All right, class, take your seats. Summer’s over, school’s in, and 2027 is closer than anyone wants to admit. To prepare you for the fall, BetaKit has put together a syllabus; think of it as CliffsNotes to help you follow the top news we’ll be tracking as we head into the last quarter of the year.
Budget 2026
Remember, budgets are in the fall now, which means pre-budget consultations are open until Tuesday. Tariffs and tariff relief are likely to be top of mind for Budget 2026, as the government appears to be trying to ride out the remainder of Trump’s term. The prime minister has been meeting with Canadian business leaders (including those from OpenText and MDA), and it’s likely we’ll see the outcomes of those talks reflected in measures to shore up economic growth. We’re also expecting the budget to feature an update on stablecoin policy and changes to the tax system.
Canada Investment Summit
Prime Minister Mark Carney is bringing some of the world’s largest investors, who collectively manage over $100 trillion in assets, to Toronto on Sept. 14 and 15 to try to convince them to bet on Canada. According to The Globe and Mail, the summit will showcase Canadian tech and feature sessions from Xanadu’s Christian Weedbrook and Cohere’s Aidan Gomez. It also coincides with the CVCA global investment forum, meaning lots of global money could be convinced to park itself in Canada sooner rather than later.
A trio of tech bills
The House of Commons will resume sitting on Sept. 21, with three major tech bills on deck. Bill C-34 and Bill C-36 were tabled just before summer break, meaning MPs are about to debate enacting a social media ban for youth under 16, an online safety regulator, and the creation of a “digital super-regulator” to oversee private-sector privacy. The controversial Bill C-22, set to give law enforcement more power to monitor personal communications and data, was passed to the Senate just before the break, and debate on it will resume on Sept. 28.
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.
Top stories from BetaKit
A non-binding blueprint
As public opinion sours on data centres, nearly two dozen AI hyperscalers, including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, have agreed to Canada’s new federal framework—which asks, but does not compel—companies to follow responsible data centre development guidelines.
Meissner’s mission
Toronto-based deep technology startup Meissner has raised $2.6 million USD from a slew of big-name investors to find and develop the next generation of superconducting materials—a potentially foundational component of commercial-scale quantum computers.
Ottawa’s digital facelift
The federal government has tapped former Google CFO and Inovia Capital partner Patrick Pichette to lead a new digital transformation agency that aims to modernize public service delivery. Prime Minister Mark Carney said Pichette will bring “world-class expertise” to the new agency. Hopefully, the first item on his agenda is the CRA website.
Robo command centre
BetaKit got a chance to get up close to Talos, an ultra-long-range military-style vehicle that Victoria-based InDro Robotics hopes to turn into the mainframe of Canada’s autonomous warfare capabilities.
Can Bunz make a comeback?
After six years of hard, fruitless work, Firat Eren was ready to give up and shut down Bunz, the once-popular online bartering platform. Then, he realized, maybe he’s been the problem. He hopes its new Gen Z “founding” team featuring TikTok twinfluencers will revitalize its user base.
Sponsored stories
Why the infrastructure behind AI-enabled SaaS matters to Canadian startups
Zoho is making AI adoption easier for Canadian startups by building integrated tools and local data centers that remove the guesswork around rising software costs, messy integrations, and data privacy.
How the AI era is rewriting venture capital’s old rules
TechAlliance is leading the way for local female founders to be investor-ready. In an insightful discussion with serial entrepreneur Michele Romanow, she explains how AI is lowering barriers for startup founders and creating new opportunities for women-led companies to secure funding.
Retail bots often rely on aggressive push tactics, but Dedicatted takes a different approach
Dedicatted is leading the transition from pushy retail bots to intent-driven, bilingual e-commerce AI that prioritizes customer trust. By adapting to how people actually shop online, their system drives measurable growth in order value and conversion rates for its clients.
Deals and dollars
Who cashed in, or out, this week:
- Mundo AI closed $20 million USD to expand its team as it builds “the data layer for perceptual intelligence.” (Vancouver)
- Wildfire detection startup SenseNet bought US competitor N5 Sensors to expand its presence across the border. (Vancouver)
- Emissions Reduction Alberta pumped nearly $51 million into more than a dozen projects aimed at lowering greenhouse gas emissions. (Alberta)
- Protein Industries Canada invested just over $2 million into two AI AgTech projects combating crop disease and protecting agricultural workers. (Regina)
- The Wellness Company closed $1.6 million to evolve from a collection of apps into a focused consumer health startup. (Toronto)
- Landjourney rebranded to Sweet Technologies and closed $7.4 million USD to expand the reach of its agriculture-focused lending software. (Montréal)
- Scopia Surgical secured $2.65 million to develop its AI-powered navigation software for robotic surgery. (Montréal)
Data point
7 million
The number of songs AI music platform Suno generates per day.
Canada’s largest music rights organization is suing Suno for infringing on the rights of more than 150 artists, including Avril Lavigne.
The refresh
Building like it’s 1999
You might think of AI as a software story. Economist Shane Greenstein says it’s actually an infrastructure one.
In a talk highlighted by the Technology Policy Institute, the Harvard Business School prof compares today’s AI buildout to the late 1990s internet boom, and traces how hyperscale data centres will define the future of AI and transform industries, geography, and the global economy.
Quantum and AI: Strategic Signal or Long-Term Option
Next week, Douglas Soltys will be taking the conversation to the ALL IN stage.
Join him with the leaders closest to the action for a discussion exploring where the most credible near-term opportunities at the intersection of quantum and AI lie, how organizations can separate strategic signal from hype, and how Canada’s strengths in both fields can translate into a competitive advantage.
See it live in Montréal or virtually on September 16–17.
BetaKit Podcast · Aug 27
“My god. Every time I ask you people for questions, I instantly regret it.”
What is Canada’s most overrated tech company? How do we keep young founders in the country? Is BlackBerry making a comeback? What are Canada’s must-read business books?
In a special mailbag episode of The BetaKit Podcast, BetaKit editor-in-chief Douglas Soltys answers your burning tech questions. Listen now ›
Contributors: Alex Riehl (Ottawa staff writer), Douglas Soltys (editor in chief), Sarah Rieger (managing editor), Trevor Nichols (web editor).
Feature image courtesy Unsplash. Photo by Jason Hafso.