1996 was a big year for tech: Dolly the Sheep, Internet Explorer 3.0, and the launch of the app currently at the heart of Canada’s digital sovereignty battle.
The news: Following US President Donald Trump’s trade tirade, Google Maps and Apple Maps have renamed Lake Ontario to Lake America for US users, prompting an exodus from the popular navigation apps. The backlash prompted many, including this reporter, to transition to an old staple, MapQuest, helping it become the most-downloaded app in the Apple App Store in Canada, and the number two navigation app in the US.
MapQuest, which predates today’s popular mapping apps, holds up pretty well in 2026. Gone are the days of paper print-outs, but MapQuest delivers on Web 2.0 charm, replacing stuffy blue navigation icons with pixelated sprites (I chose the wizard).
From the source: “Google’s decision is more consequential than the theatre of the name change. It’s deliberate epistemic collapse,” wrote Canadian Shield Institute managing director Vass Bednar in a Globe and Mail op-ed.
The context: The backlash might mark a turning point in the desire for alternatives to US big tech hegemony. Lists like the Canadian Shield’s or Paris Marx’s guide to decoupling from US tech have seen a spike in traffic. However, as those guides outline, not all decouplings are as easy as switching mapping apps. Is this finally Canada’s “elbows up” moment? Only time (or more name changes) will tell.
Canada’s largest fintech gathering returns September 14-15, 2026.
The Canada Fintech Forum brings together the industry’s leading voices for two days of collaboration, learning, and networking. Connect with decision-makers, uncover emerging opportunities, and take part in the conversations influencing the next chapter of financial innovation in Canada and beyond.
Latest news across tech
Hands off AI
The United States is asking G20 members to take a hands-off approach to AI regulation, according to Reuters, as part of a two-day meeting on tech in North Carolina that continued today. Countries that sign on agree to avoid AI regulation and focus only on rules for “novel” situations involving the technology.
Build baby build
The data center boom is reshaping where private equity dollars are flowing, according to PitchBook, which found that data center construction spending jumped 46 percent in Q2 2026, up from the same time last year.
Salesforce says speed up
In an interview with the Toronto Star, Salesforce’s Canadian chief Dave Borrelli said Canada’s traditionally conservative business culture could have consequences in the AI era, and warned that the country’s AI adoption gap has the “potential to leave us too far behind.”
Lessons in digital sovereignty
An excerpt from Cecilia Rikap’s new book, The Rulers: Corporate Power in the Age of AI and the Cloud, featured in Rest of World, shows how other countries have not-so-successfully approached ditching big tech. While China builds its own tech ecosystem off the back of US work, India and Brazil are leaning further into public-private partnerships that still rely on US infrastructure. As Canada tries to cultivate its own digital sovereignty, perhaps it should take notes.
Tumbler Ridge fallout continues
Thirty new lawsuits are set to be filed against OpenAI in the wake of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting, according to CBC News. The suits allege that the AI giant’s leadership “ignored its own safety staff and refused to alert police” after it banned the perpetrator for using ChatGPT “in furtherance of violent activities.”
One of the goals of the lawsuits, according to the firm representing the plaintiffs, is to have the perpetrator’s chat logs released. OpenAI chief strategy officer Jason Kwon has publicly denied the allegations, which are yet to be tested in court.
Stay out of my lane, says lottery
Shortly after Canadian regulators said prediction markets shouldn’t offer sports or entertainment bets, the Canadian Lottery Coalition says they aren’t going far enough. The group wants provinces to enact stronger regulatory safeguards on prediction contracts, arguing they still function like gambling and divert revenue from regulated channels like the lottery.
Sponsored stories
How GM Canada is Steering a Global Mobility Strategy from Ontario
As a global leader in automobile innovation, GM Canada transitioned its lab research and research hubs to develop, test, and globally deploy the next generation of autonomous vehicle deployments.
On the move
This week’s hires, fires, and exec shakeups:
- Surrey, BC-based data workflow platform Safe Software said it’s adding more than 60 roles across the UK, the US, and Canada.
- UFCW 1518, the union representing Uber drivers in Victoria, said it has expanded its collective agreement to cover drivers in the BC interior, including Kelowna and Kamloops. Speaking of Uber, the company is cutting 10 percent of its global workforce.
- Calgary-based CoolIT Systems is hiring nearly 300 employees this year in anticipation of the data centre boom, the Calgary Herald reported.
- Doug Guzman, the head of the Feds’ fast-tracking Defence Investment Agency, will step down after just one year due to frustrations with the slow pace of bureaucracy, according to The Globe and Mail.
- Prime Minister Mark Carney has replaced the leadership behind Invest in Canada, naming Dominic Barton as chair, just two weeks before its flagship summit in Toronto.
- Operational management platform Simpro said it will create up to 100 jobs over the next two years with its new Montréal R&D centre.
- Montréal luxury e-commerce platform Ssense is opening a new US fulfillment center to lessen the impact of tariffs.
- The Globe and Mail published everything you need to know about how to land the hottest new job: AI enablement manager.
Want to feature a hiring announcement on our list? Email partnerships@betakit.com with the subject line JOBS.
The future of AI is built through ideas, connections and collaboration.
On Sept. 16-17, 7,500 decision-makers, tech experts, startups and researchers from over 40 countries will come together in Montreal.
Join the conversation on the future of AI & tech.
#1. True or False: The University of Waterloo produces more entrepreneurs than the University of Toronto.
Your score:
Quiz answer: a) True. This week, the University of Waterloo became the first school in Canada to break into the top 10 of PitchBook’s annual university rankings, which tallies the number of founders among school alumni. UW jumped 11 spots to 7th place, while U of T remained at 17th place.
Quiz answer: a) True. This week, the University of Waterloo became the first school in Canada to break into the top 10 of PitchBook’s annual university rankings, which tallies the number of founders among school alumni. UW jumped 11 spots to 7th place, while U of T remained at 17th place.
Contributors: Alex Riehl (Ottawa staff writer), Jesse Cole (Prairies reporter), Douglas Soltys (editor in chief), Sarah Rieger (managing editor), Trevor Nichols (web editor).
Featured image courtesy MapQuest