#1. How much is Trump’s new fee for workers applying for an H-1B visa to the United States?
US President Donald Trump’s administration has announced an annual $100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications. The change has the Canadian technology sector eager to lure more skilled foreign workers north of the border.
#2. BDC’s new $50-million fund for women entrepreneurs is a response to which phenomenon?
BDC’s fund is aimed at helping women entrepreneurs buy businesses from aging owners. The launch of the fund comes as many Canadian entrepreneurs are gearing up to sell, hand off, or shut down their businesses, which the Canadian Federation for Independent Business characterized as a “succession tsunami.”

#3. Who said it: “If your AI strategy is ‘Here, I bought Microsoft Copilot’ or ‘My employees use ChatGPT,’ you don’t have an AI strategy.”
Cohere co-founder Aidan Gomez made the statement at the kick-off of AI conference ALL IN in Montréal this week. Gomez spoke onstage shortly after the company revealed the company’s $100-million USD raise that bumped its valuation up to $7 billion USD.
#4. Through a new super PAC, Meta has pledged tens of millions of dollars to target which group?
Meta’s new super PAC pledged tens of millions of dollars to fight US state politicians that it believes are insufficiently supportive of the AI industry. Meta has recently created several super PACS, setting it up to be one of the largest spenders in the 2026 US midterm elections.
#5. This week, MDA Space became the official partner of which Canadian hockey team?
Brampton, Ontario-based MDA Space is now an official partner of the Ottawa Senators, the company announced this week. MDA Space is not the first Canadian tech company to embrace the National Hockey League. Clio became the official jersey partner of the Vancouver Canucks in 2024.

#6. The co-founders of drug discovery startup Variational AI previously worked at which Vancouver-founded tech company?
Vancouver-based Variational was founded in 2019 by CEO Handol Kim, CTO Jason Rolfe, and head of platform Ali Saberali, all of whom worked at quantum company D-Wave before it relocated to the United States.
This week, Variational struck a nine-figure deal with pharmaceutical giant Merck, which will see Variational use its AI drug discovery platform to generate molecular candidates for therapeutic targets.
#7. Canadian privacy authorities have revealed that TikTok collected sensitive information on whom?
The federal privacy commissioner, along with his counterparts in Québec, British Columbia, and Alberta, launched an investigation that found the social media app was collecting sensitive information from children.
The commissioners said TikTok has agreed to improve its age-verification methods to prevent underage users from accessing the platform.
#8. Silicon Valley startup Gatik recently expanded its partnership with which Canadian grocery giant?
Under the new agreement, Loblaw Companies will deploy 20 Gatik-powered autonomous trucks in the Greater Toronto Area by the end of this year, and another 30 trucks by the end of 2026.

#9. Where has Canadian Armed Forces veteran Arjun Grewal opened a new testing centre for defence tech?
The new centre, which will offer space to firms from Canada and allied countries to test surveillance, reconnaissance communication and threat detection technology, will be based in Yukon. The news arrives as Canada’s defence sector has gained serious momentum in recent weeks.
#10. Emoji mode: activated! Guess the #CDNtech company: 👉🖱️ 🩺
PointClickCare!
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