GOVERNMENT FUNDING & NEWS

Federal government announces several tariff-relief measures

Finance Canada announced that the new Large Enterprise Tariff Loan Facility (LETL), which offers short-term loans of $60 million or more for large businesses, is now accepting applicants.

LETL is for businesses with at least $300 million in annual Canadian revenue.

This program will support eligible large businesses – including those that contribute to Canada’s food security, energy security, economic security and national security – that are facing difficulties in accessing traditional sources of market financing, by providing access to liquidity.

This will help employers that were viable before the U.S. trade actions to help sustain their operations and return to financial stability, Finance Canada said.

Companies will be required to make efforts to maintain jobs and sustain business activities in Canada. Those who were already involved in insolvency proceedings before this crisis will not be eligible.

LETL is managed by the same subsidiary of Canada Development Investment Corp. that oversaw a similar program during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Finance Canada also announced a performance-based tariff remission framework for automakers, designed to incentivize continued production and investment in Canada.

In recognition of the integrated nature of the North American automotive sector, this will allow automakers that continue to manufacture vehicles in Canada to import a certain number of U.S.-assembled, Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement-compliant vehicles into Canada, free of the countermeasure tariffs that Canada has imposed.

The remission granted to these companies is contingent on these automakers continuing to produce vehicles in Canada and on completing planned investments.

The number of tariff-free vehicles a company is permitted to import will be reduced if there are reductions in Canadian production or investment.

Finance Canada also announced that the government intends to provide temporary six-month relief for goods imported from the U.S. that are used in Canadian manufacturing, processing and food and beverage packaging, and for those used to support public health, health care, public safety and national security objectives.

This provides immediate relief to a broad cross-section of Canadian businesses that must rely on U.S. inputs to support their competitiveness as well as to entities integral to Canadians’ health and safety, such as hospitals, long-term care facilities and fire departments.

The remission is provided on a time-limited basis to provide businesses and entities with additional time to adjust their supply chains and prioritize domestic sources of supply if available. Finance Canada

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Ontario introduces legislation to dismantle interprovincial trade barriers

The Government of Ontario introduced a bill, the Protect Ontario through Free Trade within Canada Act, that would make the province the first to remove all its exceptions to the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, to ease the movement of people, goods and services across provincial and territorial boundaries.

Trade barriers within Canada cost the economy up to $200 billion each year and lower gross domestic product by nearly eight percent.

These barriers also increase the cost of goods and services Ontario families rely on by up to 14.5 percent, at a time when families are already struggling from increased costs due to U.S. tariffs, the government said.

The Act also would enable mutual recognition with reciprocating provinces and territories, so that goods, services and registered workers that are good enough for other parts of Canada are recognized as good enough for sale, use or work in Ontario.

By expanding labour mobility with new “As of Right” rules, Ontario will allow certified workers from other provinces and territories to begin working in Ontario immediately while they complete a streamlined registration process.

This includes allowing more regulated health professionals in good standing to begin practising in Ontario while they wait for registration in an Ontario health regulatory college and removing restrictions on where they may work.

The Act also would enable direct-to-consumer alcohol sales with reciprocating provinces and territories so that consumers will be able to purchase alcohol directly from producers across Canada for personal consumption.

Ontario is also launching the new $50-million Ontario Together Trade Fund to help businesses make near-term investments so they can serve more interprovincial customers, develop new markets and re-shore critical supply chains, strengthening Ontario’s trade security and diversification.

As part of this effort, Ontario is signing memoranda of understanding with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick that will bolster interprovincial trade. Govt. of Ontario

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U.S. President Donald Trump launched separate national security investigations into foreign sources of critical minerals, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors – preparing the ground for sector-specific tariffs on these goods. Trump’s executive order on critical minerals directed U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to initiate an investigation to determine the effects on national security of imports of processed critical minerals and their derivative products. This includes an analysis of the distortive effects of the predatory economic, pricing and market manipulation strategies and practices used by countries that process critical minerals that are exported to the U.S. The investigation also includes a review and risk assessment of global supply chains for processed critical minerals and their derivative products, and an analysis of the current and potential capabilities of the U.S. to process critical minerals and their derivative products. Lutnick is to submit a draft report with recommended actions within 90 days. China, a top producer of 30 of the 50 commodities on the U.S. critical minerals list, has curbed exports of rare earth minerals as part of the trade war. The White House

The volume of world merchandise trade is projected to fall by 0.2 percent in 2025 due to U.S. tariffs, according to a report by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The decline is expected to be particularly steep in North America where exports are forecast to drop by 12.6 percent. Severe downside risks exist, including the application of “reciprocal” tariffs and broader spillover of policy uncertainty, which could lead to an even sharper decline of 1.5 percent in global goods trade and hurt export-oriented least-developed countries, the WTO said. Services trade, though not directly subject to tariffs, is also expected to be adversely affected, with the global volume of commercial services trade now forecast to grow by four percent slower than expected. The new forecast marks a reversal from 2024, when the volume of world merchandise trade grew 2.9 percent while GDP expanded by 2.8 percent, making 2024 the first year since 2017 (excluding the rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic) where merchandise trade grew faster than output. WTO

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre promised to expand the military in Canada’s North under his “Canada First Arctic Defence Plan,” which would expand military presences in Whitehorse, Yukon, Inuvik, N.W.T, and Churchill, Manitoba. This includes:

• upgrading Canadian Forces Base Inuvik to host fighter jets and Husky tankers.
• procuring a fleet of airborne early warning and control aircraft to patrol Arctic skies.
• acquiring two additional polar icebreakers.
• establishing a new Canadian Army reserve unit in Whitehorse.
• constructing a new Arctic naval base in Churchill.
• building Canada’s first permanent Arctic military base since the Cold War, at Iqaluit.
• doubling the size of the 1^st Patrol Group of the Canadian Rangers in the Arctic to 4,000 personnel.

The Conservatives also promise to build a road linking Yellowknife to a port on Arctic water via mineral-rich areas of the N.W.T. and Nunavut. Poilievre also promised to end the previous Liberal government’s ban on certain single-use plastic items. The proposed ban remains before the courts after the federal government appealed a Federal Court ruling that determined the policy was unconstitutional. The Conservative leader also vowed to halt the new proposed federal labelling and packaging requirements for manufacturers, and also "protect restaurants, grocers, and low-income Canadians" from what he called "one-size-fits-all packaging rules.” Conservative Party of Canada

Liberal Leader Mark Carney promised to overhaul the Canadian defence industry, buying more domestically made equipment for the Canadian Forces and exporting it to “reliable global partners.” Canada’s defence procurements are plagued by “delays, cost overruns, bureaucratic hurdles and other challenges,” according to a parliamentary committee report last year. The Liberals also would create a Bureau of Research, Engineering and Advanced Leadership in Innovation and Science (BOREALIS) to pursue security technologies, particularly for the Canadian Armed Forces and Communications Security Establishment. The Liberals also promised to:

• expand the capabilities of the Navy with new submarines and additional heavy icebreakers to defend the North.
• create a first-in-class drone capability that will build and deploy aquatic and airborne uncrewed vehicles to defend Canada’s Arctic, undersea infrastructure, borders and allies.
• expand the reach and abilities of the Canadian Coast Guard and integrate them into Canada’s NATO defence capabilities. 
• modernize Canada’s procurement legislation to ensure the Canadian Forces can buy the equipment that they need, when they need it – which is now.
• create a defence capital account that ensures that even when the timing of an investment changes, every dollar assigned to Canada’s defence will remain for that purpose.
• fill the Canadian Armed Force’s (CAF) shortage of 14,500 members by modernizing the recruitment process, giving all CAF members a raise, build new on-base housing, and improve access to doctors, mental health services and childcare. Liberal Party of Canada

Liberal Leader Mark Carney, in releasing the Liberals’ platform document on April 19, plans to move ahead with plans to reinstate the Accelerated Investment Incentive, which gives companies more immediate tax benefits when they invest in capital assets such as equipment for manufacturing or zero-emission vehicles. Carney also said he’ll make good on the government’s promise of a “patent box” system that would give firms a tax break on intellectual property they hold in Canada. The Liberals plan to increase the claimable amount under the Scientific Research and Experimental Development tax credit program from $4.5 million to $6 million. A Carney-led government also would try to encourage investment in Canadian startups using flow-through shares – most commonly used in the mining industry – to support companies in AI, quantum computing, biotech and advanced manufacturing. A Carney-led government also promises to create the Canadian Sovereignty and Resilience Research Fund to help Canadian researchers whose funding is cut by the Trump administration. The Liberals also committed in their platform document to create a “capstone organization” that will ensure the federal research granting agencies are driving mission-driven research that brings Canadian expertise to big global challenges and effectively commercializes homegrown ideas. Such an organization was recommended by the 2023 Report of the Advisory Panel of the Federal Research Support System (the “Bouchard report”). The Liberals’ platform document doesn’t mention the Canada Innovation Corporation, designed to be business-facing and geared toward commercialization, that was also recommended by the Bouchard report. The Liberal platform promises bigger deficits in the coming years than the Trudeau government’s last fiscal update projected: $62.3 billion this fiscal year instead of $42.2 billion, shrinking to $47.8 billion in 2028-29 instead of $27.8 billion. Liberal Party of Canada

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, in releasing the Conservatives’ platform document on April 22, pledges to cut the deficit by 70 percent and “never hike taxes.” The Conservatives would remove regulatory restrictions, including saving $6.4 billion from cutting “red tape” by 25 percent and a “two-for-one rule” that would remove two regulations for every new one. A Conservative government would also defer taxes on capital gains that are reinvested in Canada through the end of next year, and would let people put an extra $5,000 into their tax-free savings accounts if they invest the money in Canadian companies. The Conservatives said they’d “reduce funding for artificial intelligence” by almost $2.28 billion between 2025 and 2029. That’s close to the $2.4 billion the Trudeau Liberal government pledged in 2024 to build up Canada’s compute capacity, set up a Canadian AI Safety Institute and help businesses adopt AI. The Conservatives also would end the industrial carbon tax on large emitters; scrap the proposed emissions cap on the oil and gas industry; scrap the Liberals’ clean fuel and clean electricity regulations; repeal the Liberals’ environmental impact assessment legislation and the West Coast oil tanker ban. The Conservatives also would require universities to enforce the standards of section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that guarantees fundamental freedoms – including freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly – to everyone in Canada as a condition for federal funding. Conservative Party of Canada

The Government of Canada has stopped covering the travel costs of Canadian experts volunteering for the next major global climate science assessment. The decision to end travel funding means that Canadian scientists are now wondering whether they can still participate in the United Nations climate science process, perhaps by using their own money or diverting grant funds that could be going toward research and students. "It's almost insulting to all of the Canadian scientists who have volunteered all those hundreds of hours each year of their personal lives," said Robert McLeman, a professor at Wilfrid Laurier University, who was a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) during its last assessment. In a statement to CBC, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) said it is "not able to commit to providing long-term travel funding for academics to participate in IPCC meetings." ECCC said the government provided about $424,000 of travel funding to support Canadian IPCC authors in the last assessment cycle, which happened partly during the COVID pandemic years and involved a little less travel as a result. The department said that if the usual amount of travel had occurred, estimated costs would be about $680,000 to support Canadian experts at the IPCC. CBC News

The Government of Canada lacks centralized management of federal buildings which is resulting in an accelerating deterioration of federal properties, according to a Treasury Board of Canada report. The federal departments spend roughly $10 billion each year on real property – the second-largest government expenditure per year – without adequate oversight or a centralized strategy, the report warned. “Despite the size of expenditure, real property assets continue to deteriorate at an accelerating pace. This deterioration compromises the portfolio’s ability to support federal programs and services, and increases financial, legal, operational and reputational risks and liabilities,” the report said. “There is a need for centralized management of federal real property given the deterioration of assets essential to the delivery of federal programs and services to Canadians,” according to the report, Evaluation Of The Centre For Expertise On Real Property. The report compared Canada’s approach to real estate with that of the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Canada was the only country among those reviewed that lacked a government-wide real estate strategy, a central real property function, a central strategic direction, or a whole-of-government real property strategy to manage its vast portfolio. The federal government is responsible for 32,000 buildings, 248 million square feet of floorspace, 96 million acres of Crown land and 20,000 engineering assets, including bridges and highways. Yet despite the scale of the portfolio, the infrastructure is decaying at an accelerating rate. Treasury Board of Canada

The Government of Ontario introduced new legislation that it said would significantly streamline permitting and approvals for infrastructure, mining and resource projects in the northern Ontario Ring of Fire region and other regions. The current permitting and authorization processes for mining and major infrastructure projects require proponents to navigate a complex process of overlapping and duplicative approvals from multiple ministries and levels of government. A single mining project can take 15 years to be approved. The Protect Ontario by Unleashing Our Economy Act, 2025 would streamline this process to minimize delays, lower costs and set service standards for government review times, to simplify and speed up the approvals process. The government said it will maintain its robust environmental standards while also fulfilling its constitutional obligations to Indigenous communities, including the duty to consult. Key measures in the legislation include:

• Create authority to designate special economic zones to help advance projects of provincial importance and security where proponents meet rigorous operating, safety and environmental standards. Projects that meet these standards will benefit from streamlined requirements, accelerated permitting and priority access to services such as the new One Project, One Process model.

• Accelerating mining development in every part of the province through a new One Project, One Process permitting model that streamlines approval processes across government to one process, with the intent of reducing government review time by 50 percent.

• Speeding up housing, transit, infrastructure and other projects impacting certain species by adopting a “registration-first” approach to project approvals. Instead of waiting up to two years for species permits, for example, proponents will be able to proceed as soon as they register and meet the requirements.
• Establishing a new Species Conservation Program to support the valuable work of species experts and community-based conservation initiatives across the province. Through this program, the government will make up to $20 million available for species conservation efforts annually – more than four times the current amount.

• Saving businesses money by eliminating registration fees for the Environmental Activity and Sector Registry. The change is expected to save regulated businesses about $2.6 million annually.

• Protecting critical mineral resources from bad actors by proposing authorities to restrict the registration or transfer of mining claims, deny a lease, cancel a mining claim registration or terminate a lease, on the basis of protecting the strategic national mineral supply chain.

• Building a secure energy grid by restricting access of foreign state-owned or -based companies while streamlining the permitting process to get projects built faster. Govt. of Ontario

The Government of Alberta is investing up to $72 million to help companies upgrade technologies, lower costs and operate more efficiently. This includes $65 million for a new funding challenge that will help forestry, energy, agriculture, heavy manufacturing and other major industries make technology upgrades. The $65-million Industrial Transformation Challenge, delivered through Emissions Reduction Alberta using the industry-led Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction fund, will accelerate the development and commercialization of some of the most promising technologies needed in Alberta and around the world. More than $7 million is also being invested through Emissions Reduction Alberta into two new projects that will help Alberta’s energy sector monitor, manage and reduce methane emissions – saving money and keeping them competitive. SensorUp Inc. will use $3 million to develop the world’s first open-standard software platform that uses artificial intelligence to produce faster methane reporting, quicker repairs and more effective methane mitigation. Ambyint Inc. will receive $4.1 million to upgrade its existing artificial intelligence platform with advanced machine learning and algorithms. Ambyint’s project could potentially reduce methane venting by up to 90 percent. Govt. of Alberta

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador announced details of the first project approved under the province’s $6-million Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage Innovation Challenge aimed at studying and maximizing the carbon storage potential of the province’s offshore geology. The government will invest $3 million for a joint proposal from Memorial University and the Hibernia and Hebron Projects. The project will enhance laboratory facilities, increase competencies in laboratory methods and develop outreach capabilities through external engagement and collaboration with industry subject matter experts. The two-year project, titled Enabling CO₂ Subsurface Storage Evaluation Capacity and Capabilities, will support foundational laboratory and research capabilities for Memorial University to assess carbon dioxide subsurface storage valuation capacity and capabilities. The project also will assist with the development of highly qualified personnel in the emerging technologies and skills associated with carbon capture and storage. In addition to provincial government funding, Memorial University will leverage more than $6.78 million in funding from the Hibernia and Hebron projects with project delivery support from Energy Research and Innovation  Newfoundland and Labrador. Govt. of Newfoundland and Labrador

The Government of Manitoba and the Government of Nunavut announced support for a proposal to establish a strategic economic and energy corridor between Manitoba and Nunavut. The proposed Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link (KHFL) has the potential to unlock Canada’s North by advancing reconciliation, spurring economic growth, addressing climate change and investing in Canada’s national security, the governments said. The Inuit-led, Inuit-driven KHFL project is a 1,200-kilometre transmission project that will enable renewable power transmission and fibre-optic internet connectivity to communities and the economy in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut by connecting to Manitoba Hydro’s power grid. Manitoba Hydro will include 50 megawatts of power in its planning for the KHFL. To enable the success of the project, the governments of Manitoba and Nunavut called on the federal government to partner and support capital funding for the KHFL and associated hydroelectric upgrades. The KHFL project is a nation-building opportunity that will be Nunavut’s first electricity connection to Canada and will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, stabilize energy costs and create regional economic opportunities, the two governments said. Govt. of Manitoba

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced it is capping indirect research cost reimbursement rates at 15 percent, two months after the National Institutes of Health (NIH) did the same. The DOE said it will “terminate all grant awards” to higher education institutions “that do not conform with this updated policy.” The DOE sends more than $2.5 billion a year to more than 300 colleges and universities, a portion of which covers indirect costs, such as laboratory space, waste disposal and utilities. Some of those DOE-funded projects include developing next-generation materials critical to commercializing fusion power at the University of Kentucky, a critical mineral production workforce readiness program at Tennessee State University, and a comprehensive road map for repurposing offshore infrastructure for clean energy projects in the Gulf of Mexico at the University of Houston. DOE grant recipients at colleges and universities currently have an average 30-percent indirect cost rate. The DOE claims that “limiting these costs to a standard rate of 15 percent will help improve efficiency, reduce costs and ensure proper stewardship of American taxpayer dollars.” But the Council on Government Relations, an association of research universities, affiliated medical centres and independent research institutes, characterized the policy as “ruinous,” saying that “our nation’s economic competitors are laughing at another self-inflicted policy wound that will slow the pace of American research and innovation.” In response to the lawsuit filed against the NIH after it capped indirect costs rates, the federal judge who blocked the policy said the move usurped congressional authority and the NIH failed to provide any sufficient reasoning, rationale or justification for the change. Inside Higher Ed

See also: Ottawa needs to boost funding for direct costs of Canadian research in light of Trump’s cuts to science agencies

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Harvard University sues Trump administration over freezing of federal grants

On April 21, Harvard University filed a lawsuit in federal court in Massachusetts against the Trump administration, accusing the government of unleashing a broad attack as “leverage to gain control of academic decision making at Harvard.”

Prior to the lawsuit being filed, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had announced the cancellation of two DHS grants totalling more than $2.7 million to Harvard University, declaring it unfit to be entrusted with taxpayer dollars.

Noem also wrote a scathing letter demanding detailed records on Harvard’s foreign student visa holders’ illegal and violent activities by April 30, 2025, or face immediate loss of Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification.

The action follows President Donald Trump’s decision to freeze $2.2 billion in federal grants and US$60 million in contracts to Harvard University, proposing the revocation of its tax-exempt status over its alleged radical ideology.

The White House’s task force on antisemitism also sent Harvard University a letter on April 11 requiring the university to undertake comprehensive governance and leadership reforms; reforms in merit-based hiring and admissions including international admissions; “viewpoint diversity” in admissions and hiring; reforming programs with “egregious records of antisemitism or other bias;” student discipline reform and accountability; whistleblower reporting and protections; and transparency and monitoring.

But Trump administration officials told The New York Times the April 11 letter, sent by Sean Keveney, the acting general counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services, should not have been sent and was “unauthorized.”

After Harvard University publicly repudiated the demands, the Trump administration froze billons in federal funding to the school.

Harvard said even if the letter was a mistake, the actions the government took have real-life consequences on students and employees and “the standing of American higher education in the world.”

The U.S. Department of Education is now seeking Harvard’s records on foreign funding going back a decade, records relating to expelled foreign students, and a list of visiting researchers, students and faculty who are affiliated with foreign governments.

The Trump administration also has paused federal funding for the University of Pennsylvania, Brown, Princeton, Cornell and Northwestern. The New York Times

RESEARCH, INNOVATION & COLLABORATION

The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) is advising its members to avoid non-essential travel to the U.S. In updated travel guidance, CAUT cited the “rapidly evolving political landscape” in the U.S., including the rise in reports of Canadian individuals facing difficulties at the border. The association warned certain academics to exercise particular caution, including those who are from countries with tense diplomatic relations with the U.S., those who have expressed criticism of the Trump administration, those whose research may conflict with the policies of the current U.S. government, and travellers who are transgender or whose travel documents indicate a sex other than their sex assigned at birth. CAUT is also advising members to carefully consider the information stored on their electronic devices if they choose to cross the border. Reports of foreigners being sent to detention or processing centres for more than seven days, including Canadian Jasmine Mooney as well as a pair of German tourists and a backpacker from Wales, have been making headlines since Trump took power. CAUT

Scientists from the University of Manitoba wrote an open letter calling on the federal government to prioritize research funding amid what they describe as an “international innovation vacuum.” Addressed to federal political party leaders, the letter warns that recent U.S. program cancellations and restrictions on scientific research could affect Canada’s own research landscape. The letter has been signed by more than 1,600 researchers (as of April 20) across Canada. Among its recommendations, the letter urges the next government to remove the international student cap, establish a “research accelerator fund,” and double the funding for the Tri-Council research funding agencies. “Canada must act – to protect our own scientific capacity, and to start filling the void that has been created in global science leadership and innovation,” the signatories said. Winnipeg Free Press

The Regina-based, federally funded Protein Industries Canada global innovation cluster and Innovate UK announced their third collaborative research and development project from their bilateral partnership. This third investment of $1.5 million, on top of the $5.7 million already invested from this partnership, is building on Canada and the U.K.’s continued work to develop and commercialize plant-based ingredients and food on both sides of the Atlantic. Leading the charge for Canada is Lupin Platform Inc., whose work is focused on pioneering lupin, a protein-rich pulse crop. As an emerging crop, with lots of potential in both Canada and the U.K., the project will result in expanded lupin acres and new lupin-based ingredients and food products. Working across the value chain, Lupin Platform and U.K. partner companies, BioPower Technologies Ltd., Soya UK Ltd., UK Agri-Tech Centre Ltd., and The University of Leeds, are developing new markets for lupin variety Dieta & Barvinock, by testing its agronomy traits, functionality in ingredients and application into North American and European food products. Protein Industries Canada

Genome Alberta and Genome British Columbia (Genome BC), with support from Government of Alberta and other key partners, announced funding for eight new projects to accelerate the adoption of new technologies for improving patient care. Through the Healthy Outcomes through Genomic Innovations initiative, these new projects, with a total value of $5.9 million, are focused on near-term solutions in the areas of infectious disease, cancer screening and detection, mental health disorders, cardiology and transplants. Eight new initiatives will bring together top research teams from Alberta and B.C. and the health authorities in each province to overcome barriers for adoption of new technology in routine patient care, including:

• Early-stage detection of lung cancer with a fast, cost-effective, at-home screening test.
• Establishing performance criteria for rapid testing of blood stream infections to reduce the time needed for life-saving antibiotic prescribing decisions.
• A health economics evaluation of proactive genomic surveillance for early interventions to prevent the spread of multi-drug-resistant bacteria in healthcare environments.
• Improving treatment outcomes and reducing side effects from medications by standardizing reporting of genetic test results, helping doctors better tailor doses and medication choices for individual patients.
• Safer chemotherapy for children by improving tests that predict severe drug reactions in pediatric cancer patients.
• Improving kidney transplant success rates by using an improved, non-invasive test to detect signs of organ weakness earlier and more precisely monitor the health of kidneys.
• More precise cancer testing with upgraded testing for gene fusions – genetic changes that drive many cancers.
• Improved heart failure detection with an earlier and more precise diagnosis of a hereditary condition that can result in heart failure. Genome Alberta

The Government of British Columbia weakened a policy that required new liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities in the province to produce net-zero emissions by 2030. In a letter, Adrian Dix, B.C.’s minister of Energy and Climate Solutions, relaxed commitments made by his predecessor to require LNG terminals to operate in a way that produces no net greenhouse gas emissions. The new government policy now requires proponents of LNG facilities to provide a “credible plan” for the project to be “net-zero ready” by the end of the decade, Dix wrote to Alex MacLennan, chief executive assessment officer of the government’s Environmental Assessment Office. Dix said net-zero ready means having an LNG terminal ready to be powered by grid electricity, unless not possible because there’s an inability to provide enough electricity. The amended policy does not say when the facilities would need to stop producing greenhouse gas emissions and operate at a net-zero level. Matt Hulse, a lawyer with Ecojustice, said powering the Ksi Lisims LNG project with natural gas alone instead of electricity would produce another 1.8 million tonnes of emissions per year. The new policy "provides an open-ended invitation for these LNG facilities to build gas-powered generators without any deadline,” Hulse said. Werner Antweiler, an energy economist at the University of British Columbia, said the government’s promise to require new LNG terminals to be able to operate at net-zero emissions by 2030 amounted to “window dressing” and a “pipe dream.” Business in Vancouver

Transport Canada is opposing Norway-based Vianode’s plans to build a graphite manufacturing plant in Ontario on the grounds of the Windsor International Airport over concerns that 65-metre-tall emissions stacks could affect airport operations. In January, privately held Vianode landed a multibillion-dollar deal to supply synthetic graphite to General Motors for electric vehicles. As talks between the various players continued toward the end of 2024, local environmentalists railed against the development because it would have entailed the destruction of provincially protected wetlands on the Little River, which flows into the Detroit River. Vianode said it still plans to build its next plant in North America. The Globe and Mail

Toronto-based AI developer Cohere released its Embed 4 multimodal embedding model for businesses to add frontier search and retrieval capabilities to AI applications, which is necessary for businesses building agentic AI assistants or agents that need to understand companies’ business context. Embedding models turn complex information, such as text or images, into vectors or numbers that AI models can process. With its multimodal functions, Embed 4 can search through documents and pull data from PDF documents, images, charts and code. The model is multilingual across 100+ languages including key business languages, to support global enterprises. Embed 4 also is optimized with domain-specific understanding of data from regulated industries such as finance, healthcare and manufacturing. It can be deployed in virtual private cloud and on-premise environments to keep data secure. Cohere also announced it now has access to some of Nvidia’s most advanced computing infrastructure through its cloud provider, Livingston, New Jersey-based CoreWeave. Cohere

Canadian AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio says if companies succeed in creating superintelligent AI agents without solving for self-preservation, it could carry “catastrophic” risks. Bengio, founder of the Montreal-based AI research institute Mila, made the remarks over Zoom as part of his closing keynote address to the World Summit AI conference in Montréal. Bengio said the risks of agentic AI include loss of human control and human extinction. For now, he said, AI models still struggle with abstract reasoning and planning. But at the rate research is going, he said the duration of tasks AI models can solve doubles every seven months.  Bengio warned that AI agents taking autonomous action, coupled with their claimed ability to deceive humans to preserve themselves, presents a significant risk. With this self-preservation “instinct,” Bengio speculated that AI programs could try to make copies of themselves across multiple devices, gain influence through social media and politics, and even release bioweapons to wipe humans out when they are deemed no longer necessary. Bengio advocated for an alternative approach to developing AI models where they are not programmed to have goals or intentions. Instead, he described non-agentic “scientist AIs” that could still help humans solve medical and climate-related challenges without having intentions of their own. They should be used as guardrails for developing “safe” AI agents eventually, Bengio said. BetaKit

The RCMP’s National Cybercrime Coordination Centre, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) and the Sûreté du Québec conducted enforcement actions against Canadian users of LabHost, a platform used to launch widespread phishing and cyber scams in Canada and around the world. The platform was disabled in April 2024 following a police investigation. Since April 14, 2025, police forces from across the country executed 10 search warrants against identified users of the platform and are conducting more than 118 enforcement actions against suspected offenders, which include fines, warning letters and in-person engagements. This operation, known as Project NOVA, is part of an international collaboration that brought together more than 30 domestic and international partners to disrupt criminal activity linked to LabHost. U.K. citizen Zak Coyne, 24, who headed LabHost, was sentenced last week in Manchester court to jail for 8 ½ years. The evidence collected to date suggests close to one million Canadians were directly impacted by LabHost. An extensive amount of personal information, including sensitive banking credentials, was stolen and trafficked by criminal users of the platform. Prior to being disabled by law enforcement, LabHost was one of the world's largest phishing-as-a-service providers, offering a range of illicit services for a monthly fee payable only by cryptocurrency. Cybercriminals impersonated more than 75 Canadian organizations – including major banks and government institutions – to defraud Canadians into giving up personal information and banking credentials. If you are a victim, contact your local police immediately and report the incident to the CAFC using its Online Reporting System or by phone at 1-888-495-8501. RCMP

Privately held Energy Alberta has submitted its initial project description to the Impact Agency of Canada (IAAC) for the company’s proposed $35-billion Peace River Nuclear Power Project. The impact assessment, led by the IAAC and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, would evaluate the potential effects of the project on the environment, health, society and economy. It will also assess the impact on Indigenous Peoples and their rights. Privately held Energy Alberta proposes to build a nuclear power generating station in the Peace River area of northern Alberta that would include two to four 1,000-megawatt-class CANDU® MONARK™ reactors. The facility would be licensed to produce up to 4,800 megawatts of electricity, making a significant contribution to the province’s electricity generation. CANDU reactors use natural uranium mined and processed in Canada. Energy Alberta

The Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear an appeal aimed at shielding former Alberta energy minister Sonya Savage from testifying in a $15-billion lawsuit brought by coal companies. The decision clears the way for Savage to be questioned under oath about the province's controversial reversal on coal mining policy. The lawsuit, launched in 2023 by five coal companies, alleges that the Alberta government effectively expropriated their investments when it reinstated a decades-old coal policy in 2021, banning or severely restricting mining on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Until now, Alberta’s United Conservative Party government had succeeded in keeping Savage — who was energy minister during the reversal — off the witness list. The companies had acquired leases and invested millions after the Alberta government under former premier Jason Kenney rescinded the 1976 Coal Policy in 2020 in a move that triggered widespread public outrage and prompted a swift policy U-turn. The plaintiffs – Cabin Ridge Project Ltd., Atrum Coal Ltd. and its subsidiary Elan Coal Ltd., Black Eagle Mining Corp., and Evolve Power Ltd. – argue the reversal rendered their lands useless, amounting to a "de facto expropriation." They are seeking a combined $13.8 billion in damages, with a trial set to begin April 28 in Alberta's Court of King’s Bench. The case comes as the Alberta Energy Regulator weighs several contentious decisions on coal development, including the long-delayed Grassy Mountain project near Crowsnest Pass. That project – which was previously rejected by federal regulators due to environmental concerns – remains under review amid intense lobbying from industry and pressure from communities determined to protect the headwaters of Alberta's major rivers. Western Standard

Six Nations of the Grand River – Canada’s largest First Nation – is taking the federal government to court over unsafe and inadequate water systems. In a statement of claim filed in Ontario Superior Court, Six Nations of the Grand River is demanding an immediate fix and at least $25 million in compensation. Six Nations of the Grand River is situated within Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe, the most densely populated region in the country. The reserve’s modern water treatment plant reaches just 30 percent of the community’s 13,000 residents. The remaining 70 percent rely on a patchwork of unmonitored wells and cisterns that have tested high for harmful bacteria and other contaminants, according to the statement of claim. The allegations have not been tested in court and the federal government has not yet filed a statement of defence. On the campaign trail, Liberal Leader Mark Carney has committed to enshrining First Nations’ rights to safe drinking water while Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has proposed a new tax mechanism that would allow First Nations to fund water-infrastructure development through revenues from industry. Six Nations of the Grand River, The Globe and Mail

Atmospheric researchers have bid farewell to what may be the longest running space science experiment in Canadian history. MOPITT – which stands for Measurement of Pollution in the Troposphere – is a Canadian-built device that was launched as one of five instruments on board NASA’s Terra satellite in December 1999. It operated successfully until it was switched off on April 9 to conserve power on the spacecraft that’s experiencing a power-generation problem with its solar arrays. The decision to terminate the experiment was made earlier this year and is unrelated to moves by the Trump administration to cut funding to climate-related science, said Jim Drummond, a professor emeritus at the University of Toronto and Dalhousie University who is Canada’s principal investigator for MOPITT. ComDev (now Honeywell Aerospace) of Cambridge, Ont., built MOPITT to measure carbon monoxide, a byproduct of incomplete combustion that plays an important global role as an airborne pollutant. Intended to last for five years, MOPITT was the first instrument to show the global reach of pollution associated with the burning of carbon-based fuel, including industrial emissions and forest fires. It far exceeded its planned lifespan and ended up providing an unbroken record of carbon monoxide levels for 25 years, with enough detail to capture regional differences and spot changes on the scale of individual cities. The Globe and Mail

Longueuil, Que.-based rocket company Reaction Dynamics is proceeding to the upcoming finals episode of the Meet the Drapers television show to compete for a $1 million-dollar investment prize. Meet the Drapers is hosted by venture capitalist Tim Draper and calls itself “the largest global pitch competition,” with venture capitalists travelling around the world to hear pitches from entrepreneurs across a variety of industries. On the April 4 semifinal episode of Meet the Drapers, RDX’s CEO Bachar Elzein and director of business development Jesse Mikelberg convinced the judges that their company was worth a further look. Reaction Dynamics is focused on developing spacecraft with hybrid propulsion engines that use a combination of a solid propellant and liquid oxidizer. The company hopes to fund its upcoming launch attempts: a test of the suborbital Aurora-1 launcher in Australia later this year, and a test of the orbital Aurora-8 launcher at Spaceport Nova Scotia sometime in 2026. SpaceQ

Google acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in some online advertising technology, a federal judge ruled, adding to legal troubles that could reshape the $1.86-trillion company and alter its power over the internet. Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia said in a 115-page ruling that Google had broken the law to build its dominance over the largely invisible system of technology that places advertisements on pages across the web. The U.S. Justice Department and a group of states had sued Google, arguing that its monopoly in ad technology allowed the company to charge higher prices and take a bigger portion of each sale. The government argued in its case that Google had a monopoly over three parts of the online advertising market: the tools used by online publishers, like news sites, to host open ad space; the tools advertisers use to buy that ad space; and the software that facilitates those transactions. Judge Brinkema ruled in the government’s favour in two of those, finding that Google illegally built a monopoly over the publisher tools and the software system. She dismissed the third, the tools used by advertisers, saying the government had failed to prove that it constituted a real and defined market. Google said it will appeal the ruling. The New York Times

China’s export restrictions on rare earth elements (REEs) and magnets used in the defence, energy and automotive sectors will let it “strengthen its military capabilities more quickly than the United States,” the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) warned. REEs are crucial for a range of defence technologies, including F-35 fighter jets, Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines, Tomahawk missiles, radar systems, Predator unmanned aerial vehicles, and the Joint Direct Attack Munition series of smart bombs. China is rapidly expanding its munitions production and acquiring advanced weapons systems and equipment at a pace five to six times faster than the U.S., CSIS said. Even with recent investments, the U.S. “is a long way off from meeting the DOD’s (Department of Defense) goal for a mine-to-magnet REE supply chain independent of China, and it is even further from rivaling foreign adversaries in this strategic industry.” CSIS said it’s important to continue to provide financial and diplomatic support to ensure the success of initiatives in several countries working to develop their light and heavy rare earth deposits, specifically Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Japan and Vietnam. Canada, which has rare earth elements and is developing infrastructure and processing facilities, wasn’t mentioned by CSIS. CSIS

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China is incorporating AI into science more rapidly than the U.S. or European Union

Chinese scientists have incorporated artificial intelligence into their work more rapidly than their EU or U.S. counterparts, according to a European Commission analysis.

New AI aids, such as the protein-folding prediction tool AlphaFold, have changed how some scientists work, although there are concerns that an overreliance on AI could reduce scientific serendipity, for example. 

The new analysis, Artificial intelligence in science: promises or perils for creativity?, tracks this growth in AI-assisted science, quantifies whether or not it is beneficial, and which countries are using it most. 

“In recent years, China has taken the lead in AI-driven research, outpacing both the U.S. and the EU, not just in sheer output, but also in terms of scientific novelty and impact,” the analysis, written by several European Commission officials and a University of Strasbourg researcher, concludes. 

The analysis looks at around 3 million scientific papers from 2000-2022 and finds that the share of papers using AI aids spiked from just under 30 percent in 2010 to nearly 40 percent in 2022. This is likely due to the advent of deep learning from 2010, the authors say. 

There has been a “particularly striking performance” by China since 2016, the analysis found. Since then, the number of Chinese scientific papers using AI aids has surged, overtaking both the U.S. and EU, to reach more than 25,000 by 2022 in the dataset used. 

In contrast, the EU published around 15,000 papers using AI in 2022, and the U.S. around 12,000. China also leads when just looking at the most cited papers. 

The analysis recommends more funding, infrastructure and training to speed up adoption of AI, although it cautions that “systematic evidence” on what works best is still lacking. Most national AI strategies lack actual measures to help scientists better use the technology, it says.

The European Commission is currently consulting on a new strategy for AI in science.

The Commission has also said a “CERN for AI” initiative will improve adoption, a promise that has morphed into the construction of four AI gigafactories, each with around 100,000 chips to train new AI models. 

In addition, the Commission has proposed a so-called European AI Research Council, with a pilot scheme planned for 2026, according to an action plan released on April 9 to make Europe an “AI continent.”

This initiative “will pool resources that push the technological boundaries of AI and tap into its potential to facilitate scientific breakthroughs,” the plan says, although there are no hard figures on funding. 

The AI Continent Action Plan is built around five priorities: infrastructure, data, adoption, talent and simplification.

The roadmap aims to build on Europe’s strengths, said Henna Virkkunen, executive vice-president of the Commission. “We are very strong in Europe when we look at our scientific community and researchers on AI, we have the biggest amount of researchers in the world per capita when we look at the AI sector.”

The European Commission has launched a call for interest to set up AI gigafactories. The EU hopes to mobilize €20 billion for up to five gigafactories, with the share of the Commission’s contribution depending on interest from member states and private investors.

Virkkunen also confirmed that the Commission is in talks to launch a second iteration of the EU Chips Act, which will include a focus on advanced AI chips.

In January, the U.S. imposed restrictions on exports of advanced graphics processing units, which are crucial for the development of AI models, to several EU countries. Science|Business

VC, PRIVATE INVESTMENT & ACQUISITIONS

Toronto-based Manulife Investment Management closed approximately US$660 million in commitments for its Manulife Private Equity Partners III fund. The fund is the third private equity fund of funds raised by Manulife Investment Management as part of its ongoing effort to provide specialized solutions for investors seeking greater exposure to opportunities in a growing private equity market. The fund was seeded with an existing portfolio selected in partnership with Ardian, a private investment house, consisting of private equity fund interests and co-investments in North American buyout funds with more than 15 leading private equity managers. Manulife’s private equity and credit platform has US$28 billion in assets under management. Manulife Investment Management

The venture capital vehicle of Canada’s Thomson family participated in a Series A funding round that raised US$75 million for San Jose, Calif.-based cybersecurity startup Exaforce. Other participants in the round included co-leaders Khosla Ventures and Mayfield. Exaforce plans to use the money to develop software that helps automate cyberthreat detection and reduce false positives, using AI agents the company calls Exabots. The labour market for cybersecurity and AI workers is tight, creating demand for tools that can help them work more efficiently. Business Wire

Toronto-based insurtech startup PolicyMe has closed $30 million in previously unannounced equity and debt financing from strategic partners across three tranches since 2023. The company has also moved into health and dental insurance, built out its business-to-business-to-consumer operations, and expanded Canada-wide, nearly tripling its headcount to 100 employees and attaining profitability along the way. PolicyMe aims to give Canadians access to more affordable and convenient insurance products in two ways: via its own in-house insurance policies, which it claims are cheaper than many traditional ones, and by helping insurers and other financial brands deliver their own offerings to consumers faster and more cost effectively using its tech platform. BetaKit

OMERS Ventures joined a US$50-million Series B round for Crux, a New York-based startup that lets clean energy developers trade tax credits and raise debt financing. The round was led by Lowercarbon Capital. Existing investors Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Ardent Venture Partners, CIV, New System Ventures, and The Three Cairns Group participated in the round. They were joined by new investors Giant Ventures and Acrew Capital, as well as Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, and MassMutual Ventures. Crux

Winnipeg-based Farm Credit Canada invested in a US$20-million funding round for Seattle-based agtech startup IUNU, which offers AI and machine vision technologies for the agricultural sector. The round was led by S2G Investments with participation from Farm Credit Canada and Lewis and Clark Partners. IUNU’s LUNA platform delivers plant-level visibility, automated labour analysis, and real-time crop steering and forecasting for high-value vine crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. IUNU said the capital will support the expansion of the company’s commercial and engineering teams. IUNU

Trillick Ventures is raising a $15-million fund to invest in early-stage startups in Manitoba, which receives less than one percent of Canadian venture capital investment. The fund will make pre-seed and seed investments in 20 to 25 technology startups. Exceptional Manitoban founders will receive a total of $10 million in investments, with the other $5 million available to invest in the best opportunities found nationwide. The fund has made three investments to date, including social shopping platform Parallel and event hosting and management software startup 3Common. Trillick Ventures

Montreal-based data automation company Deck raised US$12 million in a Series A funding round led by San Francisco venture capital firm Infinity Ventures. Other participants in the round included Golden Ventures, Intact Ventures, Better Tomorrow Ventures and Luge Capital. Deck said it is building the infrastructure for user-permissioned data access across the entire internet, including access to about 100,000 utility providers worldwide in areas like energy, telecom and the gig economy. Its browser-based data agents “unlock” the data from any website through automation. TechCrunch

Toronto-based Xaba raised US$6 million in an all-equity round led by Hitachi Ventures with participation from BDC Capital, Hazelview Ventures, Exposition Ventures, and Impact Venture Capital. Xaba is a robotics company building synthetic brains for industrial robots using zero code. Xaba’s Generative Industrial AI equips machines with cognitive intelligence, allowing them to autonomously adapt, optimize and execute tasks with precision. The company plans to use the funding to accelerate development and scale the deployment of its “Open AI for Industrial Automation” platform and grow its team. Private Capital Journal

Connektica, a startup based in Toulouse, France and Montreal, raised $4.7 million in funding to accelerate work on software for manufacturing digitalization and automation, starting with aerospace and defence clients. By automating the entire manufacturing process, Connektica said it can guarantee end-to-end traceability without burdensome processes, enabling manufacturers to scale production while complying with industry standards. Connektica said it will invest in bolstering its cybersecurity and obtaining ISO 27001 certification in the coming months. Canadian Manufacturing

Montreal-based venture capital firm Innovobot Resonance Ventures (IRV) announced a refreshed vision for its deep tech VC fund under the leadership of Neha Khera. After previous challenges in raising its targeted $40-million fund, IRV has restructured to focus on investing in 25 to 30 deep tech startups across Canada, with Khera at the helm as the new managing partner. IRV plans to invest in startups at the pre-seed and seed stages, focusing on cutting-edge sectors like AI, robotics, Internet of Things and advanced materials. The fund is open to investments both in Canada and internationally with a focus on companies that have strong intellectual property and technical “moats.” Startup Ecosystem Canada

Toronto-based WonderFi Technologies Inc., which offers centralized and decentralized financial services and products, sold the majority of its ownership in Tetra Trust Company, a crypto custodian firm, to Toronto-based publicly owned investment company Urbana Corporation for $8.75 million. WonderFi will remain a shareholder of Tetra and continue to support the business. WonderFi said the sale strengthens its established centralized crypto brands while driving innovation through WonderFi Labs and expanding its Web3 product offerings. WonderFi

The British equivalent of a bankruptcy trustee is seeking bids for the assets of Moltex Energy Ltd., including the Canadian subsidiary, Moltex Energy Canada Inc. that’s working on a small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) for New Brunswick’s Point Lepreau site. The U.K. parent firm has another subsidiary, MoltFlex Limited, in the U.K. developing an SMR with a molten salt reactor design – the same concept being developed by Moltex Energy Canada. Moltex Energy Canada is developing WATSS technology, which the company said addresses the challenge of nuclear waste by converting spent fuel into stable salt, offering a safe and scalable solution for waste disposal. Moltex Energy Canada’s CEO Rory O’Sullivan told The Globe and Mail the British parent firm’s shareholders would not approve the Canadian subsidiary’s fundraising efforts and that it will be something of a relief to have new owners and the prospect of new investment in the business. Moltex Energy Canada has received $50.5 million from the federal Strategic Innovation Fund and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Fund to advance its project to design and commercialize a molten salt reactor and spent fuel recycling facility. In March, the company announced success in reprocessing used CANDU fuel using the WATSS technology. Hilco Valuation Services

 REPORTS & POLICIES

Federal Online News Act has had a “profound impact” on Canada’s news ecosystem

The federal government’s Online News Act has had a “profound impact” on Canada’s news ecosystem and shows how hard it is to regulate Big Tech, according to a report by the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy at McGill University.

The report, based on interviews with journalists, policymakers and global experts, traces how tech giants responded to the law and how those responses are now shaping Canada’s media ecosystem.

The purpose of the Online News Act is to ensure fair compensation for Canadian news organizations from large online platforms, such as search engines and social media sites, when those platforms distribute Canadian news content.

The key insights in the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy’s report are:

• Meta’s exit from Canada’s media ecosystem dealt a devastating blow to many publishers, and the aftermath of Bill C-18 (The Online News Act) garnered mixed responses from the news publishing community. Many small publishers and language minority publishers were deeply affected by Meta’s ban on Canadian news while many legacy publishers, though applauding the deal, also mourned losing their exclusive content deals with the platforms.
• Taking a pre-emptive rather than defensive stance toward Big Tech narratives around regulation may lend credibility to news bargaining legislation. Platforms were quite effective in swaying public opinion in Canada, mostly by calling the bill a “link tax” that would “break the internet” – reinforcing a well-worn strategy to position government regulation as akin to censorship.
• There may be ways to avoid a Meta exit. Policymakers can consider including a “must-carry” provision or similar levers; such provisions would require platforms to continue carrying all covered news publishers. Some experts viewed C-18’s section 51 as a soft must-carry measure and have suggested that tweaks to that section could have made Meta’s news ban more difficult. Meanwhile, there is an ongoing investigation into whether Meta could be scoped into C-18 as many Canadians have continued sharing and finding news content on the platform.
• Future legislation must account for the challenge of generative AI. The battlefront for compensation will increasingly move from platforms to AI chatbots, as AI companies scramble for high-quality content to train their models.
• International solidarity in enforcing bargaining codes or regulating platforms will strengthen governance efforts. Turning off news in Canada alone may have proved a worthwhile risk for Meta; however it is unlikely that both Google and Meta would have chosen to turn off news globally, at the risk of reputational decline.
• Bargaining codes constitute only one part of a much larger global policy effort needed to stem the crisis in journalism. Potential pathways could include cracking down on monopolistic practices in advertising, addressing surveillance advertising, and supporting journalism through government advertising dollars, funding public media, and encouraging publishers to explore new, innovative news models. 
• The difficulties inherent in market solutions point to an important role for public media. Given that journalism is a public good and the backbone of a healthy democracy, the crisis in journalism (which some have called a systemic market failure) underscores the importance of investing in public media systems and particularly in local news where there are an increasing number of news deserts.

“The Online News Act has had a profound impact on Canada’s news ecosystem,” Taylor Owen, director of the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy, said in a statement.

“On the one hand it has incentivized a reliable, accountable and transparently distributed $100 million-per-year from Google to publishers. On the other [hand], Meta’s response to the Act was to block access to journalism in Canada, leading to the removal of 11 million views of journalism a day in Canada.”

Canada’s experience with Bill C-18 shows how hard it is to regulate Big Tech – even when there is a clear public interest and a law in place, said principal investigator and report lead author Sophia Crabbe-Field.

“The future of journalism cannot be left to the whims of platforms and the surveillance advertising industry,” she said. “We need global cooperation, coordinated policy efforts, a joint response to Big Tech’s public messaging efforts, as well as long-term investment in public interest and local news. And this needs to be a priority for the next government.”

The report’s key findings are:

• Meta and Google adopted contrasting strategies in their approach to C-18, mirroring strategies taken in other jurisdictions. Google participated heavily in lobbying and swaying public opinion, whereas Meta made it clear they were unwilling to negotiate from the start. While both companies used intimidation tactics – notably, threatening to ban news on their platform, or testing news bans on a small percentage of users – Google leveraged that threat to push for amendments, whereas Meta walked away entirely.
• Google opposed the undue preference provision, the broadened scope of publishers that would be included following amendments, and the “uncapped liability” in the exemption criteria. The company also pushed hard for the ability to negotiate with a collective rather than be required to make deals with individual publishers. The company singled out undue preference as a principal concern, arguing that the measure would prevent Google from applying policies that prioritize trusted information over lower quality content. Ultimately, Canada acquiesced to a cap on liability and allowed Google to negotiate with a collective, but undue preference remained in the final bill, with some amendments.
• Many of the debates throughout the legislative process centred on the premise of the bill, and specifically on the value of news to platforms. Discussions primarily centred on who was owed: platforms argued that they were deprioritizing news content and that it was not a substantial part of their revenue, although existing research contravenes this claim. While more research is needed on this front, platforms’ unwillingness to share data on users’ engagement with news content hindered transparent debate. Ultimately, discussions around the monetary value of news content to platforms failed to account for the root of the problem: surveillance advertising, and the dominance and opaqueness of the ad tech system.
• Transparency, accountability, and diversity were key values promoted by the government throughout legislative discussions. Key points discussed by stakeholders throughout the legislative process included ensuring that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) would be an appropriate entity to monitor compliance and provision of funds; that the money would go toward job creation and journalism (rather than paying off debts or CEO pay, for example); and that deals would be made with a diversity of publishers including small publishers, as well as language and ethnic minority publishers.
• Some important amendments included mandating an annual independent audit, setting clear exemption criteria, adding in specific protections for Indigenous and other minority publishers, and amending the eligibility requirements to allow for one of two journalists to be someone at arm’s length from the publication – a major win for smaller news organizations. Canada attempted to build more transparency into its bargaining code, notably by setting up unambiguous thresholds and criteria for exemption, and mandating the CRTC to contract an independent auditor to publish an annual report on the total value of commercial agreements.
• The final regulations essentially converted the law from a bargaining model to a fund model, casting doubt on whether it was ever possible for governments to implement a robust bargaining code under pressure from Big Tech.
• Though not strictly a bargaining code, the final deal signed between Google and the government lays a strong regulatory foundation for the distribution of funds in Canada. A regulated fund is distinctly different from a non-regulated fund, and has clear advantages: the money is distributed in an equal, predictable and transparent way, and there are set rules to guard against platforms picking winners and losers. This regulated fund is stronger than others in the field.

On Oct. 28, 2024 the CRTC announced it was granting Google a five-year exemption from the Online News Act, ordering it to release the $100 million owed to Canadian publishers within 60 days through the Canadian Journalism Collective.

The story of C-18, controversial as it was, could likely be told very differently by the various stakeholders who witnessed firsthand the struggle over this piece of legislation, according to the report.

For critics, C-18 was a cautionary tale of wrong-headed legislation; for proponents, it was proof that it is possible to regulate a Big Tech giant and impose a fair remedy.

For some, the final Google deal of $100 million, though not close to what the news industry ultimately needed, was worth the valiant efforts it took. For others, it was a drop in the bucket and not worth the losses the industry has experienced under the Meta blocking of Canadian news.

“Whether a country should move forward with its own code will ultimately depend on each country’s individual assessment of the risks it is willing to bear and the unique circumstances faced by its news industry,” the report says.

Funding programs, including bargaining codes, tax credits and other forms of government funding have sometimes played an important role in stemming the bleeding in the news media industry, the report notes. “Considering the level of crisis in the industry, every little bit counts.”

However, to secure a stable future long-term, it may be necessary to also start building a new conception of the role of journalism in our society, the report says.

“Unlike Big Tech, which often acts to its detriment, public interest news media is an essential pillar of any vital democracy. With the right policies in place, it should be considered worthy of deeper investment, and shielded from the market failure that is today’s crisis in journalism.” Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy

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Canadian investors arekeenly interested in responsible investing but know little about it and require more guidance from investment advisors

Canadian investors remain keenly interested in responsible investing, which incorporates environmental, social and governance factors into investment decisions, according to a report by the Responsible Investment Association (RIA).

As part of its RIA Research Initiative, the Toronto-based RIA – Canada’s industry association for responsible investment – commissioned Ipsos to collect data from1,001individual investors via an online survey.

While ownership rates declined, most investors are keenly interested in responsible investing (RI). However, despite slight improvements, many investors still lack detailed knowledge about RI.

Three-quarters of investors would like their financial advisor to be required to ask them questions to gauge their interest in responsible investments that are aligned with their values, while just over a quarter indicate that their advisor approached them to discuss RI.

Continuing from previous years, there is a large “RI service gap” which represents a significant opportunity for advisors to address with their clients.

Concerns about “greenwashing” remain a prominent deterrent to RI. Despite updated guidance on disclosures related to ESG considerations, greenwashing concerns rose from the prior survey.

Just over half of investors cite greenwashing concerns which deter them from investing in RI funds. This underscores the importance of educating investors and advisors about RI, the RIA said.

These efforts should also address other barriers to RI adoption, including lack of knowledge about RI funds, disclosure concerns and performance of RI funds.

Continued advances in artificial intelligence have led to widespread integration across many different areas of the economy, including being used for investment decision-making.

This report builds on the prior survey by analyzing investors’ familiarity with AI, as well as their comfort in using it to make investment decisions.

Consistent with prior results, familiarity with AI remains low and most investors are still not comfortable relying exclusively on AI-based research tools to make investment decisions.

This suggests there is a role to play for the adoption of responsible AI frameworks and principles, the RIA said. Most investors agree that this would be an important consideration for their financial advisor or financial institution, as well as the companies in their portfolios.

Key findings of the survey are:

Interest in, and knowledge of RI increased slightly; however ownership of RI declined from 2023.

• Two-thirds (67 percent) of respondents express interest in RI (up from 65 percent). Younger respondents continue to be more interested than older respondents, although interest has increased among those aged 55+ compared to 2023 (58 percent from 49 percent).
• Knowledge of RI improved slightly since 2023, with 66 percent saying they know little or nothing about RI (down from 70 percent), including 19 percent who have never heard of it (down from 21 percent). Those who say they know a fair bit increased to 28 percent (from 24 percent ).
• Ownership of RI has decreased slightly, with 28 percent of respondents saying they currently own responsible investments (down from 33 percent). Younger respondents continue to exhibit much higher ownership (44 percent for 18-34, 26 percent for 35-54 and 17 percent for 55+).
• Considering the impact of world events, 35 percent of respondents say they are more likely to choose RI than one year ago (down from 36 percent), while 49 percent say they are neither more nor less likely (up from 47 percent).

The “RI service gap” remains stubbornly high.

• As part of the know-your-client process, 76 percent of respondents say they would like their financial advisor or institution to be required to ask them specific questions about responsible investment considerations that align with their personal values. However, only 28 percent said their financial services provider had ever posed such questions.
• When financial advisors initiated discussions about responsible investments, only 35 percent of respondents said that their advisor engaged in meaningful discussion about RI options and suggested a wide range of products. An equal number said that their advisor spent very little time discussing RI and suggested only a few RI options.

Investment opportunities, risk reduction and information provided by financial advisors are important drivers for the incorporation of responsible investments in portfolios.

• Most respondents (92 percent) say it is very or somewhat important to consider opportunities in the incorporation of responsible investments in portfolios, along with risk reduction (89 percent). Personal values (79 percent) and positive societal impact (70 percent) were also cited.
• Most respondents (88 percent) say that financial advisors are very or somewhat important sources of information for making investment decisions related to responsible investments. Financial institutions are also important (84 percent), with regulators less so (64 percent). News media were cited less prominently (48 percent).

RI deterrents from an investor perspective.

• Higher than 2023, over half of respondents (54 percent) strongly or somewhat agree that concerns about greenwashing deter them from RI (up from 46 percent), while 23 percent strongly or somewhat disagree (down from 29 percent) and 23 percent are not sure (up from 26 percent).
• Other than greenwashing, the primary barrier to investing in RI funds is a lack of knowledge, indicated by 55 percent of respondents, followed by lack of clarity regarding fund labels and strategies (38 percent) and performance concerns (36 percent).

While there is a lack of familiarity with the application of AI in the investment decision-making process, the adoption of responsible AI frameworks and principles is important.

• A significant majority (64 percent) of respondents are either not very familiar or not familiar at all with the applications of AI in the investment decision-making process.
• Two-thirds (68 percent) say it is very or somewhat important for companies in their investment portfolio to adopt responsible AI frameworks and principles, and most (61 percent) agree that this reduces the risks associated with the use of AI when making investment decisions.
• Most (71 percent) say it is very or somewhat important for their financial advisor or financial institution to adopt responsible AI frameworks and principles, while half (51 percent) say it is as important for them to invest in the continued development of AI and make use of AI in products and services (42 percent).
• Sixty-five percent of respondents say they are either not very or not at all likely to rely exclusively on AI-based research tools to make investment decisions in the future (up from 60 percent).

“Investors remain keenly interested in responsible investment, in part to reflect their personal values, but also to have a positive impact on society,” the report concluded.

The RIA is planning to release two more reports this fall: the Advisor RI Insights Study assesses how responsible investment is approached by Canadian retail investment advisors; and the Canadian Responsible Investment Trends Report is the most comprehensive study monitoring the evolution of RI practices in Canada, drawing on inputs from institutional asset managers and asset owners. Responsible Investment Association

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Canada needs a smarter approach to innovation focused on Canada’s strengths and long-term, strategic objectives

Canada needs a more deliberate, strategic approach to innovation, Andrew Maxwell, Bergeron Chair in Technology Entrepreneurship in the Lassonde School of Engineering at York University, says in an op-ed published by The Conversation.

In today’s knowledge-based economy, as business executive and innovator Jim Balsillie observes, power flows to countries that own digital data and their “value-added applications” (like apps or platforms) and intellectual property, Maxwell said.

Countries like the United States, China and South Korea have embedded innovation into national strategy, investing in sectors like artificial intelligence clean technology and biotech to drive growth and resilience. “Canada, by contrast, has taken a fragmented, reactive approach.”

Canada’s over-reliance on research and development spending and patent counts has failed to translate into commercial success, Maxwell said.

According to the Organisation for Economic Development and Co-operation, Canada ranks among the highest in public R&D investment but among the lowest in innovation outcomes such as productivity growth and technology adoption.

Canada also often conflates research with innovation, Maxwell noted. “While both are vital, innovation is about turning knowledge into use through deployment, adoption, commercialization and scaling.”

Much of today’s transformative innovation, particularly in AI and software, depends on the transfer of tacit knowledge (related to things like user insights, execution experience and expertise in a particular domain) not just codified knowledge (for example, patents, technical drawings and licenses), he said.

Maxwell said governments struggle with innovation because it defies conventional policymaking:

• It requires failure tolerance. Innovation is iterative. But political systems fear failure.
• It demands long-term vision. Results may take years, beyond typical electoral cycles.
• It’s technically complex. Few policymakers have deep expertise in emerging technologies or understand the research and development process.
• It’s often misunderstood. Funding research is not the same as building innovation capacity or developing innovation processes.
• It’s hard to quantify. Quantifying innovation outcomes is complex and challenging to measure, making it difficult to measure return.

As economist and innovation policy expert Mariana Mazzucato argued in The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs. Private Sector Myths, innovation success depends on bold missions, cross-sector collaboration and a willingness to learn from failure. “Canada’s current model lacks these ingredients,” Maxwell said.

To break this cycle, he argued that Canada needs a non-partisan national innovation institution – an agency empowered to advise on strategy, evaluate outcomes and embed technical expertise into policy at the federal, provincial and municipal levels.

Models like the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in the U.S., Vinnova in Sweden and the Israel Innovation Authority show how long-term, high-impact innovation can be achieved with the right institutional scaffolding and appropriate knowledge, Maxwell said.

Canadians have created a number of innovation organizations with national implications, such as the Council of Canadian Academies, the C.D. Howe Institute think tank, Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity (ICP) which closed in 2019.

Yet none have been national organizations that addressed the broad proposed mandate to explicitly advise governments on technology and policy strategy, evaluate innovation outcomes and embed technical expertise into recommendations, Maxwell said.

He said a non-partisan national innovation institution must:

1. Track outcomes more than inputs. Innovation success can be measured by a number of project- or industry-specific outcomes, such as productivity, firm growth and export revenue. The ICP proposed measuring the “prosperity gap,”comparing innovation performance to peer jurisdictions.
2. Support long-term strategic objectives, focusing on Canada’s strengths in critical areas like AI, clean technology, energy, healthcare technology, and leveraging expertise and experience in these and other areas.
3. Embed technology experts alongside healthcare and education experts in the decision-making process. Recruit scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs to anticipate technology and market trends, guiding both implementation and policy development.
4. Differentiate innovation from research. Support both, but recognize the differences and explicitly link innovation to adoption and new use cases.
5. Promote value capture. Ensure Canadian firms and the country benefit from and retain control of key technologies that enable them to scale domestically.
6. Recognize the inherent risks in innovation and the potential for failure. Evaluate and build on impact and learn from failure to enhance innovation processes and improve future outcomes.
7. Align our educational institutions with innovation goals by revising programs, creating more flexible learning options and enhancing entrepreneurshipso that more research outcomes are commercialized.

Canada’s economy is heavily dependent on resource exports and vulnerable to technological disruption, Maxwell noted. Meanwhile, the global AI and clean tech races are accelerating. “Canada is at risk of falling further behind – not just economically, but geopolitically,”
he said.

But Canada also has strengths: world-class researchers, diverse entrepreneurial talent and global partnerships. “What’s missing is a cohesive national strategy to harness this potential. Creating a non-partisan innovation institution would be a powerful first step,” he said.

Said Maxwell: “It’s time to stop celebrating activity and start rewarding outcomes. Let’s build the structures that allow Canadian ingenuity to thrive — not in theory, but in practice.” The Conversation

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Calgary Chamber of Commerce calls for action to address decline in Canadian entrepreneurs, new businesses and competition

Despite a growing population, Canada has 100,000 fewer entrepreneurs today than it did two decades ago – a decline that threatens innovation, competitiveness and long-term prosperity, according to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.

Small businesses – long the backbone of Canada’s economy – are facing mounting pressure, the Chamber said.

Rising costs, barriers to accessing capital and growing regulatory burdens limit small businesses’ ability to invest in the very drivers of productivity: research and development, automation, digital technology and cybersecurity.

At the same time, fewer new businesses are entering the market and significant barriers to entry mean a few players dominate sectors like telecommunications, groceries, and transportation, contributing to a long-term decline in competition.

“We’re seeing a significant decline in competition in Canada, and as competition falls, so does the incentive to innovate, leading to fewer choices, higher costs and stagnant wages for Canadians,” said Ruhee Ismail-Teja, vice-president, policy and external affairs at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.

“The reversal of this trend would be significant: more innovation, higher competitiveness, faster growth, and ultimately, a boost to national productivity,” Ismail-Teja said.

Recent polling commissioned by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce found:

• 74 percent of Canadians want more government investment in technology and innovation – including 51 percent who specifically want to see more support for the digital economy.
• Only 38 percent believe the federal government is doing a good job supporting innovation and technological advancement.

"Canada is strong at research and development, but weak at scaling ideas into global solutions – which is a missed opportunity given Canada has what the world needs," Ismail-Teja said.

“We must have a national strategy that bridges that gap – one that makes it easier for businesses to innovate, commercialize and compete on the world stage.”

To build a more competitive, innovative and resilient economy, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce called for five bold actions:

1. Make it easier to access capital. Unlock low-barrier funding so businesses of all types can invest, grow and compete.
2. Help small businesses scale. Raise the small business tax threshold to give growing companies the runway they need to succeed.
3. Boost innovation and tech adoption. Support digital tools, intellectual property protection and commercialization to turn Canadian ideas into global solutions.
4. Cut red tape. Modernize grants, streamline procurement and launch a business concierge to help navigate federal programs.
5. Create space for new players. Re-examine competition rules to drive innovation, lower costs, and increase choice for Canadians.

In February, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce released a national plan with 82 policy recommendations, to address roadblocks to Canada’s economic growth and productivity and protect Canadian jobs, families and quality of life. Calgary Chamber of Commerce

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Canadians waste a “staggering” amount of food – waste that could be prevented

Canadians waste a “staggering” amount of food, with food waste constituting at least 35 percent of a typical household’s trash, according to a study by Western University’s Ivey Centre for Building Sustainable Value at the Ivey School of Business and the university’s Human Environments Analysis Laboratory.

Much of this waste is preventable, aside from scraps like bones, shells and peels, said the study by Paul van der Werf, professor at the Ivey Centre.

This waste results in considerable greenhouse gas emissions, notably methane, a potent contributor to climate change.

The average household in London, Ont., throws away $600 worth of avoidable food annually, according to a previous study.

A separate Second Harvest report estimated even higher – more than $1,800 annually.

Van der Werf’s study of 1,263 London, Ont. households showed they wasted six portions of edible food weekly, even more with children present.

The most frequently wasted items were fruits and vegetables, followed by bread and baked goods and dried goods. Meat and fish are often thrown away based on “best before” dates.

“There is a fundamental misunderstanding of what ‘best before’ labels mean,” van der Werf said.

“It has more to do with when retailers want to sell their food by and when you need to pay a bit more attention to food spoilage. As I like to say, ‘best before’ does not mean ‘worst after.’”

At the same time, more Canadians are food insecure. Despite Canada being one of the world’s largest food producers, 6.8 million people, including 1.8 million children, lack safe and nutritious food.

Van der Werf and his team identified cost savings as the primary motivator for the London households. Leveraging this insight, they devised an intervention that highlighted the economic costs of food waste and offered five simple tasks to stop it:

• Plan meals ahead of time.
• Make a grocery list – and stick to it.
• Store food properly.
• Prepare the right amount of food.
• Use leftovers.

The success of this approach hinges on aligning family motivations toward improved household food management and waste reduction, the study said. “This is particularly vital in larger households, which generally produce more food waste and where not all family members might find common ground on the topic.”

For lasting success, van der Werf recommended focusing on what he calls “waste champions” – the household members responsible for managing food and waste.

By emphasizing their key financial motivation and equipping these champions with clear messages, actionable steps and practical tools, households can dramatically trim down their food waste.

Across the food supply chain, from farm to table, up to 50 percent of food destined for consumption is wasted, according to the report. In Canada alone, 8 million tonnes of food are wasted annually – equivalent to the weight of 40,000 blue whales.

Food waste costs Canada between $10 billion and $25 billion annually, according to van der Werf’s study.

“At the end of the day, if municipalities do not need to collect waste, then taxpayers do not need to pay for its management,” van der Werf said.

Food waste in landfills has a high greenhouse gas impact. As many Canadian municipalities have declared climate emergencies, “the act of simply reducing food waste collection is a relatively easy way to address this emergency in a meaningful way,” he said.

Van der Werf also sees a crucial role for retailers to educate consumers about food quality, best before dates and meal planning. They can also actively reduce their own waste through donations and discounts on near-expired items – a strategy that can also help mitigate food insecurity.

“Food wasting has significant financial, societal, and environmental consequences,” his study said.

“Though the issue is complex, change can be affected at multiple levels of society – with individual households having an important role to play.”

The study concluded that if food policy makers, producers, retailers and consumers all worked together to reduce the amount of food wasted, societies would benefit from reductions in GHG emissions, lower levels of food insecurity and greater financial savings. Western University

THE GRAPEVINE – News about people, institutions and communities

The Toronto-based Vector Institute appointed Glenda Crisp as president and CEO effective April 21, 2025. Crisp is a seasoned data and technology leader with 35 years of experience in enterprise data strategy, advanced analytics and technology leadership, primarily in the financial services industry. Most recently, she was head of data and analytics at Thomson Reuters. Crisp replaces Tony Gaffney, who left the role in March two years into a five-year term but remains as special advisor to the chair of the board. Vector Institute

Toronto-based online car retailer Clutch hired Anshul Ruparell as its new chief financial officer. Ruparell is co-founder and former CEO of Toronto proptech startup Properly. In a LinkedIn post announcing the appointment, Clutch CEO Dan Park said Ruparell has been “behind the scenes” helping to build the auto-selling company for the past five years, first as a friend and advisor before joining its board of directors a year ago in April 2024. BetaKit

Canadian Business (CB) magazine announced the 2025 CB Innovation Awards, the fourth annual edition of the awards. Produced in partnership with CB’s sister publication, Maclean’s, the 2025 awards honour 20 companies trying to solve the climate crisis, whether that means using quantum chemistry and sunlight to purify water (Xatoms), capturing carbon emissions from the atmosphere (Deep Sky), or recycling rare-earth elements (Geomega). In addition to CB recognition, the companies have earned tens of millions of dollars in funding, investment and revenue. Canadian Business

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) received $2 million from Canada Life and the Power Corporation of Canada towards a $40-million capital campaign to build a permanent home for the NCTR at the University of Manitoba. This new space will accommodate the centre’s growing work and guide Canada on its path to truth and reconciliation. Construction of the new facility will begin in 2026 and is scheduled to open in 2029. Established in 2015, the NCTR continues the work started by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, serving as the home to the statements, documents and historic materials of residential school survivors, families and communities. University of Manitoba

Concordia University and the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) announced new micro-programs focused on innovation. Concordia’s Microprogram in Innovation Mindset is a flexible, nine-credit undergraduate program. According to Concordia Innovation Lab director Ann-Louise Davidson, the program is designed for “people who want to enhance their ability to think critically, collaborate, effectively, and turn ideas into Impact.” A new UQAM microprogram is focused on research and development of educational innovations. The program aims to develop an innovative approach based on an observation or problem experienced in the field, and then to test it. The program, which will be offered this fall, is designed for postsecondary teachers, educational advisors, workplace trainers and other educators. Concordia, UQAM

The College of the North Atlantic will receive $650,000 from the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to develop a virtual research and training facility using digital twin technology. The facility, which will be developed in partnership with technology company GRi Simulations, will be tailored to the mining industry and draw on data from key mine sites. Over the next two years, GRi Simulations will use data obtained by the college’s reality capture team to develop software and build a platform that reflects key real-world mining assets. A physical space at the college will be set up for research on how to remotely operate machinery, employing the software and simulators developed by GRi Simulations. Real-time accessibility will be enabled to evaluate operations and equipment, thereby reducing risk, emissions and costs across the spectrum of mineral production. Govt. of Newfoundland and Labrador

The University of Toronto (U of T) and chemical company BASF Canada signed a master research agreement (MRA) focused on streamlining innovation projects and increasing collaboration between BASF and Canadian researchers. Through this agreement – BASF’s first MRA with a Canadian university – BASF will gain access to U of T’s research and innovations, benefit from significant cost savings through government matching funds and tax incentives, and increase its visibility in Canada’s research community. Since signing the agreement, BASF and the U of T have launched five projects demonstrating the partners' commitment to advancing sustainability and innovation in agriculture and chemistry. These include high-level research on lasso peptide and fungicide synergies for seed treatments, active volatility reduction technology, polysaccharide gel systems for active ingredient delivery, data-driven pesticide delivery systems, and machine learning for solubility prediction. Globe Newswire

Four Ontario unions issued a joint release calling on the Government of Ontario to improve funding for public colleges as a buffer to U.S. tariff fallout. In the release, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), Canadian Federation of Students – Ontario, Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations, and Ontario Federation of Labour draw attention to the economic and social challenges that may be ahead depending on how Ontario supports the college system. Union leaders said supporting college training should be part of the province’s tariff response strategy. JP Hornick, president of OPSEU, said the college system has the potential to act as a “lifeboat that keeps us afloat” through the U.S. tariff fallout if they are sufficiently funded. As of April 2025, 21 out of 24 public colleges have announced some combination of program closures, intake suspensions and job losses. OPSEU

Selkirk College in Castlegar, B.C. will close its learning centres in Kaslo and Nakusp this year to address ongoing financial challenges. In a statement, Selkirk said that this decision was informed by enrolment trends and program delivery costs. Selkirk said recent federal restrictions on international student recruitment have led to a loss of $9 million in revenue for the 2025/26 fiscal year. The Kaslo Learning Centre will close on June 30, 2025. The Nakusp Learning Centre will close on December 31, 2025, to accommodate some continuing education programming that has already been planned. Selkirk College

Holland College in Charlottetown, P.E.I., is implementing program suspensions and layoffs to mitigate the impacts of this year’s drop in international students. In a statement, Holland College said that it is facing an 83-percent decrease in international student enrolment, which CBC reported will result in an estimated annual loss of $7 million in tuition and fees. The college is suspending eight programs and downsizing three others; this change will affect 35 staff members. Looking forward, Holland College said it will discuss its funding model with the provincial government and consider other ways that it can save money, including by considering utilities expenses, vendor contracts and administrative processes. Holland College

Cambrian College’s administration is recommending that the college in Sudbury, Ont. suspend the intakes for “several programs” starting this September. In a statement, the college said that most of the programs in question rely heavily on international student enrolment, are no longer eligible for post-graduate work permits, and/or do not have sufficient domestic enrolment to justify a new intake. President Neil Shyminsky, president of Ontario Public Service Employees Union Local 655, said the faculty union was assured that the college “will make efforts to maintain as many positions as possible.” However, Shyminsky added that the scale of recent announcements across Ontario has left many faculty members concerned. Subury.com

Keyano College in Fort McMurray, Alta., is adjusting its workforce with layoffs, position mergers, restructuring and buyouts and early retirement packages ahead of approving its budget for the next financial year, Fort McMurray Today reported. Former staff said that they learned at a January meeting that between 70 and 90 jobs could be removed by the end of June. Canadian Union of Public Employees spokesperson Lou Arab said 12 unionized jobs are being cut. Keyano spokesperson Jennifer Moore said that the college could not comment on “unsubstantiated, anonymous information regarding potential staffing changes” but that “every decision related to our staffing is being made with the utmost care.” Fort McMurray Today also reports that Jay Notay is no longer listed as Keyano’s president and CEO on the college’s website. Sandra Efu, the college’s vice-president of academics and student experiences, will remain the interim president of Keyano. Fort McMurray Today

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