Seventy-five Ontario-based CEOs have signed a new open letter asking Ontario Premier Doug Ford to implement a laundry list of innovation and economic policy ideas within the first 100 days of his new majority mandate to “reclaim control over [Ontario’s] economic destiny.”
The signatory list includes the leaders of many notable Ontario tech companies, including ApplyBoard’s Meti Basiri, Borrowell’s Andrew Graham, CentML’s Gennady Pekhimenko, Loop Financial’s Cato Pastoll, PointClickCare’s Dave Wessinger, and Baylis Medical Technologies executive chairman Frank Baylis, who recently lost out on his leadership bid for the federal Liberal party.
“The actions taken in the first 100 days of this government will determine whether Ontario remains vulnerable or takes control of its economic future.”
The open letter, put forward by the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI), positions Ontario in “economic crisis” as the province has taken centre stage in the trade war between Canada and the United States, its biggest international trading partner. The letter argues that provincial economic policy has prioritized short-term foreign direct investment (FDI) over long-term domestic wealth creation and that, without a deliberate shift in economic strategy, the province risks “further erosion of its competitiveness, sovereignty, and long-term prosperity.”
“In agriculture, healthcare, critical minerals, high-IP manufacturing, and cyber technologies, there is no cohesive strategy to turn Ontario’s raw materials, ideas and data into sustained economic strength,” the letter reads. “Ontario must adapt with a strategy that prioritizes homegrown innovation as a core policy.”
The signatories list eight policy items they insist be implemented within the first 100 days of Ford’s new mandate, some of which come with even stricter timelines. At a high level, the open letter asks that Ford strengthen capital support for Ontario firms, build domestic capacity in key sectors, end the “Era of Low-Value FDI,” strengthen Ontario’s cybersecurity and innovation ecosystem, overhaul procurement, accelerate innovation adoption in healthcare, increase economic resilience, and address the province’s “talent crisis.”
Much of the open letter’s demands hinge on the province using its funding and procurement resources on Ontario-based companies, including prioritizing them for funding from provincial investment vehicles like Venture Ontario and Invest Ontario, as well as implementing a domestic-first procurement strategy for cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and public sector technology adoption.
The letter also asks that Ontario speed up the launch of a procurement modernization program called the Health Innovation Pathway (HIP), asking for it to be implemented within the next six weeks. HIP was first announced in Ontario’s 2023 budget and then promised again with the launch of the second phase of the province’s life sciences strategy this past October.
Ford has already made procurement a central component of his retaliation strategy in the US trade war. Earlier this month, the premier cancelled Ontario’s $100-million contract with satellite internet company Starlink, which is owned by US President Donald Trump’s confidant Elon Musk, and banned all US-based companies from taking part in provincial procurement. Ford said that Ontario spends an annual $30 billion on procurement.
Still, the open letter’s signatories are seeking a swift commitment from Ford’s government to overhaul much of the province’s practices to focus on Ontario-based companies and initiatives.
“We need a strategy that positions Ontario as a sovereign economic force—one where local companies scale, innovation stays here, and prosperity is built to last,” the letter reads. “The actions taken in the first 100 days of this government will determine whether Ontario remains vulnerable or takes control of its economic future.”
Feature image courtesy Pixabay. Photo by Jermaine Will.