This essay opens the 2026 BetaKit Most Ambitious issue. Read more stories of bold ambition in Canadian tech here.
Do you remember the moment you realized the world had changed?
Was it “elbows up” or those “51st state” comments? The menacing promise of applied economic force? Perhaps it was the sharp increase in defence commitments around the globe.
Whatever the trigger, most Canadians now recognize that the Canada they grew up in can no longer be taken for granted. It is under threat.
Innovation can become the strategic infrastructure that will help determine and reinforce Canada’s global position.
In January, speaking to the world at Davos, our prime minister said: “A country that cannot feed itself, fuel itself, or defend itself has few options.” It was a message intended for middle powers like Canada as they reconcile with a ruptured global order.
For the first time in generations, Canada’s national policy and industrial strategy will be shaped by the urgent need for sovereign capability and economic resilience. Nation building.
In a crisis, fortune favours the bold. But bold action now can also address long-standing national issues in productivity, commercialization, job creation, and wage growth. These vulnerabilities were not caused by the current threats to our sovereignty, and we have ignored the call to solve them for too long.
As we undertake a generational transformation, Canada has advantages. In the 21st century, there is no sovereignty without technology. We’re a nation known for rich natural resources, and invention might be our most abundant. Innovation can become the strategic infrastructure that will help determine and reinforce Canada’s global position.
It will require Canadian innovators to rise and meet the moment.
BetaKit Most Ambitious was created to tell stories of Canadian ambition, because the stories we tell ourselves show us what is possible. Our inaugural issue was a reminder that Canada can be bold. This year, we are proud to spotlight nearly 100 innovators with the ambition to strengthen Canada’s autonomy, security, and prosperity.
We are proud to spotlight nearly 100 innovators with the ambition to strengthen Canada’s autonomy, security, and prosperity.
Canadians ensuring we have the energy and infrastructure to power a growing nation. Agricultural innovators elevating food production so Canada can feed itself and the world.
Canadians eliminating our dependence on foreign technology, from compute-intensive data centres to the frontier models and software applications they power.
And yes, Canadian innovators developing technology solutions with both civilian and military applications to help defend our country.
But sovereignty is not a wall to hide behind, nor should it be a cage. In our efforts to protect the Canada we have today, we cannot lose sight of a Canada shaped by our imagination.
In the pages of this year’s issue, you will also find world-class researchers working on the next groundbreaking discovery, as well as community builders growing Canada from the grassroots. With ambitions of all shapes and sizes, both groups have the power to expand what it means to be Canadian.
Our nation finds itself in an uncertain moment, but also one that presents great opportunity. We have everything we need to build the Canada we want. We can decide our place in the world. We must, or it will be decided for us.
Canada’s moment to build is now.
READ BETAKIT MOST AMBITIOUS 2026
In the 21st century, there is no sovereignty without technology.
Meet the Canadian innovators strengthening our nation’s autonomy, security, and prosperity in BetaKit Most Ambitious.
