News That Matters To You

By Mark Lowey
Growcer's vertical farms encourage local food production and reduce food insecurity, including in Canada's North. The modular indoor farming units produce high-quality produce year-round. Company co-founders Corey Ellis and Alida Burke are making it possible, with innovative and philanthropic financing, for more communities to benefit from vertical farming, to make Canada's food production system more resilient and less dependent on imports.

By Mark Lowey
Canada could unlock over $1.8 trillion in investment by deploying corporate liquid assets that would crowd in additional capital, say Jordan Brennan and Farhad Panahov at RBC Thought Leadership. Their report outlines a proposed new capital formation framework aimed at restoring Canada's investability by targeting four types of potential investment, reducing risk and making the corporate income tax regime more competitive.

By Mark Lowey
Early-stage startups struggle to secure sufficient investment without having a robust network of experienced investors, startup founders and mentors on the ground, angel and venture capital funding leaders said during National Angel Capital Organization roundtable. That's why the federal government should spend $750 million of $.1.75 billion allocated to a venture capital strategy at the pre-seed and seed stages of investment, they said.

By Mark Lowey
Canada’s poor productivity is due to lack of business investment in machinery, equipment and software, slowness in adopting new technologies, and failed government tax policies, according to some economic and policy experts. Tax policy creates an incentive for Canadian companies to stay small and less productive, and lack of competition in some key sectors and restrictions on foreign investment hobble investment, innovation and productivity, they said.

By Mark Lowey
In a Q & A interview, Ted Hewitt, past president of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, highlights the critical role of social sciences and humanities in guiding new technologies' societal integration. Hewitt advocates for balanced research funding to foster both fundamental discoveries and address immediate needs, ensuring Canada remains competitive and an international research collaborator on the global stage.

By Mark Lowey
Statistics Canada data shows Canadian universities face significant hurdles in commercializing research, including funding shortages and lack of expertise, leading to underperformance compared to U.S. counterparts. The data and previous research point to a long-standing problem with university technology transfer offices (TTOs) although both Universities Canada and U15 Canada say universities continue to play a vital role in commercializing research and IP.

By Danielle Burns
Mid-career Canadians face a "triple threat" of trade tariffs, AI integration and the energy transition in making a career change pivot and reskilling, experts said during a Future Skills Centre webinar. Fragmented and short-term workforce training programs exacerbate the problem. What's needed is a shift to coordinated, multi-sector partnerships and planning, coupled with flexible reskilling and career guidance that supports workers' transitions.

By Mark Lowey
How can we fix the structural problems in Canada's poorly performing innovation ecosystem, and what can we learn from other countries with more successful innovation ecosystems? Weighing in are Lawrence Zhang at the Centre for Canadian Innovation and Competitiveness, Iain Stewart at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, David Watters at the Institute for Collaborative Innovation, and David Wolfe at the Innovation Policy Lab.

By Mark Lowey
Ontario's nuclear expansion hinges on attracting domestic private capital and foreign capital through innovative financing models, say industry leaders. Government guarantees and rate-based return models, similar to those used in the U.K., could unlock billions from pension funds and ensure project continuity despite political shifts, they said. Another critical element for success will be growing a skilled workforce of sufficient size to build all the reactors.