool, Yolando. Yolando helps businesses keep tabs on their competition by checking where they stand with popular large language models like ChatGPT and Gemini, then recommending ways to get and stay ahead. Yolando can be configured to send a daily prompt to an AI chatbot, like asking where the best pizza shop is in Toronto. If it isn’t your pizza shop, Yolando will assess what the competition is doing to show up in the results over you, and even draft solutions, like blog posts. Birdseye is using the funding to expand, with plans to add five sales and engineering employees to its 15-person team in Toronto. BetaKit

Montreal-headquartered Billdr raised US$3.2 million in seed funding following its relaunch. White Star Capital led the financing and was joined by Desjardins Capital and existing investors, One Way Ventures, Quebecor’s asterX Capital, and Formentera Capital. Billdr, which is domiciled, or incorporated, in Delaware, is a provider of construction software for general contractors. The company plans to use the funding to deliver on its goal to become “the operating system” for construction. Private Capital Journal

Calgary-based Cellular Insights secured $500,000 in early-stage funding from SVG Ventures Thrive. The company helps potato growers, processors and storage operators optimize their operations. Cellar Insights utilizes remote storage monitoring that leverages machine learning to analyze signals like gaseous output, and monitors storage conditions, including temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide levels to detect signs of early spoilage risk, shrinkage and quality issues, helping minimize post-harvest loss. The company will use the capital to further develop and expand the reach of its smart remote monitoring solutions designed to minimize loss and detect early signs of spoilage, excess shrink, and poor fry color in potato crops. Signalbase

Richmond Hill, Ont.-based technology solution provider Compugen Inc. announced a strategic collaboration with Toronto-based venture studio AXL. The collaboration gives Compugen and its business customers direct access to top-tier AI talent, rapid prototyping and a venture environment designed to move ideas toward commercial reality. Compugen can now bring customers’ real-world challenges into an environment where researchers, engineers and product teams work together to explore use cases, from improving operations to designing new digital experiences. Customers may also be invited into the process, giving them a direct role in prototyping their own projects alongside AXL’s technical teams. Compugen

Winnipeg launched its latest venture studio Ignition, co-founded by Winnipeg’s Launch Coworking and Washington State-based ProductStak. Ignition describes itself  as a space for Manitoba’s early-stage founders to find hands-on support. Ignition is leveraging the strengths of both founding organizations, with Launch Coworking bringing the physical space and deep connection to Manitoba’s founder community, together with ProductStak’s expertise in scaling and accelerating businesses. Ignition’s offerings include its cohort-based Breakpoint program focusing on validation and execution, the velocity program aimed at building momentum and growth, and the accelerator program offering tailored scaling support. BetaKit

Toronto-based accounting, tax and consulting firm BDO Canada announced it acquired Oakville, Ont.-based tech company GrantMatch. GrantMatch, which tracks more than 10,000 government programs and booked about $10 million in revenue in the last fiscal year, will move all 35 of its team members over to BDO. BDO Canada didn’t disclose the purchase price. BDO said the deal bolsters its ability to support clients across the country in gaining access to capital through government programs and incentives, fostering Canadian innovation. GrantMatch brings a diverse client base including Fortune 500 companies, municipalities, non-profits, and small and medium-sized enterprises. BDO Canada

About 19 percent of Canadian businesses plan to exit the market within five years, transitioning  their companies to employees, partners, relatives or Canadian buyers, according to a new study by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). This paves the way for a “historic” wave of acquisitions, BDC said. Its study found that thousands of SMEs are expected to change hands in the next five years, creating a $300-billion opportunity for entrepreneurs and investors. Data shows that small businesses are more profitable a few years after acquiring another business than their non-acquiring counterparts. Since small business mergers and acquisitions are less costly and complex than large deals, they allow for faster integration and return on investment, BDC said. “This wave of acquisitions will help smaller businesses scale up faster, mitigating succession risks and enhancing Canada’s productivity, boosting GDP per capita, creating high-quality jobs, and strengthening global trade performance.” BDC

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Canada’s merger and acquisition dealmaking rose in 2025, looks optimistic for 2026

Canada’s total strategic merger and acquisition deal value rose to US$149.2 billion last year, a 57-percent increase year over year, compared with a 54-percent growth in the U.S., according to a new report from consultant Bain & Company.

Fifty-two percent of Canada’s strategic deal value came from megadeals in 2025, up from 28 percent in 2024.

Despite the jump in deal value, the number of Canadian deals larger than US$30 million only rose by eight percent from the prior year.

Outbound strategic deal value increased by 38 percent, to nearly $45 billion, and the outbound industry mix was more evenly split versus inbound and domestic, which largely skewed toward energy and natural resources targets.

Energy and natural resources, the largest industry by deal value over the past five years, more than doubled in 2025, rising 133 percent, while advanced manufacturing and services sectors declined 21 percent.

Nine of the 10 largest deals were for targets in energy and natural resources. Deal makers remain optimistic about 2026’s prospects, but warned that “macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty could dampen market dynamics.”

New research by KPMG shows that dealmaking in Canada is poised for a pickup in 2026, with one-third of business leaders planning major acquisitions amid a climate of favourable monetary and fiscal policy, economic optimism driven by nation-building and a stronger business outlook.

In KPMG Canada’s survey of 252 business leaders across 14 sectors, 33 percent of total respondents said they plan to make a major acquisition in the next 18 months to take advantage of potential growth opportunities.

Among private or private equity-backed companies, 36 percent are planning an acquisition.

“The government’s nation-building agenda will be a catalyst for M&A activity in 2026, especially in the private mid-market, where deal appetite returned in the latter half of 2025 after the shock of the U.S. trade war wore off,” said Marco Tomassetti, president of KPMG Corporate Finance Inc. Canada.

The government’s infrastructure-oriented agenda, cautious optimism about the Canadian economic outlook, a steady interest rate environment and persistent demographic shifts will also underpin deal activity in 2026, he said. Bain & Company, KPMG

REPORTS & POLICIES

From Donroe to Davos: Canadian innovation and Canada’s sovereignty in 2026

OPINION

By Laurent Carboneau

Laurent Carboneau is Director of Policy and Research at the Council of Canadian Innovators

In December, the Trump Administration published its new National Security Strategy. It is, to put it mildly, a provocative document. 

Indeed, it was so provocative that when it was published, it was tempting to many to write it off as one of many Trumpian flourishes to be taken “seriously but not literally.”

The first few weeks of 2026, however, should be enough to disabuse anyone of the notion that the Trump administration is not enthusiastically committed to dominating the Western hemisphere, from the oilfields of Venezuela to the, um, snowfields of Greenland. People (including the big man himself) are now calling this the Donroe Doctrine in a nod to the 19^th  century Monroe Doctrine, which declared the Americas off-limits to the colonial powers of the Old World. For all the military bluster and even the use of force, the terrain the Americans count on dominating is the economy.

As Canada’s governments look to the year ahead, they should take some key lessons from how the U.S. thinks about innovation and views its big tech firms as critical to projecting and entrenching power. Canada can’t effectively resist the weaponization of our economic integration without alternatives and strong, innovative firms at home that build out Canada’s freedom to operate alongside their own.

Throwing its weight around in the American near abroad, including our North, is at the heart of America’s new strategy. China and the Asia-Pacific take a back seat, and the section on Europe is more focused on articulating baroque theories of civilizational decline than on the nuts-and-bolts of economic and security cooperation with the world’s biggest trading bloc.

So what’s America’s new vision for how it wants to pursue dominance in its backyard? What are its objectives and what are its tools?

The United States government sees its innovation advantage, and the weight this brings to it in global affairs, as a “core, vital national interest” – one of just five. As they put it, “we want to ensure that U.S. technology and U.S. standards – particularly in AI, biotech, and quantum computing – drive the world forward.” 

In the administration’s vision, tech leadership is both a means and an end. “The world’s most advanced, most innovative, and most profitable technology sector . . . undergirds our economy, provides a qualitative edge to our military, and strengthens our global influence.” There is a keen understanding in Washington that innovation, security and industrial policy are inextricably linked. 

The Strategy further points to a policy of government-sponsored acquisition of economic assets in the Americas and of securing sole-source contracts for American companies in the countries over which the U.S. has the most leverage. 

This is a very dark version of the idea of freedom to operate: that part of the strategic moat for U.S. companies operating abroad is that the United States government will step in with the latent threat of coercion to ensure favourable conditions and prevent the emergence of potential competitors.

With all of this in the foreground, it was encouraging to see Prime Minister Mark Carney deliver a strong statement at the annual World Economic Forum about how the democratic middle powers can work together to protect their sovereignty in the face of a new politics of coercion from the world’s economic and military superpowers. 

"More recently, great powers began using economic integration as weapons. Tariffs as leverage. Financial infrastructure as coercion. Supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited. You cannot ‘live within the lie’ of mutual benefit through integration when integration becomes the source of your subordination," Carney said.

The speech is genuinely remarkable and I recommend you read it. 

To the Prime Minister’s point above, subordination through integration is exactly what the Americans are aiming for. It’s all laid out quite clearly here. For us at the Council of Canadian Innovators, this is exactly the framework we’ve been arguing exists through both Democratic and Republican administrations in the U.S. This part of Trump’s agenda is not new, but it has never been more clearly laid out.

How can Canada respond to the American National Security Strategy and to the Prime Minister’s call to action to ourselves and to our allies? What does an economic pivot that recognizes the reality of the new global order the Prime Minister has described look like?

Canada’s in-the-works Defence Industrial Strategy is a great place to start explicitly treating our innovation and security policies as inextricably entwined, and aim to grow IP-intensive, dual-use technology firms that can help meet our own defence needs as well as those of our allies. 

An important subtext to the U.S. National Security Strategy is that just below the state, the class of actor with the most agency in the world are firms – and that these are critical channels for states to project influence. As the strategy says, “every U.S. Government official . . . should understand that part of their job is to help American companies compete and succeed.” 

We don’t need to embrace this thinking with coercion in mind. But Canadian policy that focuses on scaling firms that can create real power for Canada on the world stage.

Companies that harness AI and quantum technologies, that equip and enable militaries that defend democracies, or help grow the food and mine the resources that keep the world’s lights on, are what can make a big difference and make Canada a more meaningful middle power. Council of Canadian Innovators

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Canada is funding its own economic decline by continuing to subsidize foreign multinationals: Benjamin Bergen

Canada is funding its own economic decline by continuing to pour billions of dollars into foreign multinationals to set up domestic branches, says Benjamin Bergen, CEO of the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association.

Canada should instead be investing in Canadian firms to help them develop, own and sell Canadian intellectual property, he wrote in an article in Maclean’s.

Most of the value foreign-owned domestic branches generate, particularly through the ownership of their IP, “flows out of the county. We get the jobs. Someone else gets the wealth,” Bergen

said.

He pointed to federal government’s re-announcement in November of a $40-million investment in Nokia, backing the Finland-based telecom giant’s expansion of its Ottawa facility, a move expected to create 340 jobs and boost research and development in advanced 5G networking.

In 2022, Ottawa and Ontario pledged roughly $1 billion to help automaker Netherlands-headquartered Stellantis update its assembly plants in Brampton and Windsor. However, Bergen pointed out that Canadian workers were not even allowed to install certain types of robotics equipment despite having the skills to do so, because Stellantis wanted to prevent that transfer of technological know-how.

In 2024, federal and provincial governments announced $5 billion in assistance for Japan-based Honda to build a comprehensive electric vehicle supply chain in Ontario, including an assembly plant and a standalone battery manufacturing facility in Alliston. 

The Government of Québec has financially backed the French video game giant Ubisoft for 20-plus years, Bergen noted.

Between 2013 and 2017 alone, Ubisoft generated $634 million in net profits while receiving $615 million in government subsidies.

“In effect, public dollars meant to support innovation were flowing straight into the profits of a foreign-owned company,” he said.

“Betting public money on foreign firms also comes with risks,” he added.

The Quebec government tied its industrial strategy to Swedish battery maker Northvolt’s success, only for the company’s project in Quebec to collapse when Northvolt ran into financial trouble and filed for bankruptcy. Quebec now says the company owes it $260 million.

“At its core, Canada’s challenge is that we failed to recognize the shift from tangible to intangible wealth over the final three decades of the 20th century,” Bergen said.

“Value is no longer captured primarily through labour in the way it was in an industrial economy. It’s captured through IP.”

The countries that are succeeding today are the ones that have globally headquartered firms that lead their markets, he said. “Instead, Canada has doubled down on a race to the bottom, competing on labour costs and subsidies while ignoring ownership and scale.”

If Canada wants lasting prosperity and true sovereignty, it means building companies that create the goods, services and technologies we need at home, and that the rest of the world wants to buy from us, Bergen said.

The solution starts with creating the right conditions for our investments to support Canadian firms from inception to maturation and beyond, he said. “That requires something we’ve avoided for decades: a coherent strategic industrial policy.”

“Any serious assessment of public investment should begin with a basic question: ‘Are we supporting Canadian firms, large or small, that own what they sell?’ If the answer is no, then it is difficult to argue that the investment serves a national economic objective,” Bergen said.

Canadian firms struggle to grow into global leaders, and one of the biggest reasons for that is the flaws in government procurement, he noted.

When governments buy domestic goods or services – from military hardware to educational and medical technologies – it sends a signal that moves markets.

“Too often, Canadian firms fail to sell to our governments because procurement processes are complex, risk-averse or structurally biased toward incumbents that are often foreign-owned,” Bergen said.

Aligning those two guidelines to prioritize Canadian solutions would have a ripple effect across the economy, he said.

At the end of the day, Canadian investors will put their money in companies that offer the highest returns, he noted. “When governments lead by creating the conditions for Canadian firms to succeed, so that their products are as good as or better than foreign alternatives, private investors follow.”

“But if we fail to act, we will continue down a path of economic erosion and increased vulnerability,” Bergen said.

“We’ll risk selling off our most valuable IP in areas like AI or biopharma, only to buy it back later at a premium. There is a responsibility now to drastically rethink public investment in Canada,” he added.

“The rewards we’ll reap are higher standards of living, stronger public services and a more resilient economy. And when external actors, whether allies or adversaries, attempt to pressure our country, we will have something we currently lack: real leverage to defend Canadians and our values.” Maclean’s

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AI is expected to reduce 550,000 jobs in Canada by 2030, but add 550,000 jobs by 2045 due to increased productivity

More than half of tasks performed (53 percent) across all occupations in Canada could be performed by current artificial intelligence technologies, according to a report by Signal49 Research (previously the Conference Board of Canada).

Occupations in natural and applied sciences are the most exposed to AI (82 percent), while those in sales and people-facing services are the least exposed (37 percent), the report said.

The largest productivity gains are expected in sectors where many underlying occupations are highly exposed to AI, sectors such as agriculture and professional services. This is partly because many manual tasks performed by labourers and technicians can be made more efficient by combining AI with other automation technologies.

Services-based industries such as accommodation, restaurants, education, and retail are expected to gain less from AI technologies due to a higher share of tasks based on human interaction, the report said.

Applying these estimates to a labour market scenario in the report’s Model of Occupations, Skills, and Technology suggests a two-percent increase in employment above Signal49 Research’s baseline forecast in 2045, translating to a gain of about 555,000 jobs, thanks to the long-term economic gains created by increased productivity.

This long-term growth would offset an estimated initial drop in employment of 2.6 per cent in 2030, or about 555,000 jobs.

Given that the underlying population does not change, the long-term employment gains mean that more people participate in the labour force in the long run than in the base case scenario, according to the report.

“This is because the productivity gains from AI adoption will lead to higher average incomes that, in turn, will pull more people into the workforce,” the report said. Signal49 Research

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Global grievance has developed into insularity, with Canada being among the most affected in developed countries

Grievance has devolved into insularity, with Canada being among the most affected in developed markets, according to the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer.

Seven in 10 respondents report unwillingness or hesitance to trust someone with different values, approaches to social issues, background or information sources.

This insularity is highest in developed markets, including Japan (90 percent) and Germany (81 percent).

It is also higher than the global average in the U.K. (76 percent) and Canada (73 percent), and on par with the global average in the U.S. (70 percent).

Insularity cuts across income, gender, and age, and affects both developing and developed markets.

Four forces are fueling the rise of insularity, according to the barometer, the report said.

First is all-time high levels of Economic Anxiety: two-thirds of employees worry that trade policies and tariffs will hurt their employer.

Additionally, 54 percent of low-income and 44 percent of middle-income respondents believe they will be left behind rather than realize any real advantages from generative AI.

Second is a Collapse in Optimism: only 32 percent of respondents believe that the next generation will be better off, with lows in France (six percent), Germany (eight percent, down six points), Canada (16 percent) and the U.S. (21 percent, down nine points).

Third is Eroding Institutional Trust: low-income respondents see institutions, on average, 18 points less competent than high income respondents and 15 points less ethical. Globally, business remains the only institution seen as both ethical and competent.

Fourth is the Information Crisis: 65 percent worry that foreign actors are injecting falsehoods into national media to inflame domestic divisions, while only 39 percent get news from ideologically different sources on at least a weekly basis.

“Insularity has emerged as the next crisis of trust,” said Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman. “Over the past five years, we have seen a descent from fear to polarization to grievance and now to insularity.”

“People are retreating from dialogue and compromise, choosing the safety of the familiar over the perceived risk of change. We favor nationalism over global connection and individual gain over joint progress,” he added. “Our mentality has shifted from ‘we’ to ‘me.’

As a result, trust is increasingly concentrated among those closest to us, including My CEO (66 percent), My Fellow Citizens (64 percent) and My Neighbors (64 percent), while nearly seven in 10 fear institutional leaders are deliberately misleading the public.

Rising insularity has fueled nationalism, making it harder for multinationals to compete against local competitors, according to the report.

Trust in companies headquartered in “my country” far exceeds average trust in foreign companies, with the widest gaps in Canada (31 points), Japan (29 points), and Germany (29 points).

More than one-third of respondents want fewer foreign companies operating in their home market, even at the cost of higher prices and less choice. Four in 10 (42 percent) are unwilling to invest in companies that do not share their values. Forty-two percent of employees say they would rather switch departments than report to a manager with different values.

As the most trusted institution, My Employer (78 percent trust among employees) – 14 points ahead of Business (64 percent trust among the general population) and 25 points ahead of Government (53 percent) – is expected to broker trust between distrustful groups by those with both insular (74 percent) and open (84 percent) mindsets, Edelman said.

The CEO is expected to lead (73 percent) this process, with publicly endorsed strategies that include consulting people with different values and backgrounds when making decisions (75 percent) and constructively engaging with employees who criticize the company (74 percent). 

Other key findings from the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer include:

• A Widening Mass-Class Divide:In 2012, the trust gap between high- and low-income respondents was six points. By 2026, it has more than doubled to 15 points, with the largest disparities in the U.S. (29 points), Indonesia (26 points), Nigeria (26 points), France (22 points), and Saudi Arabia (21 points).
• Key Shapers of Trust:Over the past five years, inflation (54 percent), the increasing prevalence of misinformation (50 percent), the COVID-19 pandemic (43 percent), trade wars (37 percent), and the growing use of generative AI platforms (37 percent) are the events most affecting trust in people and institutions.
• Trust Shifts from “We” to “Me”: Due to these recent major events, institutional leaders have experienced net trust losses led by national government leaders (–16), major news organizations (–11), and foreign business leaders (–six), while those in close proximity, including My meighbors, family and friends (+11), My coworkers (+11), and My CEO (+9) saw net gains.
• Developed Economies Rank Lowest on the Trust Index:For the second year in a row, developed markets sit at the bottom of the Trust Index, including Japan (38), France (42), Germany (44), the U.K. (44), Spain (45), South Korea (46), and the U.S. (47), while developing markets top the index, led by China (80), the UAE (80), India (74), Indonesia (73), Saudi Arabia (73), and Nigeria (72).
• Business Surpasses NGOs on Ethics:For the first time, business is viewed as being more ethical than non-governmental organizations. Over the past year, business’s ethics score rose four points to 20, while NGOs fell two points to 17. Business is now ranked as more ethical and competent than all other institutions, continuing a trend that began during COVID. Edelman

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Canada’s business outlook improves marginally, but nearly one-quarter of companies plan to cut workers over the next year

Canada’s business outlook indicator – a measure of business activity, prices and costs – improved to minus 1.78 in the fourth quarter of 2025 from minus 2.27 last quarter, its highest level since before the trade war began roughly a year ago, according to the Bank of Canada’s fourth-quarter survey.

Despite the uptick, firms remain cautious about the future. About 21 percent of companies plan to cut workers over the next year, the highest share since 22 percent in the second quarter of 2016.

The Bank of Canada said overall business sentiment remains “subdued,” citing economic and political conditions as well as slowing demand and cost pressures.

Firms reported that sales growth has been weak over the past year largely due to the economic effects of trade tensions. They expect sales growth to improve slightly going forward.

Export sales growth is expected to be modest. A small but increasing share of businesses reported higher sales to non-U.S. markets in response to trade tensions with the United States.

Most firms did not report binding capacity constraints or labour shortages. With demand expected to remain soft, the majority of businesses plan to maintain or decrease current staffing levels.

Investment intentions improved slightly, but firms are prioritizing spending on routine maintenance, partly because of continued trade-related uncertainty. In the oil sector, investment is expected to decline in 2026 because of low oil prices.

Businesses reported fewer pressures than last quarter from tariff-related cost increases, though these pressures remain prevalent. Most firms do not anticipate substantial increases in selling prices.

The share of firms planning or budgeting for a recession in Canada over the next 12 months fell to 22 percent from 33 percent previously.

Still, several of the country’s top bank economists warn that deeper weaknesses persist in the economy, even as Canada avoided a recession last year. Bank of Canada

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Canada requires a two-track regulatory model for stablecoins that aligns regulation with economic function rather than technology

The rise of U.S. dollar-linked stablecoins – digital tokens designed to maintain a constant one-for-one value with the U.S. dollar – following the 2025 GENIUS Act poses potential risks to Canada’s monetary sovereignty and payment-system oversight, according to a report by the C. D. Howe Institute.

Without a clear domestic framework, Canadian payments could increasingly migrate to foreign-issued stablecoins and exchange platforms, weakening regulatory control and complicating monetary policy transmission, the report said. It was written by Peter MacKenzie, senior policy analyst, and Mark Zelmer, fellow-in-residence – both at the C. D. Howe Institute.

“If Canadians begin using those U.S. stablecoins to pay for goods and services, the country faces two fundamental risks: erosion of monetary sovereignty if U.S. dollar-linked stablecoins become the preferred means of payment; and the loss of control over domestic payment rails if foreign-owned exchange platforms and stablecoin issuers become the main suppliers of stablecoins in Canada for payment purposes,” their report said.

The main concern in allowing interest payments to stablecoin holders is that stablecoins could drain deposits away from Canadian banks, MacKenzie and Zelmer said. “If this scenario comes to fruition, it could impair banks’ ability to fund business and household lending and weaken the Bank of Canada’s monetary policy transmission mechanism.”

Canada’s Stablecoin Act is a necessary first step but leaves critical design choices to the implementation phase, according to the report. While the Act designates the Bank of Canada as the primary regulator and establishes baseline requirements for reserves and redemption, detailed rules on eligible assets, operational standards, insolvency treatment, and coordination with securities regulators remain unresolved.

The report recommends a two-track regulatory model that aligns regulation with economic function rather than technology, giving Canada a viable path to shape its payments future rather than default to foreign stablecoin standards.

Track 1 would apply to pure payment stablecoins, which would operate under Bank of Canada oversight as strict payment instruments. Track 2 would be reserved for future tokenized bank deposits that may someday be offered by Canadian deposit-taking institutions.

Pure payment stablecoins should operate under Bank of Canada oversight as fully backed payment instruments, while tokenized bank deposits should remain within existing prudential banking regulatory frameworks, the report said. “This approach promotes innovation while preserving financial stability and consumer protection.”

Integrating stablecoins with a central bank digital currency (CBDC) could strengthen competition, resilience, and interoperability, and position Canada to compete effectively in the digital payments revolution, the report said.

“Just as paper money currently serves as the foundation for private money in the form of bank deposits, a CBDC could serve as the foundation for Canada’s future digital monetary system including stablecoins and tokenized deposits,” MacKenzie and Zelmer said.

The report recommended that Canada establish Bank of Canada liquidity support to payment-oriented stablecoin issuers, similar to the access currently available to many Canadian deposit-taking institutions.

Giving stablecoin issuers access to these facilities would make it easier for them to liquidate the assets backing stablecoins in an orderly fashion (rather than conduct fire sales) in the event of stablecoin redemption surges. 

A CBDC model could provide potential advantages such as enabling seamless convertibility between privately issued Canadian dollar-linked stablecoins and central bank money without needing a deposit-taking institution to be involved in the process. Plus, it could help to facilitate payments between users of different stablecoins.

A CBDC, at minimum in wholesale form, would provide a neutral settlement layer, support orderly redemptions through central bank liquidity access, and enhance Canada’s ability to pursue international equivalency agreements while maintaining control over domestic payment infrastructure, the report said.

Stablecoins should not be viewed as a wholesale replacement for traditional finance, according to the report.

Instead, they will likely function as a complementary layer, especially valuable for cross-border payments, decentralized finance applications and digital-native businesses, or as a contingency when traditional payment rails are unavailable.

Whether stablecoins achieve widespread adoption will depend on design, regulation, and user preferences, the report said.

“Regardless of the market scale, establishing a regulatory framework is a useful measure to ensure that Canadians are well-served by all payment providers while reducing scope for regulatory arbitrage in the payments arena,” the report said.

An integrated approach combining the Stablecoin Act’s legislative foundation, strategic CBDC development, and calibrated international coordination offers Canada the opportunity to capture the benefits of stablecoin innovation while maintaining monetary sovereignty and financial stability, MacKenzie and Zelmer concluded.

“What Canada needs now is timely implementation of a comprehensive regulatory framework before market dynamics make domestic alternatives economically unviable.” C. D. Howe Institute

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The world faces spiralling global risks over the next two to 10 years: World Economic Forum report

Global risks continue to spiral in scale, with respondents to the Global Risks Perception Survey viewing both the short- and long-term global outlook negatively, according to The Global Risks Report 2026 by the World Economic Forum.

The report presents the findings of the Global Risks Perception Survey (GRPS) from more than 1,300 experts across academia, business, government, international organizations and civil society.

“Global risk” is defined as the possibility of the occurrence of an event or condition that, if it occurs, would negatively impact a significant proportion of global GDP, population or natural resources.

Fifty percent of respondents are anticipating either a turbulent or stormy outlook over the next two years, deteriorating to 57 percent of respondents over the next 10 years.

A further 40 percent and 32 percent, respectively, view the global outlook as unsettled over the two- and 10-year time frames, with only one percent anticipating a calm outlook across each time horizon.

“As cooperative mechanisms crumble, with governments retreating from multilateral frameworks, stability is under siege,” the report said. “A contested multipolar landscape is emerging where confrontation is replacing collaboration, and trust – the currency of cooperation – is losing its value.”

Geoeconomic confrontation is top of mind for respondents and was selected as the top risk most likely to trigger a material global crisis in 2026 by 18 percent of respondents, increasing two positions from last year. This is followed by State-based armed conflict, selected by a further 14 percent of respondents.

Economic risks, taken collectively, show the largest increases in ranking over the next two years, albeit from relatively low rankings last year. Economic Downturn and Inflation are both up eight positions, to #11 and #21 respectively, with a similar uptick for Asset Bubble Burst, up seven positions to #18.

Misinformation and Disinformation and Cyber Insecurity ranked #2 and #6, respectively, on the two-year outlook. Adverse Outcomes of AI is the risk with the largest rise in ranking over time, moving from #30 on the two-year outlook to #5 on the 10-year outlook.

“Rising societal and political polarization is intensifying pressures on democratic systems, as extremist social, cultural and political movements challenge institutional resilience and public trust,” the report said.

In an increasingly fragmented world permeated by new technological capabilities, information is vulnerable to manipulation for influencing political outcomes or for economic gain.

“This can contribute to deepening societal and political fractures, worsening grievances, hardening beliefs, reducing critical thinking and amplifying extremist views. It can also lead to desensitization.”

Inequality was selected by respondents as the most interconnected global risk for a second year running, followed closely by Economic Downturn.

The GRPS findings suggest heightened prioritization of non-environmental risks relative to environmental ones compared to previous years.

In the outlook for the next two years, a majority of environmental risks experienced declines in ranking, with Extreme Weather Events moving from #2 to #4 and Pollution from #6 to #9.

Critical Change to Earth Systems and Biodiversity Loss and Ecosystem Collapse also declined, by seven and five positions, respectively, and are in the lower half of the risk list this year in the two-year outlook.

Not only have environmental risks declined relative to other categories, “there has also been an absolute shift away from concerns about the environment,” the report said.

Looking further out, however, Extreme Weather Events retains its position as the top risk for 2036, with half of the top 10 risks environmental in nature, similar to last year.

Protectionism, strategic industrial policy and active influence by governments over critical supply chains all signal a world growing more intensely competitive.

In this year’s GRPS, 68 percent of respondents describe the global political environment over the next 10 years as a “multipolar or fragmented order in which middle and great powers contest, set and enforce regional rules and norms,” an increase of four percentage points compared to last year. Only six percent of respondents expect a reinvigoration of the previous unipolar, rules-based international order.

“The challenges highlighted in the GRPS – spanning geopolitical shocks, rapid technological change, climate instability, economic uncertainty and their collective impact on societies – underscore both the scale of the risks we face and our shared responsibility to shape what comes next.” World Economic Forum

THE GRAPEVINE – News about people, institutions and communities

University of Alberta (U of A) professor Richard Sutton, a pioneer in machine learning and artificial intelligence, will receive an honourary degree during the U of A’s first winter convocation in March. Sutton, a professor in the Department of Computing Science and a founder of modern computational reinforcement learning, has been instrumental in shaping Alberta into a world-renowned AI hub since arriving at the U of A in 2003. Reinforcement learning is a branch of machine learning in which AI systems learn to solve problems through a trial-and-error process that mirrors how humans learn. The usefulness of Sutton’s visionary research has expanded far beyond computer science, with wide-ranging applications in medicine, economics, engineering and agriculture. Sutton’s impact on Alberta’s AI leadership began when he moved to Edmonton to teach at the U of A. From there he went on to serve as Chair of Reinforcement Learning and Artificial Intelligence at iCORE/AITF until 2018, and founded the Reinforcement Learning and Artificial Intelligence Lab, where he is now a principal investigator. Sutton is also chief scientific advisor at Amii (Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute) and a Canada CIFAR AI Chair. U of A

LawZero, the non-profit organization founded by AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio, professor in the Department of Computer Science and Operations Research at University of Montreal, announced the appointment of seven global leaders to its board of directors and global advisory council. These initial appointments mark a significant step in the development of the organization, which is dedicated to advancing safe artificial intelligence and designed as a global public good. The appointees to the board of directors are:

• Maria Eitel (Chair of the Board), Founder of the Nike Foundation and Founder and Chair Emeritus of the Girl Effect.
• Mariano-Florentino (Tino) Cuéllar, President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former justice of the Supreme Court of California.
• Yuval Noah Harari, leading global thinker and historian, bestselling author of Sapiens, Homo Deus, Nexus and more, and co-founder of Sapienship, a social impact company promoting collaboration around the most pressing global challenges.
• Valérie Pisano, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mila - Quebec AI Institute
• Sir John Rose, Senior Adviser to Rothschild & Co, former Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce Group.
• Yoshua Bengio, Professor at Université de Montréal, Co-President and Scientific Director of LawZero, Founder and Scientific Advisor of Mila - Quebec AI Institute.

Joining as the first member of the GlobalAdvisory Council is:

• Stefan Lofven, former Prime Minister of Sweden. University of Montreal

Waterloo, Ont.-based AI security information management firm OpenText announced that Ayman Antoun will take over as CEO and join the board, effective April 20, 2026. The Toronto-area executive was most recently president of IBM Americas from April 2020 to March 2023, and before that led the U.S. firm’s Canadian division. Antoun will succeed James McGourlay, who continues to serve as interim CEO. Upon the transition, McGourlay will move to a role within the executive leadership team at OpenText and P. Thomas Jenkins, currently serving as OpenText's executive chair and chief strategy officer, will return to the role of chair of the board. Antoun is the permanent successor to longtime CEO Mark Barrenechea, whom the OpenText board ousted last August as it launched a strategic review. OpenText

Toronto-based Navigator Ltd., a consultancy that specializes in crisis management and executive communications, named Laas Turnbull, a longtime media executive, as CEO. Turnbull, who is being promoted from his current role as chief commercial officer, joined Navigator in 2024 after a multi-decade career in media, including at ZoomerMedia, TorStar and Report on Business Magazine. Founder Jaime Watt will remain chair of Navigator’s board of directors and will chair a new board of directors. The Globe and Mail

Craig Jones, a Canadian-born expert in the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning to medical imaging, is coming to the University of Alberta (U of A) as a Killam Memorial Chair. Joining U of A’s Department of Biomedical Engineering from the Department of Computer Science at Johns Hopkins, Jones has more than 30 years’ experience in medical image processing, AI and neural network-based techniques. His research has focused on advancing artificial intelligence and deep learning in medical imaging to improve disease diagnosis, monitoring and clinical decision support, including building tools to find pancreatic cancer earlier from ultrasound scans, automatically grading blood vessel damage in the eye, and guiding neurosurgeons more safely using 3D brain imaging. Jones is also director of The Center for the Advancement of Medical AI, which is part of Novagen Research, a not-for-profit initiative spun out of Axle Informatics that emphasizes collaborative research in medical imaging and large language model applications. U of A

Health Canada announced Arnie Perrault as the new chairperson of the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB) until August 9, 2028. Perrault, a lawyer by training with more than 30 years of professional experience in the public and private sector, was previously designated vice-chairperson of the board in August 2023. Perrault will continue to be supported by board members Dr. Emily Reynen, Peter Moreland-Giraldeau and Sharon Blady. The PMPRB is an arm’s-length organization of the government, that protects the interests of Canadian consumers by ensuring that the prices of patented medicines sold in Canada are not excessive. Health Canada

The University of Victoria announced that Dr. Angela Jaime was appointed as vice-president, Indigenous and will join UVic this summer. Jaime is an enrolled member of the Pit River Tribe of Northern California, and is currently the vice-provost, Indigenous Engagement at the University of Saskatchewan. Jaime has more than 25 years’ experience in Indigenous education and academic leadership, including roles in advancing equity, anti-racism and social justice in higher education. As a researcher, Jaime’s work centres on Indigenous women in higher education, anti-racism/anti-oppression and decolonization within postsecondary institutions.  When she joins UVic, Jaime will provide Indigenous leadership across the institution, supporting the continuation and advancement of the Indigenous Plan, ʔetalnəw̓əl̓ | ÁTOL,NEUEL, and accountability in partnership with local Nations, Indigenous communities and the broader university community. UVic

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Université de Montréal research project secures US$3.8 million from the Gates Foundation to explore novel drugs against antimicrobial resistance

A research project co-led by Université de Montréal (UdeM) professor Yves Brun has secured US$3.8 million over three years from the Gates Foundation.

The project, “ML(Machine learing)-driven small molecule design of Klebsiella-specific antibiotics,” is run jointly by Brun, of UdeM's Department of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Immunology, and Mike Tyers, from The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

The project is one of 18 chosen from among over 500 submissions to a special global funding program.

Launched by the Gates Foundation (formerly the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), the program aims to accelerate the development of antibiotics targeting Gram-negative bacteria, a class of pathogens that are increasingly resistant to treatments of last resort.

With antimicrobial resistance among the leading global causes of death – potentially contributing to nearly 10 million fatalities a year by 2050 – the Gates Foundation hopes to foster the discovery of molecules that can target the Enterobacteriaceae family.

This large group of Gram-negative bacteria comprises over 100 species, including Salmonella, E. coli, and also Klebsiella pneumoniae, a major cause of hospital-acquired infections that the World Health Organization calls a “critical priority” pathogen.

Brun and his team will harness machine learning and generative AI technologies to explore uncharted chemical territories and design novel antibacterial compounds with entirely new modes of action.

His lab will begin by generating a “fingerprint” of Klebsiella pneumoniae using high-resolution microscopy and CRISPR technology, enabling his research team to observe how the bacterium reacts to a large number of compounds.

The predictive models will estimate the bacterium’s sensitivity or resistance to various compounds, while the generative models – developed at Mila - Quebec AI Institute, by UdeM computer scientists Alex Hernandez-Garcia and his colleague Yoshua Bengio – will propose entirely new molecules designed to target Klebsiella pneumoniae.

The most promising compounds will be synthesized and then optimized by scientists led by UdeM medicinal chemistry professor Anne Marinier, director of the IRIC Drug Discovery Unit, then tested for antibacterial activity.

Lastly, in collaboration with the Montreal biotech company Simmunome Inc., a digital twin of the bacterium will be created to better understand how it responds to antibiotics and to further explore mechanisms of resistance. Université de Montréal

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