The Wednesday edition of The BetaKit Newsletter is designed to give you the important news everyone is talking about. This week, that news happens to be Canada.
Beyond potential “associate membership” in the European Union (more on that below), Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Canada Investment Summit has captured the world’s attention. Here’s what you need to know.
As major global investors descended on Toronto, they were pitched on 167 Canadian nation- and sovereignty-building projects, including a bevy of tech-specific initiatives. That call for international capital was matched by some of the country’s largest institutional investors committing more than $400 billion CAD. The feds also revealed a Productivity Mega Deduction tax incentive, as well as other measures designed to spur domestic business investment.
While it remains to be seen how quickly these projects and capital commitments will actually move, domestic tech investors I spoke with expressed optimism that the fresh faces they met this week could become LPs or co-investors down the road. As Sagard chair and CEO Paul Desmarais III proclaimed, “Canada is back.”
The real work begins now. Ex-ISED senior policy advisor and current Aperture AI founder and CEO Jaxson Khan told me that “the follow-through is what decides whether any of this reaches the startup sector.”
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Latest news across tech
A sovereign Canadian internet
At the Canada Investment Summit, Prime Minister Mark Carney said the federal government will help finance a new sovereign internet network to provide connectivity coast-to-coast, including connections to the Arctic. Carney said the network will provide more direct and secure links to Europe and Asia, which could address Canada’s existing infrastructure reliance on US-based internet exchanges, exposing it to potential surveillance.
Cohere calls out AI “cartel”
After AI lab researchers claimed the tech could kill all humans within a decade, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google DeepMind chief Demis Hassabis, and xAI owner Elon Musk all publicly agreed with a blog penned by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei this past weekend calling for slowed AI development and global regulation.
Canada’s leading AI developer did not. In a retorting essay, Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez said that Silicon Valley AI giants “requesting to bend competition rules” would be “a cartel by any other name.” Instead, Gomez argues AI needs “evidenced standards.”
A global AI overseer?
Still, Prime Minister Mark Carney told Bloomberg News that Canada wants to see a global “technology stability” body to oversee AI and ensure it is safe. Carney likened the potential organization to the Financial Stability Board, which monitors the global financial system.
European invitation
Immediately after the Canada Investment Summit, the Prime Minister jetted off to Europe, where President Ursula von der Leyen invited Canada to join the European Union as an associate member. BNN Bloomberg explained what that would mean for Canada, including a potential regulation rework.
WordPressed
Amidst the AI chaos, you may have missed that Automattic had its own OpenAI-style leadership drama. The WordPress parent company forced CEO Matt Mullenweg into a “leave of absence” against his will last Wednesday. Thirty-three hours and 20 minutes later, Mullenweg was back in control of the company that powers 40 percent of the world’s websites, and four of its board directors (including its CFO and chief legal officer) were gone.
Sponsored stories
Toronto Pearson wants to clear biometric travel for takeoff
To prepare for an increase to 65 million annual passengers, Toronto Pearson is testing an opt-in facial-verification e-gate program to speed up boarding times and reduce friction for travellers.
Smart Cities AI Challenge: Taking urban challenges to Canada’s AI startups at ALL IN
The Smart Cities AI Challenge at the ALL IN 2026 conference is bridging the gap between Canadian AI startups and the public sector by having selected innovators pitch their solutions for real-world urban challenges.
What’s next for trust, innovation, and co-creation in the Canadian FinTech ecosystem?
Ahead of the 2026 Canada FinTech Forum, Mastercard is supporting local fintech startups through co-creation by helping them build customer trust, bring their products to market, and scale globally.
On the move
This week’s hires, fires, and exec shakeups:
- Vancouver-based defence tech startup Juno Industries expanded its board, advisory, and leadership team, with many of the new faces from the Canadian Armed Forces.
- After reports of his imminent departure, Defence Investment Agency head Doug Guzman informed staff that he’s staying at the helm.
- Former BDC Capital executive vice-president Jérôme Nycz has joined Boreal Ventures as a strategic partner.
- US-based vet tech startup Roo launched in Toronto and established a Canadian HQ, the company told BetaKit.
- Toronto-based payment automation platform Plooto named former Xero head of product Pratik Rathod as chief product officer.
- Toronto-based data center infrastructure provider Celestica moved Mandeep Chawla to global markets president; Todd Ankenmann will succeed him as CFO.
- Rockstar Games, the studio behind GTA VI, is facing legal action over layoffs in Canada and the United Kingdom.
- US-based Fortinet held the grand opening of its $30-million cybersecurity hub in downtown Calgary on Wednesday.
- TechNL’s new CEO Andrea King spoke with Postmedia about her vision for Newfoundland and Labrador’s tech sector.
Want to feature a hiring announcement on our list? Email partnerships@betakit.com with the subject line JOBS.
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#1. According to the Canadian Shield Institute, 21 percent of the Canadian economy is foreign-owned. Where does this rank amongst other advanced economies?
Your score:
Quiz answer: b) #2. According to the Canadian Shield Institute, Great Britain takes the #1 spot with 25 percent of its economy being foreign-owned. The institute says the real concern is concentration: Canada’s motor vehicles industry is 100 percent foreign-owned, chemicals at 74 percent, and IT services at 52 percent.
Quiz answer: b) #2. According to the Canadian Shield Institute, Great Britain takes the #1 spot with 25 percent of its economy being foreign-owned. The institute says the real concern is concentration: Canada’s motor vehicles industry is 100 percent foreign-owned, chemicals at 74 percent, and IT services at 52 percent.
1 Direct sync available for supported accounting systems: QuickBooks Online, Xero, NetSuite, Microsoft Business Central, and Sage Intacct.
2 This percentage is an estimate, not a guarantee. More details at ramp.com/canada.
Contributors: Alex Riehl (Ottawa staff writer), Douglas Soltys (editor in chief), Josh Scott (Toronto reporter), Trevor Nichols (web editor).
Feature image courtesy Mark Carney via X.