What’s in a name?
Canada’s newly announced sovereign wealth fund has prompted that question over and over again this past week.
Albertans will be extremely familiar with the concept. Our heritage fund was established to capture oil revenues during boom times to ensure diversity and prosperity for future generations. How well it has managed the goal of fostering economic diversification over the years has been a subject of debate; Norway, which modelled its fund after Alberta’s, has had much greater success.
However, unlike Alberta or Norway, the money for Canada’s fund will come from debt, not wealth. As some academics from across the political spectrum have suggested, a more accurate name might be simply a “slush fund.” Any investment returns will need to, at a minimum, surpass the cost of servicing that debt. So how does Canada plan to get the “wealth” back into the fund’s title?
Details on what major projects the fund will invest in are slim so far, other than that they will involve what appears to be a focus on extraction rather than generation: energy, minerals, agriculture, and infrastructure. What critics have flagged as largely missing from the Spring Economic Update, and the current Major Projects List, are mentions of things that contribute to longer-term, more stable returns: innovation, intellectual property, research, and tech.
As the Canadian Shield Institute wrote in a recent newsletter, intangible assets like IP and data make up most of the S&P 500’s value, while foreign tech giants use that IP “to dominate markets and stifle competition.”
True wealth isn’t built by chasing short-term profit. If Canada wants to ensure it’s creating sovereign wealth for the future, it will have to think carefully about what it plans to fund.
Sarah Rieger
Managing Editor
Zoholics Toronto 2026, Zoho’s flagship user conference, returns May 21-22 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Join hundreds of business leaders, customers, and Zoho experts for two days of learning, networking, and hands-on sessions designed to help your business work smarter.
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AI strategy pillars, new SMB procurement program revealed in Canada’s Spring Economic Update
The Spring Economic Update revealed the six pillars that will inform Canada’s new national AI strategy for the first time.
The delayed strategy is shaped by more than 11,000 public consultation submissions, which BetaKit analyzed in full this week. Our analysis found that Canadians expressed equal concern for AI’s potential ethical harms as well as interest in possible economic gains (BetaKit’s Madison McLauchlan went on CBC Radio to talk about it).
While the Spring Economic Update refreshed some of Budget 2025’s commitments to defence and innovation, including stablecoin regulation, critics argued that it did little to show that the government is taking the digital economy seriously.
General Fusion prepares to continue its quest for commercial fusion power as a public company
At the analyst event this week, the Richmond, BC firm unpacked its technological progress and how it plans to unlock the promise of fusion power at a commercial scale as a public company.
AI godfather Geoffrey Hinton says we must convince AI that it’s our mother
The Canadian AI pioneer is afraid that powerful AI could eventually wipe out humanity. At the Ontario Centre of Innovation’s DiscoveryX conference this week, Hinton laid out his unusual idea to prevent that from happening.
AI developers not meeting the needs of LGBTQ+ users, report suggests
While QueerTech’s report highlighted a disconnect between how inclusive AI is prioritized and implemented, it also revealed a streak of bigotry among Canadian AI developers. Some of the survey responses were generally “hateful” toward the LGBTQ+ community in tone, QueerTech said.
“If this is what they are thinking, and saying it publicly on a survey, then imagine all the other people also around them who are building this that we don’t even hear from,” QueerTech co-founder and CEO Naoufel Testaouni said at an advanced panel discussion last week.
Q&A: Kepler’s CEO on Canada’s space ambitions and the best Toronto Tech Week eats
Mina Mitry was trying to launch Canada into space before it was cool. He’ll probably talk about it on-stage later this month at Homecoming, the official mainstage event of Toronto Tech Week.
As a media partner of Toronto Tech Week, BetaKit sat down with the Kepler Communications CEO to learn more about his company’s historic satellite network launch, Canada’s potential to be a major player in the space domain, and the best barbecue joint in Toronto.
Lightspeed offloads Upserve at a discount as transformation plan continues
The Montréal-based payments firm is selling off its US hospitality business for nearly $350 million less than it paid for it in 2020.
Lightspeed is actively trying to streamline its portfolio and focus on its “two core growth engines” of retail in North America and hospitality in Europe. As a US hospitality product, Upserve doesn’t fit in either of those buckets.
Canadian Robotics Council creates committee to boost investment in domestic robots
With the new Capital Committee, made up of banks and venture capital firms, the nonprofit advocacy group aims to foster a stronger connection between domestic capital providers and the rest of the robotics ecosystem.
Meet the BetaKit Most Ambitious: Town Hall full speaker lineup
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey, Dominion Dynamics founder Eliot Pence, and more leaders from across Canada’s innovation ecosystem will join the BetaKit Most Ambitious: Town Hall at the iconic TIFF Lightbox on May 25.
Presented in partnership with Uber, DMZ, and National Bank, all BetaKit Most Ambitious: Town Hall attendees will receive a limited-run print copy of the 2026 edition of BetaKit Most Ambitious. Get your ticket here.
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How Boast has helped companies secure $900 million in R&D tax credits since 2018
Boast utilizes an AI-driven platform to help businesses automate the complex process of claiming R&D tax credits and government incentives. Since 2018, the company has secured nearly $1 billion for its clients, providing them with the critical non-dilutive capital needed to fuel further innovation.
🇨🇦 Weekly Canadian Deals, Dollars & More
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The BetaKit Podcast — Evaluating Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy
“There’s a lot in this document… Do we feel the urgency and the threats are covered here?”
After months of waiting, the Defence Industrial Strategy offers clarity for $7 billion worth of spending commitments in Budget 2025. Is that enough? What’s missing? What comes next?
Vass Bednar (Canadian Shield Institute) and Matt Lombardi (The Icebreaker) join to evaluate the strategy, the spending, and some sticky questions about canola oil and Canadian sovereignty.
BetaKit Most Ambitious: Town Hall is the marquee opening event of Toronto Tech Week 2026.
Hosted at the iconic TIFF Lightbox, BetaKit Most Ambitious: Town Hall will bring together over 500 leaders from across Canada’s tech and innovation ecosystem for meaningful conversations about strengthening the nation’s autonomy, security, and prosperity.
Get your ticket while they’re still available!
Feature image courtesy François-Philippe Champagne via X.