#1. Which of the following is not a campaign promise in the 2025 federal election?
Canada’s major political parties have laid out their election platforms, and while there are several commitments to the tech sector, none have promised free cloud storage.
The Liberals have promised to introduce flow-through shares to tech companies, while the Conservative Party has pledged to defer the capital gains tax if the proceeds are reinvested in Canada. The Bloc Québécois has advocated for a funding effort to recruit American AI, biomedicine, and deep tech researchers to Canada.
#2. Four US companies were recently shortlisted to provide the Canadian government with what?
The federal government shortlisted Amazon Web Services Canada, Inc.; Google Cloud Canada Corporation; Microsoft Corporation; and Oracle Canada ULC to provide the government with cloud computing services over a 25-year contract. Industry feedback warned of vendor lock-in and encouraged the government to do more to work with Canadian companies “in an unstable geopolitical context.”
#3. Which Canadian retailer announced this week a plan to close its stores and sell its brand?
UCG Canada Holdings (UCG)—which does business under the name of clothing seller Frank And Oak—is set to close all of its stores and sell its brand, marking the end of an era for a former heavy-hitter in Montréal’s retail tech scene.
#4. Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez joined the board of what US company this week?
American electric vehicle producer Rivian has elected Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez to its board of directors, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said in a statement that Gomez would help the Irvine, Calif.-based automaker “integrate new, cutting-edge technologies into our products, services, and manufacturing.”
#5. According to Alan’s Canadian Country Manager, Mark Goad, what are Canadians getting “absolutely hosed” on?
After building a presence in Europe, French insurtech unicorn Alan has come overseas and set its sights on bringing some more competition to Canada’s health insurance market. “We know we pay a lot for banking. You also get absolutely hosed on health insurance,” Goad told BetaKit.
#6. Edmonton-based startup NiaHealth offers what service directly to consumers?
Edmonton-based healthtech startup NiaHealth has left stealth mode and revealed that it raised $2.5 million CAD in pre-seed funding led by Version One Ventures. Annual plans for its just-launched beta program start at $299 CAD and include at least 35 medical tests for biomarkers like heart cholesterol levels, blood platelet counts, and metabolism.
#7. Attendees of the recent World Summit AI in Montréal were encouraged to adopt agentic AI as what?
On a panel about incorporating AI agents into the workplace, Air Canada managing director of enterprise and AI Bruce Stamm encouraged business leaders to put aside detailed business cases and push for adoption. “Now, you almost have to put that aside, understand it as a leap of faith, as the way to go. Just get going and go get quick wins.”
#8. Which Canadian city saw a record five companies accepted into this year’s Google for Startups Accelerator?
The sixth annual Canadian edition of the program includes 14 companies, with five Montréal-based startups. This is a record for the city, which boasts strong ties to the Canadian AI research community.
This cohort, the sixth Canadian edition of the program, marks the first made up entirely of AI-native or AI-enabled startups, and includes gym management software startup FLiiP.
#9. What AI initiative is Canadian computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton currently trying to block?
Hinton is among the signatories of a letter calling for law enforcement officers in California and Delaware to stop OpenAI from shifting control of its technology from a nonprofit charity to a for-profit business. The signatories of the letter also include two Nobel-winning economists, Oliver Hart and Joseph Stiglitz.
#10. In a new marketing campaign, Shopify is looking to poach customers from which fellow Canadian e-commerce company?
Shopify’s latest campaign is targeting customers of Montréal-based Lightspeed. The campaign features an on-demand webinar entitled “Why brands are leaving Lightspeed,” in which Shopify employees laid out Shopify’s advantages over its Montréal-based competitor.
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