I have returned from Sunny Ottawa to Snowy Toronto, weary but satisfied after a busy budget week.
We spent Tuesday in lock-up to increase the depth and quality of our budget reporting, and Team BetaKit was up to the challenge: drafting over 6,000 words (!) so far on Budget 2025, all of which you can find below.
Helpful readers who emailed me last week with suggestions will find many of their points of interest covered in our… coverage. Many, but not all: while Budget 2025 is heavy on spending commitments for Canadian tech, it was relatively light on details explaining how those commitments might unfurl, or the strategy behind them.
But that’s fine (for now). As the CBC’s Peter Armstrong smartly said this week, “budgets are always an exercise in storytelling.” Good stories get bogged down by too many details.
So what is the story of Budget 2025? Well, the story of last year’s budget was of a Liberal government spoiling for a fight. Miraculously, said government somehow lost that fight yet remained in power (under new leadership).
This year, as I have discussed here before, the fight came to Canada. Budget 2025 attempts to tell the story of how our nation might wean itself off of US dependence—under tight timelines and with slim margins for error.
And what does that mean for Canadian tech? Well, the last Liberal government’s innovation strategy failed mostly on execution, so I guess we’re back to those pesky details again. For a good starting tally of which missing details matter most, might I suggest our post-budget policy wonk power panel (also below)?
Better yet, email me if you caught one we missed.
Douglas Soltys
Editor-in-chief
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What’s in #Budget2025 for Canadian tech?
- Budget 2025 makes huge spending commitments but finally gets Canada more competitive on defence, taxes, and financial services. Find every ask, action, and reaction relevant to Canadian tech in our essential budget primer.
- With an $80-billion earmark, including $6.6 billion for the Defence Industrial Strategy, the 2025 budget established defence as a cornerstone of the federal government’s tech commitments.
- After years of disappointment and delay, Budget 2025 committed to a “competitive and innovative” financial system, including movement on open banking, Real-Time Rail, and stablecoin legislation.
- Last year’s budget stoked fury in parts of Canada’s tech sector. This year? Several innovators and the organizations that represent them say they are pleased. The new government’s engagement with the private sector has made all the difference, tech leaders say.
Xanadu to go public on Nasdaq and TSX in $3.6-billion USD SPAC deal
Toronto-based quantum computing firm Xanadu has struck a deal to go public by merging with a special purpose acquisition company. The deal could make Xanadu the first Canadian technology company to debut on the TSX in more than four years.
This week, Xanadu joined fellow Canadian companies Nord Quantique and Photonic in advancing to the next round of a United States military-backed quantum computing research program. The companies are now one step closer to the $316 million USD that’s up for grabs if they can develop a functional, fault-tolerant quantum computer.
“We could be public today”: 1Password crosses $400-million USD ARR milestone
Toronto-based cybersecurity software company 1Password has revealed that it surpassed $400 million USD in annual recurring revenue and added some new execs as it prepares for the AI era.
1Password CEO David Faugno told BetaKit that its current size and market position are “a great launching point” for it to “bring that trust layer” to AI —something he said 1Password still has some work to do on before entertaining the idea of an initial public offering.
Canada sees rebound in angel investments as industry calls for more federal support
Angel investment activity in Canada in 2024 continued to rebound from post-pandemic lows, according to a report from the National Angel Capital Organization. The report found that overall angel investment was $146.2 million in 2024, up 27 percent from the year before.
Earnings season 📈
- Shopify handily beat its sales growth forecast and maintained strong free cash flow during Q3 2025, but despite a solid earnings report, investors appeared unimpressed.
- Lightspeed upgraded its outlook slightly for the rest of the fiscal year after posting $319 million USD in revenue in its Q2 earnings, beating internal forecasts.
Six years later, Questrade can finally launch Canada’s newest bank
Toronto-based online brokerage and wealth management firm Questrade has been approved by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) to start banking operations as Questbank. The approval marks the end of its six-year journey to gain a Schedule 1 banking license, which it applied for in 2019.
Beacon raises $250-million USD Series B to buy and equip “Main Street businesses” with AI
Toronto-based Beacon Software has closed $250 million USD in Series B financing to purchase smaller, niche software and services firms, embed AI into them, and grow them over the long run.
The AI holding company claims that it has already acquired and partnered with dozens of software and services companies—across areas like education, finance, logistics, and recreation—since its launch last year. Co-founder and CEO Nilam Ganenthiran told BetaKit that Beacon acquires a new company every two weeks or so.
FEATURED STORIES FROM OUR PARTNERS
- From Nov. 18-20, NVIDIA, AWS Canada, Google, and Microsoft will join Alberta’s political leadership and Canadian tech founders at a conference designed for deal making. Three reasons you shouldn’t miss Future Summit 2025.
- The Critical Industrial Technologies Development and Commercialization program launched by ventureLAB is fast-tracking AI adoption in advanced manufacturing, construction, agri-food and mining. Read how.
- “We didn’t even consider building a lab in Toronto.” Meet the companies betting on Mississauga.
- Profitual’s No-Pitch Competition will award $10,000 to the startup with the strongest financial model. Read about the program that judges startups on the strength of their numbers.
🇨🇦 Weekly Canadian Deals, Dollars & More
- TOR – Maple acquires Grafton, NB-based Beyond ADHD
- OTT – Gander Social raises over $1M through FrontFundr
- MTL – Flare secures $30M USD to fuel expansion plans
- MTL – FrontlineIQ raises $3.3M to “gamify” sales jobs with AI
- HFX – Maritime Launch receives $10M from MDA for spaceport
The BetaKit Podcast — Budget 2025: “cautiously optimistic”
“After last year’s budget of being destitute and forlorn on a desert island, I’m back to cautiously optimistic.”
It’s a power-packed post-Budget panel podcast featuring a plethora of Canadian policy wonks! Vass Bednar (Canadian SHIELD Institute), Benjamin Bergen (CCI), and Jaxson Khan (Aperture AI) join to explore the story Budget 2025 tells of Canada, and what juicy nuggets of tech policy and financial commitments need to be dunked in the dipping sauce of greater detail. Let’s dig in!
Take The BetaKit Quiz – Tesla pays Elon, Apple might pay Google, and a #Budget2025 breakdown
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 November 7, 2025.
Must-attend event for Toronto IT leaders
BetaKit has partnered with Avega to spread the word about an invitation-only discussion on Wednesday, November 13.
As Canada makes unprecedented investments in cybersecurity, this is a peer-level conversation on commanding IT in the age of risk.
The event will feature Jeffrey Yakubik of RingCentral, Anthony Cali of CyberMax, and Adam Deakon of Cologix. Get real-world strategies from veteran IT leaders and benchmark your approach with peers facing similar challenges.
Join a select group of technology leaders as they share practical takeaways on leading IT transformation in a risk-filled landscape.
Seats are limited — secure your spot now.
Feature image courtesy Jason Hafso via Unsplash.