I’m writing to you from my hotel room in Ottawa, where I await the main event in our capital city this week: NACO Summit.
In January, I reiterated former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien’s call for Canadians to show “spine and toughness.” Three months later, I’m happy to say you’ve done an admirable job.
Elbows are all the way up. Interprovincial trade barriers are (slowly) falling, US contracts are being ripped apart, and the pressure is on to replace them with honest-to-God Canadian procurement.
Over 7 million Canadians have already voted in the most important federal election since I have been old enough to vote.
BetaKit is doing its part: with the costed platforms finally released, Jon and Madison pulled together a guide to every political commitment relevant to Canadian tech. BetaKit will track the execution of those promises by whichever party forms government, so the piece is worth a read even if you have already voted.
I won’t offer predictions or an endorsement here, only a few suggestions. First, if you are eligible to vote, please do so. Vote with your head, or vote with your heart, but just vote.
Second, deeply consider whether the best political party for Canadian tech is also the best party for all Canadians.
Third, remember that the responsibility of citizens in a democracy isn’t satisfied when the votes are tallied Monday night. The work continues on Tuesday.
Keep those elbows up.
Douglas Soltys
Editor-in-chief
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Every platform promise #CDNtech cares about in the 2025 federal election
Canada’s major political parties have laid out their platforms for major ballot-box issues like taxes, dependency on the United States (US), and AI investment ahead of the 2025 federal election on April 28.
While there are common threads in their technology-related policies, particularly the attempt to reduce dependency on the US in light of the ongoing trade war, there are also stark differences between the Liberals, Conservatives, and New Democratic Party.
If tech matters to your vote, this article has what you need to consider when you go to the polls.
Prime Minister Mark Carney almost worked at Shopify: former exec
Prime Minister Mark Carney was almost president of Canada’s largest tech company, former Shopify exec Craig Miller has revealed.
In a LinkedIn post this week, Miller recounted his 2020 encounter with the future Prime Minister, detailing how Shopify interviewed and offered Carney the role at the company now held by Harley Finkelstein.
At World Summit AI, cautious tone of researchers drowned out by cutthroat adoption race
The chorus of AI researchers and scientists pressing for a measured approach to the technology’s development clashed with the urgent tone of tech companies scrambling to keep pace with its rapid advancement at the World Summit AI in Montréal.
Taking place at Montréal’s Palais des congrès over two days, the conference was stacked with Canadian AI leaders including Waabi’s Raquel Urtasun and Canadian AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio. Though presenters struck different tones about AI adoption, the resounding message was that AI’s transformation of industry was a foregone conclusion.
Canadian-founded Fluent Ventures bets on global startups with $40-million USD early-stage VC program
Canadian-founded, San-Francisco-based venture capital firm Fluent Ventures has announced a new $40-million USD program to invest in early-stage technology startups applying proven business models to new regions and industries.
Fluent is betting that the future of innovation lies beyond just Silicon Valley with a strategy that it refers to as “geographic alpha.” Founder and managing partner Alex Lazarow believes that the world’s biggest problems “are best solved by local entrepreneurs applying globally validated models,” including in Canada.
France’s Alan comes to Canada with digital group health insurance for tech startups
After building a presence in Europe, French insurtech unicorn Alan has come overseas and set its sights on bringing some more competition to Canada’s health insurance market.
“Canadians, we know we pay a lot for telco,” Alan’s Canadian general manager Mark Goad told BetaKit in an exclusive interview. “We know we pay a lot for banking. You also get absolutely hosed on health insurance.”
Alan hopes to help change that, starting with the launch of its first product for the Canadian market—digital group health insurance geared towards tech startups and small businesses that it says is cheaper and easier to access than comparable services from its competitors.
Electric vehicle maker Rivian elects Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez to board of directors
American EV producer Rivian has elected Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez to its board of directors, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said in a statement that Gomez would help the Irvine, Calif.-based automaker “integrate new, cutting-edge technologies into our products, services, and manufacturing.”
Latest Google for Startups Accelerator cohort makes AI de facto entry requirement
All 14 of the startups participating in the sixth Canadian edition of the Google for Startups Accelerator focus in some way on AI.
This cohort marks the first made up entirely of AI-native or AI-enabled startups. Iran Karimian, Google Canada’s head of accelerator and startup ecosystem, told BetaKit that Google looks for companies building with AI or machine learning, or have a “very clear case of how they plan to implement it in the near future.”
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Top minds from public policy, private institutions, academia, and industry gathered to answer. Across panels and hallway conversations, one theme stood out: Canada has built a world-class foundation for AI thinking. The next step is translating that expertise into real-world adoption.
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🇨🇦 Weekly Canadian Deals, Dollars & More
- VAN – Trulioo sees “significant growth” in Asia-Pacific region
- EDM – NiaHealth emerges from stealth with $2.5M pre-seed round
- ON – Ontario government investing $750M in STEM programs
- TOR – Healwell shakes up C-suite following Well Health takeover
- TOR – 1Password adds new capabilities to XAM platform
- TOR – FundThrough acquires Ampla alongside fresh Series B
- TOR – Nagar Rahmani joins EnerTech Capital as a special adviser
- TOR – Weston-associated Wittington promotes new partners
- MTL – 7Gen secures $48M CAD in debt to scale across Canada
- MTL – Frank and Oak selling brand, closing all stores
The BetaKit Podcast — How does an online car retailer survive a trade war?
“I think for any entrepreneur that’s navigated the last five years, I don’t know if there was a worse time to be building a company.”
Clutch found a new gear for its business after a post-pandemic lull … just in time for tariffs to hit. Dan Park (CEO) and Stephen Seibel (COO) join to discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated online car retail, how the end of cheap capital pumped their brakes, and how Clutch regained traction after a savvy market expansion. What has this journey taught them about how to prepare for whatever tariffs will do to the auto industry? Let’s dig in.
Take The BetaKit Quiz – This week: Shopify is poaching customers, Aidan Gomez is on the board, and Canada is getting hosed
Think you’re on top of Canadian tech and innovation news? Time to prove it. Test your knowledge of Canadian tech news with The BetaKit Quiz for April 25, 2025.
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Feature image by Jason Hafso on Unsplash