GOVERNMENT FUNDING & NEWS

 Facing stiff headwinds from U.S. tariffs, Canada needs to make changes to tax structures and R&D/research supports: OECD

Canada’s macroeconomic framework is robust and stable but the country’s economy faces significant headwinds from trade tariffs with the U.S., according to a report by the Organisation for Economic Development and Co-operation (OECD).

The latest OECD Economic Survey of Canada projects Canada’s GDP growth declining from 1.5 percent in 2024 to just one percent in 2025 and increasingly slightly to 1.1 percent in 2026, due to trade tensions with the U.S.

“Uncertainty remains high regarding future tariff levels and their effects on the Canadian economy,” the report says.

The report notes that Canada’s economy is supported by strong public finances and a well-capitalized banking sector.

However, in addition to U.S. tariffs, high household mortgage debt remains another vulnerability, and high debt service costs weigh on household finances, the report says. “There is also room to improve the efficiency of the tax structure.”

Housing affordability has been declining over recent years. Policies to boost housing supply, such as allowing higher density housing and expediting the permitting process, should be strengthened, the OECD says. “Additional support should focus on social and affordable housing.”

While Canada has a comprehensive carbon pricing system that should be preserved, including the fuel charge for consumers, additional policies are needed to adapt to climate risks, the report says.
These include improving risk disclosure, preventing land development in high-risk flood and fire zones, enhancing infrastructure resilience, and strengthening insurance coverage. Policies should focus on moving from a disaster recovery approach to proactive risk reduction and investment in climate-resilient infrastructure.

Canada’s productivity performance has lagged its peers, the report notes. Limited investment in key innovative assets, such as intellectual property and digital technologies, has held back productivity growth.

The digital intensity of Canada’s economy could be increased and the competitive environment for digital firms strengthened.

Boosting productivity requires a combination of policies, including rebalancing R&D support, reducing regulatory barriers in internal markets, enhancing competition and digitalization of the economy, and fully utilizing women's skills, the report says.

Women remain under-represented in key technical disciplines and in leadership positions, while gender gaps in working hours and wages remain significant.

Canada would also benefit from reducing barriers to foreign investment to reinvigorate weak investment activity, the report says.

Streamlining research and development tax incentives for both smaller and larger companies and stepping up direct support would help boost business R&D spending, according to the report.

The preferential corporate tax rate for small and medium-sized businesses should be discontinued and R&D incentives – including the Scientific Research and Experimental Development tax credit – should be harmonized across SMEs and larger firms, the report recommends.

The focus on tax-based support for R&D means there is too much weight on general subsidies for research, the report says. It recommends making more use of direct grants to support R&D, including to support digital technologies such as artificial intelligence.

The report also notes that the share of government revenues from indirect taxes (GST/HST) is comparatively low, while the share of revenues from incomes and profits is high.

The report recommends gradually increasing GST/HST tax rates and moving away from zero-rates for items such as basic groceries, agricultural products and prescription drugs to fund a decrease in personal income taxes. OECD

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Trump’s tariffs are hampering Canadian companies’ investment in technology, machinery, equipment and IP, business leaders say

In a new survey by KPMG in Canada, 75 percent of 250 Canadian business leaders said their company now invests the same if not more than their U.S. and global competitors in technology, machinery, equipment and intellectual property.

However, the business leaders said U.S. tariffs have put a stranglehold on revenue and are cutting off the funds earmarked for continued investment.

Most leaders (92 per cent) acknowledged that they must be bolder and further ramp up their investments in technology and innovation to build a more resilient, prosperous economy.

But six in 10 (59 percent) say the current economic environment prevents them from investing in the “kind of technologies” that would improve their company’s productivity.

“Tech investment requires a strong bottom line and nine in 10 business leaders say it is essential that governments act with urgency and not fall prey to complacency in driving tax reform, eliminating interprovincial trade barriers, improving access to capital, and building infrastructure that unites us and opens new markets,” Benjie Thomas, CEO and senior partner at KPMG in Canada, said in a statement.

A 2024 KPMG International survey of global businesses found that large Canadian companies are also outspending their counterparts but, like the new Canadian survey, many of these investments are still in the early stages and have yet to make up for the extended period when Canadian firms undercapitalized on technology.

"Canadian firms are at a critical junction in their efforts to modernize and boost productivity,” Thomas said.

Seventy-five percent of businesses said their digitization efforts have generated the expected returns and benefits. A further three-quarters found their investments in artificial intelligence boosted their productivity by 10 percent or more, with over a third saying these investments improved it by over 20 percent.

Ninety percent of business leaders said governments “must act with urgency to ensure Canada remains competitive and prosperous.”

“There is a big risk that these investments will be stranded if companies don’t have the capital to continue to invest,” Thomas said.

Given ongoing trade uncertainty, three-quarters (76 percent) of respondents are bracing for the worst and taking steps to prepare for a Canadian recession, the survey found.

To mitigate the effects of a potential downturn, business leaders laid out their top priorities for the Canadian government:

1. Remove interprovincial trade barriers and harmonize regulations and credentials (64 percent)
2. Undertake a comprehensive tax review to improve competitiveness (58 percent)
3. Streamline processes and expedite resource and major infrastructure projects (56 percent).

More than eight in 10 (82 percent) of business leaders believe the elimination of interprovincial trade barriers will improve their company’s efficiency and productivity.

As many as 75 percent of business leaders no longer view the U.S. as a reliable market and nearly eight in 10 (79 percent) are diversifying their export markets to reduce U.S. dependency.

Over two-thirds (68 percent) are investing in marketing and establishing relationships in new markets.

Even if the trade uncertainty with the U.S. is resolved, 90 percent of respondents “will still diversify to other markets,” according to the survey.

More than half (54 percent) of business leaders said they have “already reduced” their investment, R&D spending and/or capital expenditures for the next 12 months as a result of the ongoing U.S.-instigated global trade war.

Fifty-seven percent said they “will reduce” their investment, R&D spending or capital expenditures.

Other highlights of the survey include:

• 66 percent said it is increasingly difficult to plan for longer-term investments.
• 54 percent have lowered their 12-month future profit outlook or guidance.
• 58 percent have lowered their sales outlook for the next 12 months.
• 52 percent have increased prices to customers.
• 63 percent “will increase” prices to customers.
• 38 percent said they have already laid off employees due to trade uncertainty and tariffs.
• 49 percent have imposed a hiring freeze.
• 46 percent are considering laying off employees and/or implementing a hiring freeze. KPMG

[Editor’s Note: See also the first item under “Reports & Policies” in this Short Report where the Centre for Canadian Innovation and Competitiveness found that in machinery and equipment and intellectual property capital expenditure, overall, the U.S. invested more as a share of GDP than did Canada from 2013 to 2023. And that Canada's investment in productive capital such as industrial machinery, software and equipment has declined in relative terms over the past decade.]

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Prime Minister Mark Carney will present provincial and territorial premiers this week with the broad outlines of legislation that will implement a two-year approval process for major nation-building projects such as ports, critical mineral mines and trade corridors. The legislation contains measures to fast-track significant infrastructure projects through upfront regulatory approvals, and includes a framework to remove all federal barriers to interprovincial trade, according to a document provided to The Globe and Mail. The proposed legislation would allow the Carney cabinet to make regulations to modify federal regulatory requirements for all projects determined to be in the country’s national interest. In an interview with CBC’s Power and Politics, Carney said national interest projects will include “pipelines that make sense,” clean energy grids, trade corridors, nuclear facilities, critical minerals and carbon-capture facilities. The proposed “One Canadian Economy” legislation has already been shared with Indigenous communities. Carney said he wants the new legislation passed into law by July 1. For now, approvals for such projects frequently include years of consultations and environmental impact studies. The legislation is likely to face pushback from Indigenous and environmental groups over the weakening of those requirements. The Globe and Mail

The Government of Canada’s planned increase in defence spending could contribute up to $64 billion to the Canadian economy, according to CIBC economists. The $31 billion that Mark Carney’s government has earmarked for additional defence outlays through the fiscal year ending in 2029 may boost Canada’s economy by as much as $64 billion, CIBC’s Benjamin Tal and Katherine Judge said. That’s because the economy is expected to expand in response to the ramp-up in defence spending, production, procurement and employment. But if the outlay is financed by higher taxes or cuts to other programs, the effect would be smaller, they said. Debt financing may also reduce the size of the multiplier via higher long-term interest rates. Carney has promised to exceed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s obligation of spending two percent of GDP on defence by 2030 – though the alliance is swiftly moving toward raising that target to five per cent. Financial Post

The Government of Ontario is investing $500 million to create a new Critical Minerals Processing Fund as part of its plan to protect Ontario by building a more competitive, resilient and self-reliant economy. The fund will provide strategic financial support to projects that accelerate the province’s critical minerals processing capacity and made-in-Ontario critical minerals supply chain, to ensure that minerals mined in Ontario will be processed in Ontario by Ontario workers. This funding complements the government’s ongoing efforts to unlock Ontario’s critical minerals in the Ring of Fire and elsewhere, to help protect Ontario’s workers and economy from the impact of tariffs and economic uncertainty. As part of the government’s 2025 Budget, the new fund will help unleash the full economic potential of Ontario’s mineral resources sector by ensuring existing mineral processing facilities can maximize their production, as well as supporting the construction of new processing facilities, so Ontario can meet increasing global demand. Govt. of Ontario

The Government of British Columbia, the Government of Manitoba and the Government of Saskatchewan renewed their financial commitment to the University of Saskatchewan’s Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM). The WCVM will receive a combined $194 million over the next five years through the renewed agreement. The funding supports the WCVM’s operations, training and clinical services, ensuring it can deliver training that will address the animal care needs in each province. The number of student seats will stay the same, with Saskatchewan funding 25 seats, Manitoba funding 20, and B.C. funding 40. The WCVM is a leading centre of veterinary education, research and expertise in Western Canada, serving the needs of the livestock, fowl and fisheries industries, pet owners, and public health and food safety networks. The college is internationally accredited and includes a veterinary medical centre, a provincial diagnostic laboratory, and large-scale research facilities that serve as resources for both students and professionals across the region. Govt. of Saskatchewan

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) announced $15 million to create 470 employment and skills training opportunities for youth across Canada in natural resources sectors including energy, forestry, mining, earth sciences and clean technology. Through the Science and Technology Internship Program (STIP) – Green Jobs, employers in natural resources sectors can apply for funding to hire, train and mentor youth aged 15 to 30 for up to 12 months. STIP – Green Jobs is part of the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, which supports youth in gaining the hands-on skills and experience they need to effectively transition into the labour market. Visit NRCan’s STIP – Green Jobs page to find out how to apply to be an employer or an intern. NRCan

The Regina-based Protein Industries Canada (PIC) global innovation cluster announced an additional $15 million in funding from the Government of Canada. Focused on two key streams – genomics and artificial intelligence – this new investment will help strengthen Canada’s agriculture sector and domestic food supply chain by bringing new tools to plant-breeders, farmers, ingredient processors and food manufacturers, PIC said. Through the new five-year Genomics stream, PIC will invest $7 million into the commercialization of new and improved broad-acre crop varieties, with a focus on pulse and cereal crops. Projects under the stream will apply genomic tools in plant breeding and variety development to meet industry demand, aligning innovation across the value-chain, from growers to ingredient manufacturers. The additional $8 million in the Artificial Intelligence stream will boost PIC’s current investment under the federal Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy. Projects that will be considered may involve: the development of tools that accelerate seed genetic work; supply chain optimization; on-farm information gathering; quality assurance and food safety protocols; and ingredient and food formulation. Protein Industries Canada

The Government of New Brunswick is providing $6.9 million to the New Brunswick Research and Productivity Council. Of this funding, $2.5 million will cover part of the council’s operational costs for 2025-26, $3 million will go toward building upgrades and $1.4 million will support development of a cost estimate for renewing the council’s infrastructure. The council is a government-owned research and technology organization and helps safeguard communities by providing testing on things such as food, drinking and beach water, fish health diagnostics and dairy. It also provides industrial hygiene services, as well as science and engineering solutions to help businesses improve efficiency and productivity. Govt. of New Brunswick

The Government of Ontario is set to amend Bill 5 to explicitly include mining companies’ duty to consult with First Nations on major projects. The Doug Ford government has framed the omnibus bill, which critics say also guts protections for endangered and threatened species, as necessary to combat the instability created by U.S. President Donald Trump and his tariffs. The new legislation would create so-called "special economic zones" where the government can suspend provincial and municipal laws, but will also add in "special Indigenous economic zones" at the request of First Nations for projects they want fast-tracked. The government is set to designate the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario as the first such zone, a move that set off a firestorm of anger among First Nations, many of which have pledged to take their opposition to the land and the courts. But provincial Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford and Mining Minister Stephen Lecce said the government will not designate the Ring of Fire a special economic zone until it meaningfully consults with all First Nations in the area. The Chiefs of Ontario, which represent all 133 First Nations in the province, said the bill should be killed outright so they can be consulted from the start. The Canadian Press

The Government of British Columbia narrowly passed (with Speaker Raj Chouhan casting the tie-breaking vote in favour) two controversial laws that will fast-track infrastructure and clean energy projects. Bill 15, the Infrastructure Projects Act, is aimed at fast-tracking public sector projects like schools and hospitals, as well as private projects such as critical mineral mines, that are deemed provincially significant. Bill 14, the Renewable Energy Projects (Streamlined Permitting) Act, will speed up clean energy projects across the province. Both bills have faced intense backlash from several First Nations leaders, environmental groups and the Union of B.C. Municipalities, which say the legislation gives the government the power to push through resource projects with limited consultation. The B.C. Chamber of Commerce is concerned that the bill gives the government "substantial powers" to pick and choose which projects are deemed provincially significant, which opens those decisions up to "politicization." The Chamber also criticized the province's decision to exclude pipelines and liquefied natural gas facilities from the projects that could be deemed provincially significant, calling it "arbitrary and short-sighted." The First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC) said in a statement that despite overwhelming opposition from First Nations across the province, the FNLC’s clearly expressed legal concerns, the clear violation of the government’s own Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, and numerous appeals for withdrawal, “the Provincial government chose to ram through legislation that fundamentally undermines our rights, titles and threatens the health and well-being of our territories.” CBC News, First Nations Leadership Council

The Government of British Columbia and the Government of Yukon signed a memorandum of understanding to explore and advance a future connection between the Yukon and B.C. electrical grids. The Yukon-B.C. Grid Connect would enable two-way transmission of renewable electricity, opening new opportunities to supply clean power to remote and resource-rich areas in northwestern B.C. and the Yukon. The MOU reaffirms B.C. and the Yukon’s commitment to Indigenous collaboration, clean-energy development and regional infrastructure planning that meets the needs of present and future generations. B.C. will work with the Yukon, Indigenous governments, the federal government and other stakeholders to identify opportunities for new renewable energy generation and transmission, including potential extensions of the North Coast Transmission Line. Govt. of B.C.

The Government of Alberta and the Government of Ontario signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on improving the free flow of goods and services between the two provinces. It will also simplify requirements for regulated professions such as skilled trades, making it easier and faster for professionals to work across provincial borders. In addition, the agreement will allow direct-to-consumer sales of Ontario-made and Alberta-made alcohol between the provinces. Through the MOU, Alberta also welcomes the possibility of working with Ontario and signatories of the New West Partnership Trade Agreement (NWPTA) to explore the potential of welcoming Ontario  into the agreement’s fold. The NWPTA has been foundational to improving the movement of goods, services, investment and workers between Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba for the past 15 years and counting. Govt. of Alberta

The Government of Saskatchewan and the Government of Ontario signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on the removal of trade barriers between the two jurisdictions. The MOU includes commitments to facilitate mutual recognition of goods, workers and investment while strengthening public safety and respecting the integrity and role of Crown corporations. It aims to strengthen interprovincial labour mobility and direct-to-consumer (DTC) alcohol sales between the two jurisdictions. Govt. of Saskatchewan

The Government of Prince Edward Island and the Government of Ontario signed a memorandum of understanding that strengthens both provinces’ commitment to eliminating barriers to interprovincial trade and labour mobility. By reducing red tape, recognizing equivalent standards, and improving the mobility of workers, the MOU helps create opportunities for economic growth in both provinces. Govt. of P.E.I.

The Government of Saskatchewan’s Innovation Saskatchewan agency released a new plan aimed at positioning the province as a global leader in research and innovation. Accelerating Innovation, Advancing Industry: Saskatchewan's Research Strategy includes enhancements to two Innovation Saskatchewan programs, the Innovation & Science Fund (ISF) and the Saskatchewan Technology Startup Incentive (STSI), to promote economic growth through research and innovation. ISF will receive a $2.4 million annual increase, nearly doubling total funding to $5.2 million and will expand to support four key streams: research infrastructure, research projects, the broader research ecosystem, and international collaboration. STSI will extend eligibility status to life sciences startups, broadening investor access to the program's non-refundable 45-percent tax credit for more Saskatchewan ventures. The strategy targets sectors where Saskatchewan has established strengths or high growth potential. The four Research Priority Areas are Agriculture, Life Sciences, Energy and Mining, and Critical Minerals. The announcement also introduced Innovation Saskatchewan's unified brand, which brings the agency's programs and supports under one identity and includes the renaming of Innovation Place to Innovation Saskatchewan Research and Technology (R+T) Parks in Regina and Saskatoon. Govt. of Saskatchewan

The Government of Nunavut partnered with The Ottawa Hospital to launch the Virtual Critical Care Program (VCCP), aimed at enhancing real-time access to critical care specialists for physicians and health care providers across the Qikiqtaaluk region. This innovative service enables frontline physicians at the Qikiqtani General Hospital and in all 12 Qikiqtaaluk communities to connect virtually with critical care specialists at The Ottawa Hospital and help manage critically ill patients when seconds count. The service began April 1, 2025. Through secure video technology, critical care physicians can directly assess patients, view vital signs and monitors, and provide immediate clinical support in high-acuity situations. Govt. of Nunavut

U.S. President Donald Trump's steepest tariffs have fallen into legal limbo, casting uncertainty over a major swath of the president's signature economic policy. The Trump administration could ultimately prevail in a court battle over the levies or seek other legal authorities to reimpose some of the tariffs, experts told ABC News. But a complete revival of the policy now faces formidable obstacles. Two separate federal courts invalidated far-reaching tariffs on dozens of countries. The rulings also struck down 30-percent tariffs imposed on China as well as a baseline 10-percent levy slapped on nearly all imports, among other measures. The rulings struck down the fentanyl-related tariffs and other broad-based tariffs but did not touch 25-percent duties on steel, aluminum or autos that still impact Canada. Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomed the U.S. court findings, saying they were “consistent with Canada’s long-standing position” that Trump’s tariffs are “unlawful as well as unjustified.” A federal appeals court moved to temporarily reinstate the tariffs, however, keeping the levies in place while judges weigh the underlying legal justification. The court rulings set off a legal battle over the tariffs that could stretch on for more than a year and make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump announced plans last week to increase tariffs on steel and aluminum to 50 percent, effective June 4. The Canadian Steel Producers Association said if Trump makes good on the threat it would essentially close the U.S. market to Canada’s steel industry, which would have a devastating impact on business. ABC News, CBC News

RESEARCH, INNOVATION & COLLABORATION

 Federal government needs to support talent, research and innovation in these uncertain times: U15 report

The Mark Carney government should focus on supporting talent, research and innovation that are essential to strengthen Canadian industry, secure supply chains and turn Canadian discoveries into prosperity, sustainability and resilience, according to a report by U15.

“In today’s global context, strengthening Canada’s research and innovation ecosystem towards building greater domestic capacity and technological and economic sovereignty is no longer just an opportunity but a national necessity,” U15 said.

The recommendations in the report, From Discovery to Prosperity – A Roadmap for Homegrown Success, by Canada’s group of research universities are:

• The new government should commit to expanding Canada’s highly qualified talent pipeline by closing the graduate degree gap with Organisation for Economic Development and Co-operation (OECD) peers, strengthening research training programs, and rebuilding Canada’s global reputation to attract the best and brightest from around the world. Canada ranks 24^th among OECD countries and last in the G7 for advanced degree attainment.

U15 said its member universities enroll nearly 50 percent of all university students. Over 156,000 students graduate annually from a U15 university, including 48,000 graduate students.

• The new government should utilize Canada’s research ecosystem to build domestic capacity by delivering the proposed capstone governance mechanism [recommended in the “Bouchard report,”] establishing a Sovereign Technologies Fund to advance critical new technologies in a competitive world, and better supporting academia-industry collaboration to accelerate innovation-based growth.

A Sovereign Technologies Fund would provide targeted, mission-driven investments in critical fields like AI, cybersecurity, quantum, and energy, with a potential early focus on advancing dual-use defence technologies to support the new Bureau of Research, Engineering and Advanced Leadership in Science – announced by Carney in April.

Federal investments through Canada’s granting agencies support more than 75,000 graduate students – about one-third of the entire graduate population – every year.

U15 universities account for over 75 percent of the $1.2 billion in industry-sponsored research across Canadian academia.

Since 2010, U15 universities have filed over 18,000 invention disclosures, 11,000 patent applications, and launched more than 1,100 research-based startups – including nearly 120 in 2023 alone, U15 noted.

• The new government should leverage Canada’s research hubs to expand capacity and impact across key sectors, secure participation in Horizon Europe’s successor program to maintain global collaboration, and engage leading universities to advance evidence-based solutions for complex policy challenges.

In 2022/23, researchers at U15 universities partnered with more than 3,600 organizations on federally funded projects spanning 325 federal electoral districts. These organizations included over 1,000 non-profits, 1,800 businesses, hundreds of educational institutions, nearly 500 health care providers, and government bodies at the municipal, provincial and federal levels.

“At this moment of real uncertainty, Canada’s leading research universities can help realize homegrown success for Canada – whether by cultivating the talent and ideas needed to drive progress or convening leading experts from across the country to help navigate public policy challenges,” U15 said.

“By drawing on the depth and breadth of our institutions, U15 Canada is committed to supporting the government’s efforts to achieve shared national priorities.” U15

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The Government of Canada signed a statement of intent with the European Organization for Nuclear Research, also known as CERN, to strengthen collaboration on future planning for large research infrastructure facilities and on novel and advanced techniques and tools. CERN is a world-leading research facility in Geneva, Switzerland, focused on fundamental physics, with a mission to uncover what the universe is made of and how it works. Canada contributes to CERN’s work through advanced equipment, scientific expertise and top talent, with TRIUMF – Canada’s particle accelerator centre in Vancouver – serving as the primary bridge for these efforts. By signing the statement of intent, Canada and CERN signalled their intent to enhance collaboration in planning future projects to foster breakthrough scientific discoveries. This includes ongoing studies on the Future Circular Collider (FCC), CERN’s next flagship project. This proposed higher-performance particle collider would eventually replace CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, the world’s most powerful particle accelerator. Should the FCC be selected to move forward, Canada intends to collaborate on its construction and the physics experiments that will take place at the research facility, subject to appropriate domestic approvals. Canada and CERN also intend to promote joint efforts in developing advanced technologies, such as AI and quantum technologies, and their use in particle physics research and beyond. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

The University of Saskatchewan received a combined $11.8 million in funding for its Harrington Plant Growth Facility and Soil Science Field Facility. The funding will support the construction of these two new facilities to expand research programs and enhance training opportunities for students. The Harrington Plant Growth Facility will provide indoor growth room capacity for breeding programs and pathology research, while the Soil Science Field Facility will feature facilities for soil and plant drying, soil and plant processing for analytical analyses, and storage of soil and plant material from research trials. Part of the Crop Science Field Lab is also undergoing renovation to provide the Crop Development Centre with additional workspace. Funding for the project includes $7 million from Western Grains Research Foundation, $2.3 million from the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission, $1 million from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture through the Sustainable Canadian Agriculture Partnership, $850,000 from the Saskatchewan Barley Development Commission, and $400,000 from the Saskatchewan Oilseeds Development Commission. Additional funding was also provided by BASF Canada, the Saskatchewan Cattle Association, SeCan, Bob and Norma McKercher, the Saskatchewan Alfalfa Seed Producers Development Commission, the Saskatchewan Forage Seed Development Commission, and SaskOats. USask

The University of Saskatchewan (USask) received $10 million from Cameco to support an undergraduate Nuclear Fuel Cycle program that will bring together geology, geophysics and engineering, as well as a graduate certificate in Energy and Resource Management that will convene students from across policy studies, law, sustainability and business. This gift will also foster northern and Indigenous students’ interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, starting from the earliest learners through the Science Ambassador program and the Cameco STEM Pathways Initiative at the USask Prince Albert Campus. Cameco’s gift will also support a faculty research fund and provide for groundbreaking research and innovation projects through a mining and nuclear energy technology accelerator, in conjunction with OPUS and the Global Institute for Energy, Minerals and Society (GIEMS). GIEMS is a first-of-its-kind, non-profit research centre that will serve as a hub to support clean energy transition by fostering connections between the post-secondary, industry, public and non-profit sectors. The recently launched centre is jointly supported by USask, the University of Regina and Saskatchewan Polytechnic. USask

The Université du Québec à Rimouski received $1.5 million from the Government of Québec for research on coastal erosion and submersion. The funds will support the next phase of a project focused on beach replenishment and the impact of marine weather conditions on beaches in the estuary and the Gulf of St Lawrence. This work will be carried out at the sites of Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Percé, Maria, Sainte-Luce, Sainte-Flavie, Pointe-aux-Outardes, Tadoussac and L'Isle-aux-Coudres. Pascal Bernatchez, UQAR professor and holder of the Research Chair in Coastal Geoscience, said the funding will support the development of tools that will address challenges related to coastal hazards. Govt. of Quebec

 Bell Canada announced Bell AI Fabric, a major investment to launch six data centres with a combined capacity of 500 megawatts in British Columbia. Bell AI Fabric will create a national network starting with a data centre supercluster in B.C. Bell said it will be Canada’s largest AI compute project. San Francisco-based Groq will be the anchor tenant for the first seven-megawatt facility set to open in Kamloops next month. Another 7-MW facility will open in Merit by the end of this year. Additional AI facilities will come online by the end of 2026, including a 26-MW AI data centre being built in partnership with Thompson Rivers University and another 26-MW facility also in Kamloops. Two additional AI data centres are in the planning stages. Bell Canada

Sherbrooke, Que.-based Nord Quantique announced a discovery that could help make quantum computing data centres practical. The company successfully developed bosonic qubit technology with multimode encoding, which outlines a path to a major reduction in the number of qubits required for quantum error correction (QEC). QEC is necessary to have functional and practical quantum computers. Nord Quantique said its result is an approach to quantum computing that will deliver smaller yet more powerful systems that consume a fraction of the energy. These smaller systems are also simpler to develop to utility-scale due to their size and lower requirements for cryogenics [cooling] and control electronics, the company said. This encoding strategy also delivers more benefits that compound as they scale, opening new avenues for fault-tolerant quantum computing. Nord Quantique

The University of Toronto and Pennsylvania-based investment advisor and asset manager Vanguard are partnering to create several laboratories dedicated to artificial intelligence. The partnership is aimed at advancing AI research and innovation for investors and the financial services industry. The labs will house professors, post-doctoral fellows and students who will collaborate with Vanguard's existing Toronto-based AI research team. The research will focus on ensuring AI systems are ethical, can interact with humans naturally, and develop independent decision-making capabilities. Vanguard says the partnership will add about 70 staff to its AI team, bringing the group up to 90 members. The Canadian Press

Candu Energy Inc., an AtkinsRéalis company, was awarded a $450-million execution contract by Ontario Power Generation (OPG), for the first of four planned small modular reactor (SMR) units in the Darlington New Nuclear Project. The 300-megawatt BWRX-300 small modular reactor being delivered for OPG in Durham Region, east of Toronto, will supply enough power for 300,000 homes. AtkinsRéalis is providing OPG with expertise for the engineering of the SMR. This includes project management, licensing, engineering, design, procurement, construction support and commissioning, as well as digital delivery capabilities in both the nuclear island and balance of plant scopes for the project. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission has issued a license to construct the first SMR, and the Ontario government has also given its final approval for construction of the first of four planned units at the site. The first SMR is expected to cost more than $6.1 billion. AtkinsRéalis

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) decided to amend Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) power reactor licence to enable the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station (NGS) to produce radioactive isotopes used in nuclear medicine. The CNSC authorized the production of lutetium-177 (Lu-177) and yttrium-90 (Y-90), using the existing target delivery system on Darlington NGS Unit 2 [one of the sites’ existing large conventional reactors, not the planned small modular reactor]. This decision follows a public hearing in writing with interventions. The amended licence remains valid until November 30, 2025. Lu-177 and Y-90 are used most prominently for targeted radionuclide therapy of certain types of cancer. The CNSC said it’s satisfied with the “regulatory hold point” proposed by CNSC staff to verify aspects of the safety case, including confirmation via commissioning tests, prior to declaring the new isotope production available for service. CNSC

Germany-based chemical giant BASF suspended its electric vehicle battery cathode material factory and recycling plant in Bécancour, Que., amid market uncertainty, according to a LinkedIn post by The Logic. The plant was announced in 2022 and was initially scheduled to open this year. Last month, Honda put its $15-billion investment, including an EV assembly plant and an EV battery plant in Aliston, Ont., on hold. GM and Northvolt have both called a halt to major projects in Canada. A $5-billion NextStar Energy battery plant is supposed to come online in Windsor, Ont., later this year, although no firm date has been set. More than $32 billion in government investments in Canada’s EV sector have been delayed by Northvolt, Honda, Umicore, Stellantis and Ford. CBC News

The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB), Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation (AIOC), Selkirk Advisory Group Inc. and Equitable Life of Canada partnered to support Duchess Solar, a 19.8-megawatt solar power facility being constructed in Duchess, Alta., with a combined $48.1 million in financing. The Cold Lake First Nations (CLFN) will hold a majority ownership in the project, developed in partnership with Elemental Energy, with financing from two sources: a $21-million Indigenous Community Infrastructure Initiative loan and a $5.2-million Indigenous Equity Investment loan from the CIB; and a $21-million project finance loan substantially guaranteed by AIOC, funded by Equitable Life and arranged by Selkirk. Power produced by 49,700 solar photovoltaic panels will supply approximately 7,000 households with reliable, lower-cost electricity and strengthen Alberta’s energy grid. ReNew Canada

Saskatoon-headquartered fertilizer producer Nutrien is planning a major terminal at a Pacific Northwest port and is currently exploring sites in the United States and Canada. “Nutrien is reviewing options to increase West Coast port capacity as part of our long-term strategy to strengthen supply chain resilience and support rising global demand for potash,” the company said in a statement. The company is seeking a deep-water port with rail infrastructure capable of handling bulk potash exports for fast-growing Indo-Pacific markets, including China, India and Japan. Canada’s major West Coast potash exports currently go through two terminals at the Port of Vancouver. Westshore Terminals is building another terminal at its existing terminal at Roberts Bank in Delta, expected to start handling potash from Nutrien competitor BHP Billiton, with construction to be completed in 2026. Mining.com

Waterloo-based BlackBerry Limited announced that its BlackBerry® AtHoc® software achieved the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program High Authorization status from the Joint Authorization Board. The approval, which required BlackBerry to prove its service complies with more than 400 U.S. federal security and privacy standards, means the crisis communications software developed by BlackBerry is now trusted with unclassified cloud-based U.S. government data so crucial a breach or outage could cause catastrophic harm. BlackBerry AtHoc is an interoperable system trusted by organizations and used by over 75 percent of U.S. federal government agencies for crisis communications and incident response. BlackBerry

China is now setting the pace in life sciences R&D, conducting more clinical trials than the U.S. and licensing new discoveries to American companies, according to a report by GlobalData. In 2024, China listed more than 7,100 clinical trials in the World Health Organization's International Clinical Trials Registry Platform. The U.S. listed about 6,000 trials. Beijing and Shanghai had more laboratory and R&D space under construction at the end of 2024 than any other global markets, with Boston in a distant third place, according to a report in April by CBRE. Pharmaceutical and medical technology patents also increased 379 percent in China over the past decade, the report said. The investment bank Stifel projects 37 percent of big pharmaceutical companies' licensed molecules will come from China this year. Axios.com

VC, PRIVATE INVESTMENT & ACQUISITIONS

Farm Credit Canada, a federal Crown corporation, committed to invest $2 billion by 2030 to advance agtech innovation in Canada’s agriculture and food industry. This will direct more investment into innovative devices, instrumentation, research and methodologies designed to improve efficiency, productivity and sustainability. The funds will come from the organization’s new investment arm, FCC Capital, a group offering capital solutions that catalyze the broader investing ecosystem and bolster growth. Launched in 2024, FCC Capital delivers an expanded offering of capital solutions to companies across the entire ag and food value chain, including investment funds and direct equity capital dispersed from pre-seed stage to growth-driven late-stage companies. In its inaugural year, FCC Capital built a foundation by closing nine direct investment deals totalling $170 million, investing in three new funds, and adding a new business accelerator to its portfolio. Farm Credit Canada

North Vancouver-based Jane Software is set to join the ranks of Canada’s most valuable private tech companies, with a new secondary financing round led by Silicon Valley’s TCV valuing the company at approximately $1.8 billion. The $500-million-plus deal will see U.S. investment firms TCV, JMI Equity, and Tidemark Management purchase shares from existing investors and employees. Founded in 2012, Jane has raised less than $10 million in primary funding but has grown into a leader in practice management software for small and medium-sized health care clinics. Today, more than 200,000 practitioners across 50,000 clinics in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. use Jane to book appointments, manage billing, communicate with patients and handle digital forms. Techcouver

Vancouver-based fintech company Fispan raised US$30 million in a Series B funding round led by fintech and enterprise software investment firm Canapi Ventures. Tom Davis from Canapi Ventures will join Fispan’s board of directors. Fispan makes software that enables companies to integrate their banking with popular accounting and business platforms. The company said the new capital will be used to accelerate product development, expand market reach and grow Fispan’s team. CNW Group

Montreal-based startup AssistIQ raised US$11.5 million in a Series A funding round led by Battery Ventures, with participation from return investor Tamarind Hill. Brandon Gleklen, principal at Battery Ventures, will join AssistIQ’s board of directors. AssistIQ uses computer vision to capture medical supplies and implants used in operating and procedural rooms, helping hospitals recover revenue, streamline clinical operations and boost staff satisfaction. BusinessWire

Toronto-based ProteinQure raised $11 million in a Series A funding round led by Tom Williams of Heron Rock Fund, with participation from Golden Ventures, Kensington Capital, and select returning investors. The proceeds will support the initiation of ProteinQure’s first clinical trial for PQ203, a first-in-class peptide-drug conjugate for triple-negative breast cancer, and the advancement of additional pipeline programs in neurology and nephrology. The company hopes a drug targeting solid tumours – especially a hard-to-treat form of breast cancer – will prove the value of a broader AI-based drug development system it calls ProteinStudio. The upcoming multi-centre phase 1 clinical trial is anticipated to open in the third quarter of 2025 with planned enrollment of 70 to 100 patients across Canada and the U.S. ProteinQure

Montreal-based startup WareMatch, a third-party logistics marketplace and industrial leasing platform, raised $2 million in a funding round led by American private equity firm Fit Ventures, with participation from investors such as Dubai-based Esanjo Capital and U.K.-based Farfill. WareMatch said this funding will support the company’s international expansion into regions including Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Australia, and Asia Pacific. WareMatch’s platform allows customers to browse and book warehouse space, while third-party logistics providers can market their services. Startup Ecosystem Canada

San Francisco-based Salesforce acquired cloud data management firm Informatica, based in Redwood City, Calif., in a US$8-billion equity deal, in a push to strengthen AI and data infrastructure capabilities. Under the terms of the deal, Salesforce will pay $25 in cash per share for Informatica’s Class A and Class B-1 common stock, adjusting for its prior investment in the company. Salesforce said this acquisition will help bolster the company’s agentic AI ambitions by giving the firm more data infrastructure and governance to help its AI agents run more “safely, responsibly, and at scale across the modern enterprise.” TechCrunch

Apple acquired its first-ever video game studio, Vancouver-based RAC7 Games, the two-person development team behind the popular Apple Arcade game “Sneaky Sasquatch.” Financial terms weren’t disclosed. In the game, players live the life of a sasquatch, engaging in activities like sneaking around campsites, disguising themselves in human clothing, and stealing food. RAC7 co-founders Jesse Ringrose and Jason Ennis will continue working on Sneaky Sasquatch updates. According to DigitalTrends, Apple sees the acquisition as “a means to help the studio grow its game within Apple Arcade.” T-Net

REPORTS & POLICIES

 More investment by Canadian companies in productivity-enhancing capital is required to boost economic growth

Canadian companies are underinvesting in productivity-enhancing capital such as machinery, software and advanced technologies, according to a report by the Centre for Canadian Innovation and Competitiveness.

“Without targeted reforms to boost investment and improve data collection, Canada risks falling further behind in global competitiveness and economic growth,” the report says.

The report was written by Lawrence Zhang, head of policy at the Ottawa-based Centre for Canadian Innovation and Competitiveness, affiliated with the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) in Washington, D.C., and Meghan Ostertag, a research assistant for economic policy at the ITIF.

Key takeaways of the report are:

• Canada's investment in productive capital such as industrial machinery, software and equipment has declined in relative terms over the past decade, contributing to stagnant capital stock and a widening labour productivity gap with the U.S. Labour productivity in Canada has increased by only 10 percent over the last decade.
• Headline capital investment figures overstate productivity by including low-impact assets like furniture and fleet vehicles, leading to misdiagnosis of business modernization.
• Canadian firms invest significantly less per worker in productivity-enhancing capital than U.S. firms, undermining competitiveness and long-term growth potential.
• The high share of small businesses in Canada limits scale and capital intensity. Removing size-based tax and regulatory advantages would shift the economy toward firms better positioned to invest and compete globally.
• Emerging technologies like robotics and AI represent major productivity opportunities, but widespread adoption depends on firm-level willingness and ability to invest in modern capital.
• To close the productivity gap, Canada should adopt first-year expensing for all productive capital, establish industry-specific productivity groups and modernize Statistics Canada's capital investment data, particularly around software and leased assets.

From 1983 to 2003, U.S. growth in labour productivity was 78 percent faster than Canada’s, the report says. Yet, from 2003 to 2023, U.S. growth in labour productivity was 148 percent faster.

While both economies’ growth rates fell in the latter period, America’s productivity declined by 34 percent, while Canada’s declined by 52 percent.

Canadian productivity grew just seven percent from 2013 to 2023, with industries differing significantly in labour productivity growth.

Agriculture, finance, and mining, oil and gas all experienced large increases, while government, utilities, construction and health care actually became less productive.

Two key sectors  – manufacturing and professional, scientific and technical services  – had about average productivity growth.

To better understand capital investment and productivity, the report’s authors focused on productivity-enhancing capital: industrial machinery, computers and electronics, and software.

From 2013 to 2023, the critical capital stocks in Canada of industrial machinery and computers and electronics decreased by 19 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

From 2019 to 2023, the decline in capital stocks in the agriculture and forestry industry and mining, oil and gas industry wasn’t simply due to structural shifts or early capital retirement, “but rather because capital expenditures are not keeping pace with depreciation,” according to the report.

In machinery and equipment and intellectual property capital expenditure, overall, the U.S.  invested more as a share of GDP than did Canada from 2013 to 2023.

On average, 11 percent of U.S. GDP was invested annually in machinery and equipment and intellectual property, compared with just eight percent in Canada.

In most industries, the U.S. outpaced Canadian industries by large margins, including agriculture and forestry, information and cultural industries, and manufacturing.

Mining, oil and gas, and transportation and warehousing were the only two industries where capital investment in Canada exceeded the U.S.

Not all capital investment is equal when it comes to driving productivity, the report notes. “That is why Statistics Canada needs to collect much finer-grained detail on the types of capital investment, including AI, sensors, 5G, 3D printing, and of course robotics.”

Robotics adoption is increasingly becoming a key to boosting productivity, the report points out.

A study showed that investment in robots contributed to 10 percent of GDP growth per capita in Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries from 1993 to 2016.

Yet the adoption of robotics in Canada lags most OECD countries. In 2022, Canada ranked just 17^th in the world for manufacturing robotics adoption.

According to Statistics Canada, just two percent of firms had adopted robotics technology by 2022, while 95 percent reported that they did not believe robotic technology would apply to their business.

Many Canadian firms do not see the potential in robotics despite possible productivity-boosting applications in manufacturing, retail, utilities and agriculture.

Firms that did adopt robotics technology saw an increase in productivity and an increase in employment of 20 percent.

Manufacturers were the largest adopters of robotics technology in Canada as of 2022, with 8.8 percent of manufacturers utilizing the advanced technology.

When it comes to artificial intelligence, the number of AI-related jobs in Canada is now growing faster than in any other country, “an encouraging sign as Canadian firms struggle to boost productivity,” the report says.

The majority of these jobs are likely located in the information and cultural industries sector, which contains information technology jobs, explaining the high AI adoption rate in this industry relative to others in Canada. 

However, fears and skepticism of AI’s applicability and long-term impacts have slowed adoption among firms.

Studies show that AI adoption can add 0.1 to 0.6 percentage points annually to labour productivity.

Despite being a global leader in the research that led to AI, Canadian AI adoption has fallen behind that of the U.S. across all industries. In almost all industries, except the information and cultural industries, AI adoption is less than half that of the U.S.

To combat diminishing returns and suboptimal capital utilization, investments in human capital need to be made, such as training and upskilling for workers and managers, as well as the implementation of more rigorous management practices in Canadian firms, the report says.

“Canada needs more large firms to make necessary productivity gains, meaning small firms must take steps to expand and improve production.”

One reason offered for the decline in capital expenditures is that firms are opting to hire more people instead of investing in productivity-boosting capital, thereby increasing the total number of hours worked rather than the output per hour, the report says.

“Given the high levels of low-skill immigration in Canada, this is likely part of the problem. If firms have easy access to cheap labour, why invest in capital equipment?”

When it comes to government, the report notes that the Canada Revenue Agency opted to hire 49.5 percent more employees between 2016 and 2023 to help administer COVID-19 support programs and combat tax evasion, despite calls for the government to invest in technology and other improvements to increase labour productivity.

“No single issue stands out as the cause of or the solution to Canada’s capital expenditures problem. Rather, many issues are cause for concern, and policymakers will need a wide-ranging response,” the report says.

The Mark Carney government has pledged to extend immediate expensing for manufacturing equipment, clean energy generation, energy conservation equipment, and zero-emission vehicles, the report says.

“While this commitment continues in the right direction, it is still too limited in scope to materially affect Canada’s productivity performance.”

To drive investment where it matters, the government should go further by making all productivity-enhancing capital expenditures eligible for full first-year expensing, as the U.S. did in its 2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the report recommends.

Canada should focus on allowing companies to achieve sufficient scale to compete on a global scale rather than pursue the popular approach of trying to get even more small businesses, according to the report.

The country should adopt size-neutral policies, meaning all firms in Canada, regardless of size, face the same tax and regulatory obligations. That way, public policy does not artificially keep firms small by creating incentives to stay small. 

Canada also should rethink and reverse the recent antitrust focus on breaking up large firms that are critical to Canadian capital investment, the report says.

Also, the government should reform the Scientific Research and Experimental Development tax credit program to make the credit size neutral, rather than penalize medium and large firms.

“Beyond removing disincentives to scale, Canada also needs to celebrate and systematically study what productivity leadership looks like in practice,” the report says.

The federal government should establish a Prime Minister’s Productivity Innovation award, highlighting five or so organizations in Canada for their superlative use of capital investment, including software, to drive organizational productivity.

The report also recommends that Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) should establish industry productivity groups to analyze productivity challenges in 25 or so specific industries in Canada per year, from hotels to waste collection to biopharmaceutical production.

Each group, grounded in analytical staff and informed by industry experts, would examine global best practices in technology-driven productivity around the world, and then assess how Canadian organizations could adapt these innovations to their own practices. 

As part of this effort, ISED should develop a productivity-enhancing technology pilot grant program that provides matching funds to 15 to 20 projects in Canada where the organization commits to implementing global leading-edge productivity innovations, the report says.

The report says the Canadian government should seek an enhanced understanding with organized labour, stressing that it will not support labour bargaining over the introduction (or lack thereof) of new technology, even technology that automates work and reduces headcount.

While it is legitimate for unions to bargain over how gains from automation are shared, opposition to the adoption of productivity-enhancing technology undermines national competitiveness, the report says.

“All levels of Canadian government, across all ministries, should have it as a core mission to determine how their actions detract from or enhance capital investment to boost productivity.”

Modern productivity strategy requires precise visibility into where and how Canadian firms invest, the report says.

“But Statistics Canada’s capital expenditure data is ill-suited to today’s economy.” The data fails to distinguish between productive and nonproductive software, doesn’t track leased capital assets (which are increasingly important in software-as-a-service and equipment-heavy industries), and reports spending using broad industrial categories that blur sector-specific dynamics.

Concludes the report: “Underinvestment in much-needed, productivity-enhancing capital is a pernicious problem that policymakers at all levels of government urgently need to address.”

Chronic underinvestment in capital will depress labour productivity growth, lowering future living standards “If this continues, young Canadians will inherit a stagnant, less competitive economy.”

“By fostering capital expenditures across the economy, Canada can drive innovation, boost its productivity, and enhance the global competitiveness of its industries.” Centre for Canadian Innovation and Competitiveness

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Canada’s venture capital market shows increased activity but at risk from dependence on U.S. investment

Canada’s venture capital market had mixed results in 2024, with total VC investment activity increasing but few exits, no initial public offerings (IPO) and a limited number of merger and acquisition deals, according to a report by BDC.

The increase in total VC investment activity, to $7.9 billion, was driven by growth-equity stage transactions and an increased interest in AI companies (representing 30 percent of all VC investments), BDC’s market report says. The number of rounds was also up compared with 2023.

The weak exit activity, continued IPO drought and few mergers and acquisitions had an effect on VC return, with the net 10-year internal rate of return dropping to 10 percent, widening the gap with the U.S.

Foreign capital, particularly from the U.S., continues to play a crucial role in the Canadian VC ecosystem, the report says.

Deals involving only Canadian investors accounted for 61 percent of the market, but only 22 percent of the dollars invested. U.S. investors contributed to one-third of all deals by volume in 2024, on a downward trajectory

“Current trade tensions [are] raising questions about the direction these investments will take in the future,” the report says.

“Given the risk of foreign capital pulling back, it is crucial for Canadian investors to step up and support local innovation and growth within Canada,” Geneviève Bouthillier, executive vice-president of BDC Capital, wrote in the report.

“The current environment is tough, with significant capital locked in unicorns, awaiting favourable conditions for exits,” she said.

Investors targeted fewer, higher-quality deals, prioritizing companies with solid business models and strong growth potential, according to BDC’s report.

Excluding the $1.24 billion outlier deal of Vancouver-based legal tech company Clio – the largest round ever recorded in Canadian tech history – total investment decreased by six percent in 2024.

More than half (57 percent) of all VC investments in Canada went towards the information and communication technology sector in 2024.

Life sciences and the energy and clean technology sectors came second and third in investments. The energy and cleantech sector lost four percent in market share, potentially in anticipation of the Trump administration’s pullback from clean energy

Looking ahead, a persistent downturn across seed, early- and later-stage investments could impact the quantity and quality of Canadian startups, limiting their ability to scale and bring innovations to the market, the report notes.

There’s about $11.5 billion in “dry powder” – the amount of committed but unallocated capital Canadian-headquartered VC managers have on hand – being held by Canadian investors, according to the report.

It has never been more important to increase the flow of Canadian dollars to support Canadian innovation and business scale-up, the report says. “Without domestic funding, this innovation pipeline risks drying up.”

Concludes the report: “Accelerating domestic investments will not only help Canada weather the current trade and economic turmoil, but it will also help us drive long-term prosperity and growth.” BDC

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Lack of investment in early-stage Canadian companies is due to brain drain of startups and talent to the U.S.: David Stein

The lack of investment in early-stage Canadian companies isn’t a problem with access to funding or the amount of capital available, says David Stein, managing partner at Toronto-based Leaders Fund.

Rather, investors are raising the bar to attract funding, startups eligible for funding have fallen due to the impact of COVID and talent migration to the U.S., and Canadian startups are receiving the majority of their growth funding from U.S. and international sources, Stein said in a LinkedIn post.

“The core issue isn’t access to funding. It’s about behaviour changes from COVID and the brain drain are leading to fewer early-stage Canadian investment opportunities.”

Stein said eight of the 10 promising tech grads in his network are headed to the U.S. “Tech giants like Microsoft and Google are vacuuming up our STEM talent, offering higher after-tax salaries and career trajectories that Canadian startups struggle to match.”

When these talented Canadians launch their own companies, many do so in the U.S., Stein said.

“We have a habit of training up extraordinary talent and then shipping them off to build their billion-dollar companies elsewhere.”

The innovation flywheel that drives startup ecosystems has slowed down, he said. After 14 tech company initial public offerings in 2021, “we’ve failed to maintain momentum.”

“Without a sufficient pool of later-stage success stories seeding the next generation of founders, we can’t build the critical alumni networks that power places like Silicon Valley.”

Canada can become more founder-friendly by providing compelling incentives and supportive policies to start, scale and stay in Canada as Ireland does, Stein said. LinkedIn post by David Stein

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Business uncertainty in Canada is increasing in the face of U.S. tariffs: Statistics Canada

Business uncertainty in Canada has risen due to U.S. tariffs, with only 70 percent of businesses reporting a positive outlook – the lowest since the first quarter of 2024, according to a Statistics Canada report.

“Businesses continue to anticipate a variety of obstacles over the next three months, mainly related to costs and labour,” says the report on the period from April to early May 2025.

Nearly one-fifth (18.1 percent) of all businesses, whether they are engaged in trade or not, anticipate that the imposition of tariffs by the United States on imports from Canada would have a high level of impact on their business.

Businesses in transportation and warehousing (40.4 percent), manufacturing (38.5 percent), and agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting (34.7 percent) were most likely to indicate a high level of impact.

Meanwhile, 16.4 percent of businesses expect a medium level of impact, and 17.5 percent expect a low level of impact, while over one-quarter (27.9 percent) expect that the imposition of tariffs by the U.S. on imports from Canada would have no impact on their business.

A further 20.1 percent of businesses are unsure what impact tariffs would have on their business.

In a similar vein, nearly one-fifth (18.5 percent) of businesses across Canada, whether they are engaged in trade or not, anticipate that the imposition of tariffs by Canada on imports from the U.S. would have a high level of impact on their business, led by businesses in wholesale trade (37.1 percent), manufacturing (32.4 percent), and retail trade (32.1 percent).

In addition, 18.3 percent of businesses expect a medium level of impact from the imposition of tariffs by Canada on imports from the United States, 18.5 percent expect a low level of impact, and nearly one-quarter (23.4 percent) expect no impact.

On the other hand, 21.3 percent of businesses are unsure what impact tariffs on imports from the United States would have on their business.

Over the last three years, 45 percent of businesses across Canada have made some sort of investment into digital infrastructure, whether it be significant, moderate or minor investments.

On the other hand, just over two-fifths (41 percent) of businesses made no investments into digital infrastructure and have no plans to invest.

In addition, 5.1 percent of businesses indicated that while they made no investments in the last three years, they do have plans to invest in the future.

A further 8.7 percent are unsure about the status of the digital investments made in the previous three years.

When asked about the primary barrier to adopting new or additional digital infrastructure, one-fifth (20.2 percent) of businesses indicated their primary barrier was the high costs of implementation, while 14.2 percent indicated an uncertainty about return on investment. Furthermore, 13.7 percent indicated there were no barriers for their business at all when adopting digital infrastructure. More than two-fifths (42 percent) of businesses indicated digital infrastructure was not relevant to their business.

When asked to indicate the primary factor limiting business growth, just over one-quarter (26 percent) of businesses indicated high operational costs.

At the same time, one-fifth (20 percent) of businesses across Canada indicated that their primary focus over the next 12 months was to reduce operational costs.

Meanwhile, a further 15.5 percent of businesses indicated workforce skill shortages as the primary factor limiting the growth of their business, led by businesses in construction (24.8 percent). At the same time, 9.4 percent of businesses indicated upskilling current employees as the primary focus for their business over the next 12 months.

Furthermore, 16.2 percent of businesses expect their sales of goods and services to increase over the next three months, a slight decrease from 16.7 percent in the first quarter of 2025.

In the same vein, just over one-quarter (26.5 percent) of businesses expect to raise the prices of their offered goods and services over the next three months.

The proportion of businesses that expect cost-related obstacles over the next three months increased slightly to 65.4 percent compared with the first quarter of 2025 (62.5 percent).

Within the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions, cost-related obstacles consist of: inflation; cost of inputs; interest rates and debt costs; the cost of insurance; cost of real estate, leasing or property taxes; and transportation costs. Statistics Canada

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Canada’s growing natural gas exports put the country at risk of “the weaponization of gas:” John Stackhouse at RBC

Canada may soon be the world’s fourth-largest natural gas exporter – and with that, possibly at greater risk of this valuable trade falling prey to geopolitics, says John Stackhouse, senior vice-president at the Royal Bank of Canada.
“The weaponization of gas is one of the bigger risks on the horizon and should demand attention next month [in June] at the G7, in Alberta,” he said in a LinkedIn Post.
The RBC Thought Leadership has been exploring policy options for gas and LNG, working with experts from Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, the Institute for Energy Economics Japan and Rystad, Stackhouse said.

He presented the group’s preliminary findings in Ottawa at the B7 – a gathering of business leaders from the alliance of democracies, who will make recommendations to their respective governments. Some of what the international group is seeing includes:

• The world will demand more natural gas by 2040, largely for growing urban populations, re-industrialization in many countries (Canada, included) and the surge of AI data centres.
• Japan alone may need as much as 20 percent more gas to meet its growing data centre needs.
• Even by 2040, there won’t be enough nuclear energy or reliable renewable energy for industry and mature population centres.

Stackhouse says those findings could mean:

• Our scenario analysis shows that without a more strategic approach, the world could see a more divided market with Russia and Qatar dominating.
• A coordinated strategy could produce a more stable and climate-minded approach.
• Worst case: a dystopian outcome in which unregulated supply flourishes and demand is more volatile.

Stackhouse said the actions needed are:

• An informal decision-making entity that monitors G7 market signals and ensures producers' interests remain competitive.
• A set of G7+ principles on LNG, with a push for deep, liquid, tradable markets and more efficient and cleaner fuel forms.
• New approaches to unlock capital through multilateral development banks to enable more LNG infrastructure between allied nations.
• More Indigenous equity to enhance prospects for more sustainable development and generate longer-term capital. LinkedIn post by John Stackhouse

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Investor confidence in Alberta’s renewable energy sector lags behind peer jurisdictions due to policy and regulatory uncertainty

Investor confidence in Alberta’s renewable energy sector is lagging behind peer jurisdictions, according to a new report by the Calgary-based Pembina Institute clean energy think tank.

Two years of policy and regulatory uncertainty, which began in 2023 with the Government of Alberta’s surprise seven-month moratorium on new wind and solar projects, and continues today with a wide-reaching restructure of Alberta’s electricity market and legal challenge of federal electricity regulations, appear to have dampened investor confidence in wind, solar and battery project proposals in the province, the report says.

The Alberta government has imposed outright bans and ambiguous restrictions on areas of land where wind and solar projects can be built, new requirements relating to equipment recycling and land reclamation, and changes to transmission legislation, all of which will likely add new regulatory burdens and upfront costs to renewable energy developers, according to the report.

The report notes that many of these new requirements are not being equally applied to other industries, including other energy sectors such as oil and gas.

“When it comes to electricity, Alberta is swimming against the tide,” report co-author Will Noel, senior analyst with the Pembina Institute, said in a statement.

“Other governments in Canada are taking active steps to grow their supply of low-cost power, attracting investment in renewables and updating regulations and policies to make their grids more flexible and efficient,” he said.

“Restoring investor confidence in the renewables sector has to be a priority item for this government, to ensure Albertans aren’t left out while Canadians in other provinces experience the benefits of low-cost, abundant, reliable energy to power their lives for years to come.”

The report, Down But Not Out, examined data from the Alberta Electric System Operator’s project electricity grid connection queue over the last four calendar years (2021-2024), encompassing the period before and after the government’s moratorium.

As new projects are proposed, the queue grows. As projects are completed or cancelled, perhaps because an investor has lost interest or confidence in the market, the queue shrinks.

This therefore provides a high-level overview of investment interest in Alberta’s electricity sector over time.

From 2020-2024, 86 percent of the national total of new wind, solar and battery storage installations in Canada were in Alberta, according to the Pembina Institute’s report.

However, the report found that, for the first time, in 2024 the overall volume of projects in the queue shrank, even as interest in renewables continued to increase globally.

“While proposed projects are now back at pre-moratorium levels, there is a concerning increase in the number of projects that have been cancelled by investors,” the Pembina Institute says.

In contrast to Alberta, the institute’s report found that peer jurisdictions that have similar market rules and regulations, such as Texas and South Australia, are showing evidence of steadily growing queues, alongside steadily growing renewables generation and energy storage capacity.

“These are signs of a healthy market where investors are confident in the trajectory of the jurisdiction’s policy and regulatory outlook over the next few years.”

These other jurisdictions offer useful comparisons because, despite their differing sizes relative to the Alberta electricity market (Texas’s is five times larger than Alberta; South Australia’s is five times smaller).

Both jurisdictions already have much higher penetrations of wind and solar powering their grids (currently 32 percent and 71 percent respectively, compared with Alberta’s 18 percent).

This demonstrates that, when the regulatory and investment conditions are stable, investment in renewables and energy storage is likely to flourish, regardless of the size of an electricity market or proportion of renewables already installed, the report notes.

Within Canada, British Columbia’s 2024 call for power awarded contracts to nine wind projects and one solar project, which will increase the supply of renewable electricity in B.C. by eight percent when complete.

Similarly, Ontario awarded contracts to 10 battery storage projects in its LT1 capacity procurement in 2023.

In contrast, the Alberta government is restructuring its electricity market in a way that, according to third-party analysis, penalizes wind and solar, the Pembina Institute says.

The government also removed the requirement for the Alberta Electric System Operator to maintain zero congestion on transmission lines, increasing the likelihood that both new and existing wind and solar projects will be restricted from supplying power to the grid even when they are able to do so, according to the institute’s report.

“This would essentially mean wind and solar plants – the majority of which are based in the same areas and rely on the same transmission lines to get their energy to the grid – would be forced to stop or reduce their power output, even when weather conditions (availability of wind and sun) are favourable to them.”

The report recommends that the Alberta government:

• Clearly state an electricity system vision of a clean, resilient and affordable system, and direct regulators and government to create the rules and regulations to support this vision.
• Encourage investment in new projects by fast-tracking development for areas where utility-scale renewable projects would be particularly well-suited.
• Modernize electricity regulations to support energy independence and resilience by promoting the use of interties, energy storage, distributed energy generation and demand-side management.

“Right now, Alberta should actively seek out every potential investment dollar available to it, as it braces for the long-term impact of [U.S.] tariffs on its export sectors,” said Scott MacDougall, director of the Pembina Institute’s electricity program.

“There is strong evidence that Alberta has weakened renewable energy investments through its actions to date. The good news is the growth in low-cost renewable electricity is continuing elsewhere in Canada and the world, so those dollars are still there for the taking, if the Government of Alberta works to restore market confidence quickly.” Pembina Institute

THE GRAPEVINE – News about people, institutions and communities

The Rideau Hall Foundation announced the recipients of the Governor General’s Innovation Awards. These awards recognize and celebrate exceptional Canadian individuals, teams and organizations for their excellence in innovation and their contributions in helping to shape Canada’s future and positively impact Canadians’ quality of life. This year’s recipients are:

• GHGSat Vanguard (C-10); Stéphane Germain: GHGSat’s pioneering emissions-monitoring capabilities empower decision-makers to tackle emissions, driving industrial efficiency with positive impact. Harnessing the power of satellites and aircraft, GHGSat traces emissions directly to their source at an unmatched speed, delivering the data and insights required to take action and accelerate the decarbonization of the planet.
• Heart-on-a-chip for drug discovery and disease modelling; Dr. Milica Radisic: Biowire heart-on-a-chip revolutionizes drug testing by modelling human heart disease with patient-specific stem cells. Unlike animal models, it captures human genetic diversity and sex differences. Radisic’s method uses electrical stimulation and microfabricated polymers to grow contractile tissues, aiding disease research and drug discovery for Canadian patients and pharma.
• Student Energy; Helen Watts, Angela Paley, Shakti Ramkumar, Abdullah Khair, Claris Canta: Founded in 2009, Student Energy empowers youth to lead a just, equitable and sustainable energy transition through education, skills-building and global collaboration. With 50,000 members in 120+ countries and 60+ university chapters, it is Canada’s largest youth-led energy organization, driving innovation through partnerships with governments, companies, and communities.
• NORS – National Overdose Response Service; Dr. Sumantra Monty Ghosh and Lisa Morris-Miller: The NORS program is Canada’s only national service supporting people who use drugs alone, addressing a key cause of overdose deaths. It has answered 16,000+ calls, prevented nearly 150 deaths, and become a vital lifeline – gaining international recognition.
• Dispersa – Decarbonizing surfactants through food waste; Nivatha Balendra: Dispersa has developed the world’s first proprietary process to produce waste-derived biosurfactants. These biosurfactants are affordable, non-toxic alternatives to petroleum-based and synthetic surfactants in consumer products. On a scale, their first biosurfactant, PuraSurf will eliminate nearly 1 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents.
• ODARA – The Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment; Dr. N. Zoe Hilton accepting for Angela Eke, Elke Ham, Kate Lines: ODARA is the world’s first data-driven tool for assessing future intimate partner violence risk. Developed through a 25-year police-academic collaboration, it helps responders identify high-risk cases, improve safety planning and allocate resources. Widely used in Canada and the U.S., it has shaped global approaches to violence risk assessment. Governor General of Canada

Marc-André Blanchard, executive vice-president and head of CDPQ Global and global head of sustainability, announced his departure to take on the role of chief of staff to Prime Minister Mark Carney. Blanchard, who arrived at CDPQ in 2020, is a former Canadian ambassador to the United Nations and a recognized leader in the private sector. CDPQ said that under his leadership, CDPQ Global was established to support its investment teams on the ground through high-level relations with governments and partners worldwide in order to assist Quebec companies in their globalization and to position CDPQ as a preferred investment partner internationally. Under Blanchard’s leadership of the sustainability team, CDPQ adopted an ambitious approach to the energy transition and promoted its global leadership on sustainability issues in major international forums, achieving significant progress. CDPQ

Calgary-based Benevity Inc. appointed Ian Goldsmith as chief artificial intelligence officer, the first such dedicated role in the corporate social responsibility and social impact software industry. With more than 30 years of experience in product and data leadership, Goldsmith will lead the strategic deployment of artificial intelligence throughout Benevity's Enterprise Impact Platform. His focus will include machine learning, AI-powered analytics and generative AI to create transformative, scalable solutions that help companies realize greater business and societal value from their purpose initiatives. Benevity offers cloud solutions that power purpose for many iconic brands in ways that better attract, retain and engage today’s diverse workforce, embed social action into their customer experiences, and positively impact their communities. Benevity

Ottawa-based supply chain management firm Assent named Michael Southworth as its new CEO, succeeding Andrew Waitman who led the company for more than a decade. Southworth, known for his exceptional record of strategic growth and successful merger and acquisition leadership in his past seven engagements, was specifically chosen to spearhead Assent’s growth toward a quarter-billion-dollar revenue target. He most recently served as the CEO of Babel Street, an AI-enabled analytics platform. Waitman transitions into the role of executive chairman. Assent

Toronto-based Chris Rogers was appointed as San Francisco-based Instacart’s new CEO, effective August 15. Fidji Simo, Instacart's current CEO, will remain chair of the board, helping to ensure a smooth transition. Rogers has more than 20 years of experience spanning consumer goods, technology, retail and media. He joined Instacart in 2019 and currently serves as the company’s chief business officer. Instacart partners with more than 1,800 national, regional and local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from nearly 100,000 stores across North America on the Instacart Marketplace. Instacart

Valcourt, Que.-based BRP Inc. announced that, after 22 years as president and CEO, José Boisjoli is retiring and also stepping down from his role as chair of the board. As part of an ongoing succession plan, BRP’s board is conducting a search for the corporation’s next president and CEO. Boisjoli will continue to lead BRP until the appointment of his successor. In 2003, Boisjoli, who was then president of the snowmobile and watercraft division of Bombardier, became president and CEO of BRP on the day it became a standalone company. Under his leadership, BRP diversified its product portfolio, dealer and distributor network and manufacturing footprint, propelling its growth and more than tripling its revenue. BRP

York University celebrated the official opening of the Taihua Wang Science Student Success Centre, which was funded by a $1.6-million gift from Cell Biotechnology Co. Ltd. CEO Taihua Wang. The centre, located on the main floor of the Life Sciences Building at the Keele Campus, is a space where students can access advice and support or take advantage of dedicated social and study spaces. The 3,843-square-foot centre includes spaces such as a lounge area and study pods, which will enable students to study individually or in groups. York University

Winnipeg-based Red River College Polytechnic received a $1.25-million gift from Qualico to support skilled trades students. With this gift, RRC Polytech will create a new Navigator position and expand capacity in its Introduction to Trades program, which prepares Indigenous learners for direct entry into a trades program. The Navigator position will focus on increasing student participation and wraparound supports, as well as work-integrated learning supports for RRC Polytech’s certificate trades programs. Qualico’s gift also creates 10 annual awards for Construction Trades students at $5,000 each, one of the largest available for skilled trades students. Red River College Polytech

Red River College Polytech and the University of Manitoba received $1.2 million from the Regina-based Protein Industries Canada global innovation cluster to support a $1.6-million applied research initiative aimed at strengthening Indigenous food systems and addressing food insecurity in rural and remote communities. In partnership with the Manitoba Métis Federation, students and researchers from RRC Polytech’s Prairie Research Kitchen and UManitoba’s College of Rehabilitation Sciences will co-develop culturally relevant, plant-based food options with First Nations and Red River Métis communities. The three partners will engage community members, hire students and interns, perform market research on both existing food products and future resource applications, develop food products, teach hands-on classes, and develop workshop materials to engage communities in food production and cooking skills. Protein Industries Canada

London, Ont.-based Fanshawe College’s Norton Wolf School of Aviation and Aerospace Training was selected by Transport Canada to deliver a new online, asynchronous training program that helps foreign-trained aircraft maintenance engineers gain Canadian certification. As part of a broader pathway created by Transport Canada, Fanshawe will assess overseas credentials and provide targeted, modular courses to bridge licensing gaps and bring students up to Canadian standards. The courses deliver Transport Canada-approved content to help participants earn a Letter of Acceptable Training. The program is expected to train 80 students annually and aims to ease growing labour shortages in a critical sector. Fanshawe College

Ottawa-based Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology launched the AI Accelerator Hub. With support from Amazon Web Services (AWS) Canada and Invest Ottawa, the hub brings together applied research programs, cloud computing resources and training to help organizations improve their productivity. The AI Accelerator Hub will support AI researchers, startups and scale-ups by providing a rapid engagement model to explore and discover targeted AI and cloud solutions that meet their respective needs and aspirations. The hub will also provide students and faculty with access to AWS’s cutting-edge technology, so they can focus on cloud and AI solutions. Algonquin College

Georgian College based in Barrie, Ont., unveiled the PBS Systems Innovation Lab, which will support automotive education. A five-year agreement that started in 2024 provides Georgian’s Automotive Business School of Canada students access to PBS Systems v10, the next generation of dealer management software. This platform supports all aspects of an automotive dealership, from accounting and sales to parts, customer management and more. Students will learn via innovative digital tools, including vehicle telematics, Bluelink connectivity, transparent eCommerce vehicle purchasing, mobile app workflow integration and dashboard analytics. Georgian College

The University of Regina (URegina) unveiled its Microgrid Living Lab, which will serve as a hub for clean energy research, development and education. The lab – the first of its kind in Saskatchewan – is independent of the university’s main power grid and draws power from renewable sources such as solar, wind and hydro power. The lab, developed by a research team at the university, will enable research into more sustainable, flexible models for bringing energy to remote communities. The Microgrid Living Lab, funded by Prairies Economic Development Canada, is equipped with renewable energy sources, digital controls and real energy loads, enabling researchers, students and industry partners to emulate and test how microgrid systems perform in real-world conditions. URegina

Bow Valley College in Calgary launched its Digital Entertainment Nexus Production Hub, which provides students and industry professionals with a state-of-the-art facility for film, television and digital media production. This facility offers a variety of tools and immersive technology, including an immersive audio room, a post-production editing suite and a sound-insulated viewing room. Learners will gain hands-on experience as they train for production and post-production careers, while industry professionals will be able to rent the space for their productions. With a $5.5 million investment from the Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund, the new hub helps filmmakers, animators, game developers and digital content creators take their ideas from concept to final cut. Calgary Economic Development

The University of New Brunswick (UNB) officially opened the Allison D. McCain Commons, a $22.9-million expansion of its engineering building. The mass timber and glass structure has transformed the entrance to UNB’s Head Hall engineering building with an atrium that will provide spaces for learning, research and student interaction. The 18,400-square-foot commons also houses the Student Success Centre, which offers a variety of services, including tutoring, counselling and a laptop and technology loan program. The space was named in recognition of the contributions of alumnus Dr. Allison D. McCain, who is the lead donor to the project. UNB

Pascale Déry, the Government of Quebec’s Minister of Higher Education, proposed Bill 107, which would abolish the Commission d’évaluation de l’enseignement collegial (CEEC). The government said the CEEC after 30 years of operation has achieved its objective of helping the college network ensure its teaching quality through the adoption of better assessment practices, and that ending the CEEC would reduce bureaucracy and give the college network more flexibility. Bill 107 also provides that the Advisory Committee on Financial Accessibility to Studies will be placed under the leadership of the future Council for Higher Education. Déry said this legislative amendment, if adopted, would eliminate 26 positions, including those of four commissioners, saving nearly $2.8 million per year. Radio-Canada reported that some are welcoming the change but others are questioning the decision, saying that cégeps will lose experts who provide support and that the change will centralize the minister’s power. Govt. of Quebec

Several institutions in Atlantic Canada have shared budget updates and the changes they have made in order to address any deficits. Memorial University’s board of regents approved the university’s 2025-26 operating budget, which was balanced through a base expenditure reduction of $20.85 million. The board also directed a one-time pause on Memorial’s $13.68-million tuition reduction grant, which CBC reported is being reallocated to other efforts such as student retention and instructors. Mount Allison University has approved its budget, which includes a continued operating deficit. The budget includes a 4.75-percent tuition increase, which will be used to support several learning, wellbeing and campus life efforts across the university’s campus. The Guardian reported that the University of Prince Edward Island has proposed several measures to balance its budget, including tuition fee increases of 6.5 percent for domestic students and 7.5 percent for international students, expanded recruitment and retention efforts, and deferred strategic priorities. Memorial University, Mount Allison University

Thunder Bay, Ont.-based Confederation College will suspend three additional programs this fall: industrial manufacturing processes, engineering business and safety management, and embedded systems. Michelle Salo, president of Confederation College, said these program suspensions are not permanent, noting that the college may offer a winter intake for these programs. In a report delivered to the college community, Salo explained how federal immigration policy shifts, enrolment challenges and underfunding have created challenges for the college that have led to these program suspensions. Confederation College

Sault St. Marie, Ont.-based Algoma University (AlgomaU) and Portage College in Lac La Biche made programming changes in response to financial pressures and enrollment concerns. AlgomaU is pausing admissions to five programs: history, geography, music, sociology, and visual arts. Faculty and community members have criticized the move, questioning the university’s decision-making process, CBC reported. Portage College, facing a budget deficit in 2026-27, has cancelled its Heavy Equipment Operator and Professional Cook Certificate programs for 2025–26. CBC (AlgomaU), Portage College

Canadian students are caught in the crossfire of Trump administration-Harvard University fight

A federal judge halted the Trump administration’s attempts to block international students from attending Harvard University, where more than 500 Canadians are enrolled.

Harvard had sued the Trump administration less than 24 hours after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security moved to bar international students from Harvard.

At the university’s request, Boston judge Allison D. Burroughs issued a temporary restraining order against the federal edict, agreeing that Harvard had shown that its implementation would cause “immediate and irreparable injury” to the university.

The Trump administration said Harvard had not complied with a list of demands sent on April 16 that contained records of protest activity dating back five years, including videotapes of misconduct and records of disciplinary actions involving international students.

On May 30, the Trump administration introduced a new effort to revoke Harvard’s certification to enroll foreign students.

In a letter sent by the acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director, Todd Lyons, the government gave Harvard 30 days to respond to the alleged grounds for withdrawing the certification, which include accusations that Harvard coordinated with foreign entities and failed to respond sufficiently to antisemitism on campus.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s daughter, Cleo Carney, is a first-year student at Harvard where she’s pursuing a bachelor’s degree in economics.  

John Gobin, a student from Toronto who just completed his second year at Harvard Law School, says the move has upset him and his schoolmates.

"It's a very anxiety-inducing and stressful moment," he said. "There's a lot of uncertainty created by the action, not knowing if I'll be able to be at school in September or whatnot, so just feeling very uneasy."

“In a lot of group chats I’m in with other students and other Canadians, there was just a lot of panic and confusion,” said Harvard student Thomas Mete, a Canadian heading into his fourth year at Harvard this fall. “When I accepted my offer to go to Harvard in 2022, something like this was never on the table.” The New York Times, CTV News.

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