In early February, a bunch of tech workers teamed up to launch Build Canada, which bills itself as a “platform of bold ideas for growth, innovation, and prosperity.”
The launch saw the support of a number of Canadian tech entrepreneurs, including Globalive’s Anthony Lacavera, Koho’s Daniel Eberhard, SRTX’s Katherine Homuth, Wealthsimple’s Michael Katchen, Shopify’s Tobi Lütke and Harley Finkelstein, and BetaKit chair Satish Kanwar—all people that have appeared on this podcast!
“I don’t know what Canadian DOGE is. You know what I know? That everyone is projecting both their hopes and fears onto this thing.”
But what are they supporting?
That is a question of some interest amongst Canadian media. Check out these recent headlines: Major tech figures get into politics with launch of Build Canada, The tech CEOs who want a DOGE for Canada, Canada’s tech broligarchs are getting organized too. I was even on the Canadaland podcast this week to help answer this question: should we be worried about a Canadian DOGE?
Some people are definitely worried. Over 1,000 tech workers recently signed an open letter stating they will “not allow business leaders, many of whom are unelected, unknown, and unaccountable, to dictate the future of this country.”
Helpful context for those not following international news: the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency is currently responsible for cutting programs and firing tens of thousands of government workers with the unverified claim of saving taxpayers $105 billion USD. DOGE has also been forced to reverse cutting nuclear weapons workers and restore cuts to Ebola prevention programs. Documents obtained by The Washington Post detail plans DOGE developed to purge federal agencies of DEI workers and offices. So there’s an international pallor to all of this.
Now, that open letter specifically mentions Shopify and its rollback of DEI support, stating, “This is the wrong direction for Canada.” What does any of this have to do with Build Canada?
Another great question, and one for our guest: Daniel Debow, an ex-Shopify VP and the genesis behind Build Canada.
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I wanted to ask him on the podcast to give him an opportunity to explain what Build Canada is, what it hopes to achieve, and some of the interesting ways it’s using AI to leverage that work.
I also wanted to give him an opportunity to respond to the associations being made between Build Canada, the actions and statements of some of its supporters, and the chaos being caused by Elon Musk down south.
I think it’s fair to say that Debow was frustrated by many of these questions, and maybe by how often he’s been asked them. He’s also frustrated by the speed at which our governments adopt and implement good ideas, and the time we spend on things he deems unimportant or unserious.
I’m not here to make judgments on what is important or unimportant. Only to help answer this question: what exactly is Build Canada trying to construct?
Let’s dig in.
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Disclosure: BetaKit majority owner Good Future is the family office of two former Shopify leaders, Arati Sharma and Satish Kanwar.