GOVERNMENT FUNDING

 The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) invested $411 million in 438 research projects in its Fall 2024 Project Grant competition. The CIHR increased the amount of funding awarded in the competition from the previous $325 million, thanks to federal Budget 2024 which raised the total amount of funding. The 438 projects funded are 98 more projects than what was initially planned for this round of the competition. Of a total of 453 grants (some projects received more than one grant), 442 projects were awarded to individually nominated principal investigators, 116 were presented to early-career researchers and 12 were awarded for Indigenous health research projects. These grants will help researchers across the country foster new ideas to improve prosperity, health and wellbeing. CIHR

Global Affairs Canada announced during International Development Week more than $87 million in new development assistance to help empower and equip marginalized people whose livelihoods, supply chains and communities are greatly impacted by climate change. This funding will support the following initiatives implemented by Canadian  organizations and Canadian chapters of international organizations:

• Alinea International, Enhancing Community Climate Options for Adaptation and Resilience in Mongolia.
• Calgary Zoo Foundation (operating as the Wilder Institute), Enhanced Sustainability of Biodiversity and Livelihoods in Ghana.
• Cowater International, Socio-economic Empowerment of Women in Oasis and Argan Grove Areas in Morocco.
• Desjardins International Development, including:

  • Economic Empowerment of Women Cooperative Members in Morocco.
  • Strengthening Agropastoral Women’s Adaptation to Climate Change in Chad.
  • Reduced Vulnerability to Climate Change and Food Security for Women in the Cassava Sector in Côte d’Ivoire.

• Hope Story, The Makueni Women’s Empowerment Project in Kenya.
• International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Community-Based Conservation of Coastal-Marine Biodiversity in Honduras.
• Salasan Consulting Inc. with the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources, Climate Leadership and Action for Indigenous Women in Nepal.
• Société de Coopération Pour le Développement International [international development cooperation company], SOCODEVI, STRONG’HER (Support to Women-Led Agricultural Businesses in Climate Change Adaptation in Ethiopia).
• World Vision Canada, Access Sri Lanka (enhancing adaptation to climate change in agri-food systems in Sri Lanka’s Dry Zone). Global Affairs Canada

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA), following an open competitive procurements process, awarded a contract valued at $72 million to exactEarth Ltd., a subsidiary of Cambridge, Ont.-based Spire Global Canada, to design Canada's WildFireSat constellation of satellites. The contract has been since assigned to Spire Global Canada following a corporate acquisition. WildFireSat will consist of seven microsatellites equipped with advanced infrared sensors for capturing thermal images to monitor active wildfires across Canada on a daily basis. This mission will provide essential data to fire managers and other responsible authorities. This data will enable them to track fire behaviour, identify high-risk wildfires and make informed decisions to better protect Canadians, especially those in remote and northern communities. WildFireSat data also will be used in air quality forecasts, which will give Canadians information to help protect themselves from wildfire smoke. The amount of forest burned by wildfire is projected to double in the coming decades due to changing climate, which is causing longer wildfire seasons, increased droughts and more extreme weather conditions. WildFireSat is expected to save the Canadian economy between $1 billion and $5 billion over its first five years of operations. CSA

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) announced up to $43.5 million in federal investments under two critical mineral funding programs that will help to advance critical minerals research and infrastructure developments in Quebec. The funding includes up to $39.8 million in conditionally approved investments, pending final due diligence, under the Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund for six energy and transportation infrastructure projects to support critical minerals development: 

• Up to $20 million for Critical Elements Lithium Corporation to construct a new main electrical station and relocate 4.2 kilometres of transmission line to service its Rose Lithium-Tantalum Mining Project in Eeyou Istchee James Bay, Quebec.
• Up to $1.1 million for Dumont Nickel to conduct a feasibility study to connect its nickel and cobalt project to the Hydro-Québec grid via an eight-kilometre transmission line.
• Up to $1.3 million for Sayona Nord Inc. to advance an approximately 55-kilometre transmission line that will provide electricity grid connection for their Moblan lithium project located in Eeyou Istchee James Bay, Quebec.
• Up to $13.5 million for Eskan Company, an Indigenous-owned company, to undertake a feasibility study to extend the Renard Mine access road by 87 kilometres toward lithium-based minerals projects located in Eeyou Istchee James Bay, Quebec.
• Up to $1.3 million for Cbay Minerals Inc. to complete a feasibility study and environmental and social impact assessment to support the development of two-lane gravel roads and 25-kilovolt electrical powerlines connecting the Corner Bay and Devlin deposits close to the town of Chibougamau in Eeyou Istchee James Bay, Quebec,
• Up to $2.6 million for Commerce Resources to study the feasibility of a road that would connect the Ashram rare earths and fluorspar projects. This infrastructure will support the increase of the production of rare earth elements and fluorspar from the Ashram Deposit in the Nunavik region of northern Quebec.

Under the Critical Minerals Research, Development and Demonstration program, the federal government is also investing $3.7 million in Quebec-based COALIA to pilot the extraction and purification of lithium from spodumene ore using nitric acid, enabling the recovery of lithium and byproducts to be recycled as nitrogen fertilizers, minimizing waste material production. This will demonstrate and validate the economics and efficiency of a novel lithium process. This new funding is a direct result of enhanced collaboration between the Government of Canada and the Province of Quebec through the new Quebec-Canada Collaboration Table on Energy and Resources. NRCan

Transport Canada announced a federal investment of over $43 million to support the operations and maintenance of the Hudson Bay Railway owned by Arctic Gateway Group (AGG). AGG is a partnership of 29 First Nations and 12 isolated communities served by the Hudson Bay Railway in northern Manitoba. This investment, to be delivered under Transport Canada’s Remote Passenger Rail Program, will ensure safe year-round surface transportation to 33,000 residents in remote northern and Indigenous communities in northern Manitoba and help ensure economic growth in the region, Ottawa said. Since 2018, Canada has invested $277 million in support of the restoration, operation and maintenance of the Hudson Bay Railway and AGG assets. Transport Canada

Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED) announced more than $6.2 million in combined federal and Quebec government investments to support the launch of a new plant for Chemtec Epoxy Coatings in Laval. Through this support, the business specializing in the design and manufacture of epoxy resin floor coverings has been able to expand its facilities, acquire cutting-edge equipment and automate part of its production. The aim of this project, valued at $7.7 million, is to increase production and foster the growth and development of new products. The Government of Québec’s support consists of a loan of $3.08 million granted under the ESSOR program administered by Investissement Québec, and a loan of $2.2 million from Investissement Québec’s capital funds. CED

Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan) announced $6 million for adMare BioInnovations to support the establishment of a new life sciences innovation centre in Vancouver. This investment will contribute to the construction of the 30,000-square-foot facility, including installation of plumbing and electrical systems, HVAC upgrades and the purchase of laboratory equipment. The centre, expected to open in 2026, will help meet the critical demand for wet lab space in Vancouver. Many life sciences companies get their start at research centres and universities where they have access to a wet lab. However, they eventually need access to their own labs to scale up. Once complete, the new centre will provide access to turnkey wet lab and office space for up to 10 life sciences companies at a time, allowing them to grow and develop life-saving therapies. These companies will also benefit from adMare’s talent development programs which foster innovation and growth in B.C.’s life sciences ecosystem. PacifiCan

DIGITAL, the federally funded, B.C.-based global innovation cluster for digital technologies, invested $6.1 million in a genomics project aligned with the Canadian Genomics Strategy. Led by Toronto-based DNAstack with support from industry partners, the $17.5-million project is developing an artificial intelligence-powered platform that aims to share and analyze omics and health data across the world. Project consortium partners include Autism Speaks, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), PacBio and Valence. The Canadian Platform for AI in Health is meant to deliver better health outcomes for Canadians by making it easier to analyze exponentially growing volumes of distributed health data, DIGITAL said. DIGITAL

The Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) announced a federal investment of up to $6 million for the Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation towards its Phase III front-end engineering and design work to construct a waterpower project near Iqaluit. This includes gathering field data, navigating regulatory processes, conducting engineering and design work, developing financial models and maintaining public engagement. This investment builds on $7 million provided by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada in 2021. The completed Iqaluit Nukkiksautiit Project would feature a 15-megawatt to 30- megawatt traditional waterpower project located about 60 kilometres northeast of the City of Iqaluit. CanNor

The National Research Council of Canada-Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC- IRAP) and Innovate BC are investing a combined total of $1.5 million in funding for 12 companies in British Columbia that are piloting cleantech projects that will support the development of a greener B.C. and foster growth in the province's cleantech sector. This funding is provided through the BC Fast Pilot program, a joint initiative between NRC-IRAP and Innovate BC. The program helps small and medium-sized businesses design, build and operate a pilot plant or small demonstration of their technology in real-world conditions. The program enables B.C. technology companies to show the impact of their product, measure the value of their solution and encourage customer adoption. For customers, the program offers a way to minimize some of the risk that traditional industries encounter when adopting new technologies. NRC-IRAP

The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) announced a repayable contribution of $1 million for St. John’s, Nfld.-based Atlas Salt Inc. to support its Mine Design & Optimization Initiative, a key component of the Great Atlantic Salt Project. This initiative will explore the use of low-emission battery-electric vehicles, optimize mine design for efficiency, and conduct geotechnical and hydrological studies to support future construction and help create new economic opportunities for the region. The project, located within the Town of St. George’s, is scheduled to begin construction this year with production expected to start in 2029. The project includes the adoption of advanced automation and digitalization technologies, advanced electrical mining solutions, and establishing sustainable salt production for domestic and export markets. ACOA

The Government of Quebec’s PROMPT organization, which invests in digital technologies, provided a $915,689 grant over four years to the National Integrated Centre for Smart Manufacturing (CNIMI) led by Cégep Drummondville and the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. This financial support will help deliver CNIMI’s project, Facilitating the Digital Transition of Manufacturing SMEs. This project consists of improving SMEs' understanding of their needs, developing experimental designs and taking advantage of artificial intelligence tools to collect business data. To support this approach, four new resources specializing in data science and AI will put their talents at the service of SMEs in order to implement sustainable changes. The funding also will ensure the continuity of the centre's research activities and contribute to its growth. CNIMI

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is bracing for the Donald Trump administration to cut the agency’s budget by up to 66 percent. In recent years, the NSF has received an annual budget of approximately $9 billion – about 0.1 percent of federal spending. Susan Marguilies, the agency's assistant director for engineering, told employees to expect between a quarter and a half of its staff to be laid off within the coming months, E&E News reported. Such a massive cut is not out of line with a proposal made by Russ Vought for the fiscal year 2023 budget as part of his Center for Renewing America. Vought is expected to become the White House budget director in the coming days. Three years ago, Vought proposed cutting the NSF’s budget to $3.9 billion. "This kind of cut would kill American science and boost China and other nations into global science leadership positions," Neal Lane, who led the NSF in the 1990s during Bill Clinton's presidency, told Ars Technica. Ars Technica

RESEARCH, TECH NEWS & COLLABORATION    

The University of Saskatchewan’s (USask) Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) received $24 million from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to lead pandemic preparedness research. VIDO will use this funding to continue developing its pan-sarbecovirus vaccine, a broadly protective vaccine designed to protect against different types of coronaviruses. If successful, the candidate vaccine will be tested in a Phase I clinical trial in people. Unlike traditional vaccines, broadly protective vaccines are designed to provide immunity against many related viruses or pathogens, including future variants that may not yet exist. VIDO and CEPI also will ensure that the project results are published in an open access format to benefit the global scientific community. The development of this vaccine will help advance the 100 Days Mission, a goal spearheaded by CEPI and embraced by Canada and other G7 as well as G20 nations, to create new vaccines in as little as 100 days from viral identification to contain new viruses with epidemic and pandemic potential in their tracks. USask

The University of Saskatchewan (USask) received two major donations to support agricultural research and training. A $15-million gift from Nutrien, the world’s largest potash producer, will be used for a variety of initiatives, including creating the Nutrien Centre for Sustainable and Digital Agriculture, housed in the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, and establishing a fund to support student scholarships for ag-bio and engineering students, and for Indigenous and community engagement. USask will use a separate $6.5-million gift from the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission to create a new chair in applied genomics and pre-breeding. The research chair will develop cutting-edge technologies and strategies to assess genetic diversity in new crop varieties, while also providing mentorship and supervision to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. USask (Nutrien), USask (Sask Wheat)

The Lawson Research Institute of St. Joseph’s Health Care London received a total of $7.2 million from Lawson and the Ontario Research Fund, along with private sector partners and donors through the St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation. The funding will be used to support research on advancing detection and treatment of Alzheimer's disease and to personalize cancer care. Lawson scientists will partner with researchers at London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute, McMaster University, University Health Network and BC Cancer on ground-breaking studies focused on molecular imaging and theranostics (a personalized approach to cancer treatment that combines imaging and therapy) as a potential game-changer in detecting and treating neurodegeneration and cancer, particularly prostate, brain and breast cancer. St. Joseph’s Health Care London 

Colorado-based Interop Labs announced a US$1 million donation to support the creation of an AI and blockchain research laboratory at the David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo (UWaterloo). The laboratory will be named the GENESIS Lab, standing for Generative AI for Secure, Interconnected Systems. The open-source research lab will be focused on scalable, secure, multi-tenant, heterogeneous distributed systems with applications in AI and blockchain technology. The GENESIS Lab will offer 12 PhD fellowships to exceptional students and six undergraduate fellowships administered via Waterloo Blockchain, a student-run organization. UWaterloo

Canadian scientists say the uncertainty surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump's pause on federal health spending could stall research on new drugs, vaccines and treatments for cancer, dementia and more – including at labs in Canada. The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) powers some of the best scientists around the world. Most of its US$47-billion budget last year funded research that the agency deemed could "enhance health, lengthen life [and] reduce illness and disability." That includes work being done by Canadian researchers, who received over US$40 million last year. But on January 21, the Trump administration imposed a communication freeze until February 1 for federal health officials. At the NIH, that meant key meetings that decide which scientific research to fund were cancelled, with no word on when they would be rescheduled. Then, in a separate move, the Trump administration also froze hundreds of billions of dollars in federal grants, loans and aid, before reversing course. "It is really putting a freeze on science," and the chill is being felt throughout the science community, said Jim Woodgett, a cancer researcher at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute at Toronto's Sinai Health and the Terry Fox Research Institute. According to a story by STAT, Attorneys general representing 22 states sued the Trump administration on February 10, asking a federal judge to temporarily block a major policy change by the NIH that would cap at 15 percent indirect research costs, or overhead to universities, medical centers and other grant recipients. A federal judge in Boston, Angel Kelley, issued a temporary order halting the controversial policy within those 22 states. The pause is to remain until otherwise ordered by the court. A hearing was set for February 21. CBC News

Universities Canada has joined the Canada-U.S. Trade Council, a new collaborative initiative bringing together Canadian industry, labour groups, stakeholders and advisors to tackle challenges related to the Canada-U.S. trade relationship. The council will prioritize sharing information and maintaining ongoing conversations on topics such as approaches to tariff discussions. “Tariffs would have profound effects on Canadian universities – which are critical economic anchors for their communities and essential contributors to our future workforce,” Gabriel Miller, president and CEO of Universities Canada, said in a statement. The Canada-U.S. Trade Council includes participants from a variety of sectors (steel, aluminum, forest products, oil and gas, agri-food, dairy, chemistry and banking), as well as broader industry groups such as the Business Council of Canada, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters and leading labour organizations. Universities Canada

The Government of British Columbia, in response to threatened tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump, is assessing private sector projects worth $20 billion with the goal of getting them approved as quickly as possible and issuing their permits faster. Premier David Eby’s office has an initial list of projects that have a business case developed and are now waiting for approval and permits, including BC Hydro’s $3-billion North Coast Transmission Line project. The list also includes the Cedar LNG project, jointly owned by the Haisla Nation and Pembina Pipeline Corp., that is being built near Kitimat, B.C. It would eventually export some 3.3 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas to Asia. B.C.’s preliminary assessment of a 25-percent tariff by the U.S. showed the province could see a cumulative loss of $69 billion in economic activity between 2025 and 2028, along with the loss of more than 120,000 jobs. Estimates also indicated 25-percent tariffs on Canadian mineral exports alone will cost American companies over US$11 billion and “have a profound effect on the U.S. defense industry, energy production and manufacturing.” Govt. of B.C.

Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) announced a new program to encourage Quebec companies to launch projects that increase productivity or to strategically pivot to new markets, in light of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs. The program is structured around CDPQ’s three pillars of action for Québec:

• Capital:Access to flexible financing that complements the solutions offered by banks and financial markets to encourage companies to undertake projects aimed at increasing productivity. The financing, which is supplemental to CDPQ’s existing programs, will allow qualifying companies to carry out and finance their investment projects without increasing debt or immediately diluting their capital. 
• Expertise: Support for technological transformation – automation, robotics, business process digitalization and AI applications – in partnership with Vooban, a Quebec leader in applied AI where CDPQ is a shareholder. CDPQ will provide financial support to the most promising projects based on a call for projects to be launched in the coming weeks.
• Network: Increased support for all companies looking to explore new markets to diversify their client base, suppliers or operations. CDPQ teams will work to open doors for companies and support them with its roster of 5,000 portfolio companies and business partners in 70 countries. CDPQ

The Government of Québec said it would consider approving new oil and natural gas pipelines that the province had previously opposed, in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Canadian energy. The Quebec government also said it would be open to reconsidering a liquefied natural gas project in the Saguenay region to transport Alberta-produced natural gas overseas, as a way to reduce Canada’s reliance on the U.S. as an export market. The proposed project included a 780-kilometre natural gas pipeline from northern Ontario to Saguenay and a terminal to liquefy the gas in Saguenay and load it onto tankers. The Quebec government refused to authorize GNL Québec Inc.’s proposed liquefaction facility and export terminal in 2021 and Ottawa followed suit in 2022, with both governments citing environmental and other concerns. Charles-Édouard Têtu, climate policy analyst at the environmental group Équiterre, told CBC News that Quebec should prioritize clean energy projects rather than fossil fuels. The Canadian Press

Potential U.S. tariffs could have a profound impact on Canada’s aerospace industry, a sector already grappling with intense international competition and market volatility, according to an article by Tim Anderson in Wings. Canada’s aerospace industry contributes $28.9 billion to Canada’s GDP and supports 218,000 jobs in the country. Exports to the U.S. of aerospace production and parts total $12.8 billion, with 67 percent originating from Canada. “This reliance on the U.S. market exposes Canadian aerospace companies to significant risk, particularly when a proposed 25-percent tariff would add an estimated $3.2 billion in extra costs.” Even a temporary tariff spike could destabilize operations and dampen growth prospects for the industry. Canadian aerospace manufacturing, concentrated in Quebec and Ontario, with Quebec accounting for roughly $8.8 billion and Ontario for $3.2 billion of exports, faces a double-edged sword. On one side, these provinces have built a reputation for excellence in high-value parts and sophisticated aerospace systems. On the other side, they are now exposed to market shocks that could lead to increased production costs, reduced competitiveness and potential job losses if companies are forced to either absorb the higher expenses or pass them onto buyers in a fiercely competitive international market. “The aerospace sector requires stable and predictable trade relations to continue thriving, and even a brief period of tariff uncertainty can result in significant challenges for the industry.” Wings

U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25-percent tariff, effective March 4, on exports of steel and aluminum from Canada will impact the American defence, manufacturing, aerospace and energy industries, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CCOC) said. “The only thing that’s ‘America First’ about these self-defeating tariffs is who pays first,” Candace Laing, president and CEO of the CCOC, said in a statement. “Moving forward with 25-percent tariffs on steel and aluminum is wrong on many levels, and we’ve already seen how this plays out – analysis by experts in the United States shows that the steel and aluminum tariffs imposed in the first Trump administration have raised costs for American manufacturers and prices for consumers.” Instead, by removing tariffs from these industries, the U.S. could finally benefit from the expected job growth and GDP increase that would come with fewer trade barriers, Laing said. Trump’s decision to include downstream finished products will have broad-reaching price impacts on things like extrusions and slabs that are turned into value-added products needed in everything from automobiles to window frames and skyscrapers. CCOC

Public Safety Canada released Canada’s Sensitive Technology List (STL), a tool to inform policies and initiatives and to bolster the country’s national security by safeguarding Canadian innovation and development of sensitive technologies. The STL lists technologies that are emerging or have novel uses and that Canada seeks to protect from unwanted transfer to foreign threat actors to the detriment of its own national security and defence. The list adds more fields of study in which the government won’t fund collaboration with foreign universities and research facilities of concern. The technologies list has 11 broad categories, such as advanced materials and manufacturing, aerospace, space and satellite technology, and life science technology, but also includes specific examples like nanomaterials that can repair themselves as well as gene editing. The STL will be used by the federal government to inform work on foreign investment reviews and export controls among other activities. The list also provides guidance to Canadians on technology areas the government considers sensitive to national security and defence. Public Safety Canada led development of the STL, drawing on the scientific expertise of 22 federal departments and agencies including the Office of the Chief Science Advisor, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, and the security, intelligence and national defence community. The STL is intended to be iterative and evergreen, with regular updates based on input from experts. Public Safety Canada

A group of founders, entrepreneurs and business leaders from across Canada’s technology ecosystem launched Build Canada, a public platform to share action-focused policy ideas. The platform will issue weekly policy proposals that include a summary of the issue at stake and real-world policy solutions. Each idea will touch upon the country’s most consequential economic questions: how to sell more Canadian products, services and resources globally; what kind of reforms are needed to boost productivity, competitiveness, innovation and investment; and how to develop a culture that “celebrates freedom and ambition.” Build Canada backers include Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke, Borrowell CEO Andrew Graham, Wealthsimple CEO Michael Katchen, KOHO Financial founder and CEO Daniel Eberhard, Cohere co-founder and chief technology officer Ivan Zhang, SRTX CEO Katherine Homuth, and League CEO Michael Serbinis. Five policy memos have been released to-date. One of the first memos, written by Martin Basiri, the founder and CEO of Passage, a software matching startup that links immigrants and international students to financing access, advocates for a “bold overhaul” of Canada’s immigration strategy that “changes how we select newcomers.” Proposed reforms include: capping humanitarian immigration at five percent of Canada’s total immigration; creating a fast-track immigration stream for graduates of the world’s top 50 universities and Masters and PhD STEM and healthcare graduates of Canada’s top 10 universities; and expanding the startup visa program to grant immediate residency for entrepreneurs. Financial Post

Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management’s Data4, a Paris, France-based subsidiary, announced an investment of up to €15 billion (about Cdn$26.6 billion) on AI data centres in France by 2030. Data4 has existing plans to build over 500 megawatts of data centre capacity across several regions in France, with an ambition to triple that by 2030. Brookfield itself plans an additional €5 billion across associated AI infrastructure such as data transfer, chip storage and energy generation. Brookfield is one of the world’s largest investors in the AI value chain, with more than €150 billion (Cdn$266 million) invested across digital infrastructure, renewable power and semiconductor manufacturing worldwide. Last year, Brookfield and Microsoft announced the largest-ever renewable power supply deal, underpinning more than €10 billion of investment to supply Microsoft’s business activities in Europe and North America. In 2022, Brookfield and Intel entered into a $30 billion partnership for the development of Intel’s landmark semiconductor foundry in Arizona. Brookfield

Brampton, Ont.-based MDA Space has signed a contract with Louisiana-based Globalstar Inc. to be the prime contractor for the satellite operator’s next generation of low-Earth orbit (LEO) constellation, with a total contract value of about $11 billion. As part of the contract for the full LEO constellation, MDA Space will manufacture more than 50 MDA AURORA^TM software-defined digital satellites for Globalstar. A contract value of approximately $750 million will be added to MDA’s backlog in the first quarter of fiscal 2025, MDA Space said. This same Aurora model of cheaper software-defined satellites also will be used by Telesat for its Lightspeed constellation. MDA Space

The number of video game companies operating in Canada dropped nine percent in the wake of a pandemic-fuelled gaming boom, most of them smaller independent shops with fewer than 25 employees, according to an economic impact report of the industry. The report, Canada's Video Game Industry: Powering the Future of Play, commissioned by the Entertainment Software Association of Canada, says 821 video game companies operated in 2023-24, which is 78 fewer than the peak in 2020-21. Association president Paul Fogolin told The Globe and Mail that a post-pandemic dip was expected, since gameplay surged during COVID-19 lockdowns, prompting game studios and developers to scale up. Canada’s video game industry contributed $5.1 billion to Canada’s GDP and employed just over 34,000 people, according to the study by Nordicity. Fogolin said the latest numbers show the Canadian industry “remains strong and stable.” That’s despite a 3.5-percent decline in jobs since 2021, when there were the equivalent of 35,260 full-time positions, including programmers, writers and artists. The report says there were 1,250 fewer full-time jobs in 2023-24, with work largely based in B.C., Ontario and Quebec. At the same time, the report says the ratio of full-time work increased – to 86 percent from 81 percent. In addition, the average salary increased 21 per cent to $102,000 per year. While 76 percent of survey respondent companies were Canadian-owned, foreign companies employed 88 percent of the work force. Eighty-eight percent of the Canadian industry’s revenues come from exports. Entertainment and Software Association of Canada

See also: Exploring the “secret sauce” in Montreal’s recipe for an innovative gaming industry

BMO announced it joined the IBM Quantum Network, the first Canadian bank to do so. BMO gains access to IBM's advanced quantum infrastructure, enabling the bank to develop and deploy quantum-powered solutions across its operations. BMO said the investment in advanced capabilities is at the core of its Digital First strategy to deliver progress and outcomes at scale by merging human expertise with cutting- edge technology. Utilization of the IBM Quantum Network will include accelerating the development of new approaches to help clients prosper and support business growth, optimizing investment portfolio strategies, and uncovering deep insights into risk management solutions, BMO said. The IBM Quantum Network supports businesses, universities, laboratories and industry leaders, who gain access to learning resources, experts and events to accelerate research and foster collaboration. BMO

Burnaby, B.C.-based Photonic Inc. has introduced a new, low-overhead family of Quantum Low-Density Parity Check (QLDPC) codes that can efficiently perform both quantum computation and error correction, using materially fewer quantum bits (qubits) than traditional surface code approaches. This milestone work, published in arXiv, will accelerate the timeline to useful quantum computing, Photonic said. “Unlocking the quantum logic of high-performance QLDPC codes has been the holy grail of quantum error correction R&D for decades and one of the obstacles to cost-effective quantum computing at scale,” said Stephanie Simmons, chief quantum officer at Photonic. “We’re announcing that we have cracked these codes. We’re launching fast and lean QLDPC codes, called SHYPS codes, that can run all quantum algorithms using up to 20x fewer physical qubits compared to the traditional approaches to error correction.” Quantum computers require error correction to realize the promised exponential speedups over known classical approaches for key computational challenges. Click here for a video about the SHYPS QLDPC code family and Photonic’s advances in efficient quantum error correction. Photonic

Toronto-based Waabi partnered with Volvo Autonomous Solutions for the joint development and deployment of autonomous trucks. Through this partnership, Volvo (an investor in Waabi) and Waabi are vertically integrating Waabi's virtual driver system, the Waabi Driver, into the Volvo VNL Autonomous, Volvo’s autonomous truck with redundant systems for enabling safe autonomous operations. The Volvo VNL Autonomous will be produced at Volvo’s flagship New River Valley, Virginia assembly plant and is based on Volvo’s autonomous technology platform, supporting diverse operational needs, use cases and Volvo Group truck brands. This collaboration aims to transform the $1-trillion North American freight industry by enabling the deployment of autonomous trucks that redefine safety and efficiency standards, the partners said. Waabi

Edmonton-based space data company Wyvern launched its Open Data Program for the Earth observation community  to help accelerate testing and adoption of data for transformative applications across industry, government and academia. This new Open Data Program provides free hyperspectral satellite imagery captured from Wyvern’s Dragonette hyperspectral satellite constellation under the flexible public release creative commons license (CC BY 4.0). The licensing structure allows unrestricted access and use of the data, as long as attribution credit is provided to Wyvern. The initial release of the Open Data Program contains 25 images of various land cover features – including forests, wildfire events, pivot and row crop fields, coastal bathymetry, open pit mines, solar farms and well sites – from across the globe. These images can be accessed and downloaded directly from the Open Data Program site – no sign up required – to ensure data scientists, students researchers and the like have simple access to hyperspectral data. Alongside the launch of the Open Data Program, Wyvern updated its Knowledge Centre to include tutorials related to working with Wyvern data in ENVI, QGIS, ArcGIS, and others. Wyvern

Professional services firm Accenture is ending its global diversity and inclusion goals after an evaluation of the changing U.S. political landscape, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. The company will start “sunsetting” the diversity goals it set in 2017, along with career development programs for “people of specific demographic groups,” said the memo from CEO Julie Sweet. Big tech companies Meta, Alphabet and Amazon are among several firms that had scrapped their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals leading up to and after Republican Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency. Sweet said Accenture’s policy change followed an “evaluation of our internal policies and practices and the evolving landscape in the United States, including recent executive orders with which we must comply.” Since taking office on January 20, Trump has issued a number of executive orders aimed at dismantling DEI programs across the federal government and the private sector. Separately, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in a note to staff said the U.S. Justice Department would “investigate, eliminate and penalize” illegal diversity programs in the private sector. Reuters

VC, PRIVATE INVESTMENT & ACQUISITIONS

Toronto-based Brookfield, through its infrastructure debt platform, provided US$389 million to Vermont-based clean power developer Encore Renewable Energy to finance construction of community-scale solar and battery energy storage projects. The financing is a combination of loans and tax equity, a common form of funding for renewable energy projects in which investors become part owners in a project and earn a return from its tax benefits and cash flows. Brookfield is one of the world’s largest investors in green power, with US$103 billion worth of assets under management in five continents. Encore

Toronto-headquartered StackAdapt, a multi-channel programmatic advertising platform, raised US$235 million led by Teachers’ Venture Growth, the late-stage venture and growth investment arm of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Participation included Intrepid Growth Partners and four other investors. The all-equity round values StackAdapt at nearly US$2.5 billion. StackAdapt said it continues to rapidly scale its R&D, increase innovation capacity and expand the company’s global presence. StackAdapt

Toronto-based Thomson Reuters launched its second corporate venture capital fund, valued at US$150 million. Continuing to operate under the name Thomson Reuters Ventures, Fund 2 will focus on early-stage technology companies across legal technology, tax and accounting, fintech, risk fraud and compliance, and news and media markets, with generative AI being one area of focus. Thomson Reuters made 23 investments through its first fund, a pool of US$100 million launched in 2021. It has acquired at least one of those investments, an AI agent firm called Materia, to serve Thomson Reuters’ tax, audit and accounting business. Thomson Reuters

Vancouver-based GTMfund raised US$54 million for its Fund II. With Fund II, GTMfund said it will double down on support for early-stage founders at the pre-seed, seed, and Series A stages. This is GTMfund’s first institutional fund, after Fund I was almost solely made up of GTM leaders. GTMfund is one of a rising crop of “operator-led” funds, meaning the limited partner investors are people who have worked, or are currently working, at successful tech companies. In addition to contributing their cash, limited partners also help mentor the portfolio companies in sales strategies – an area where many startups need help – and with hiring salespeople. GTMfund, TechCrunch

Toronto-based Clutch Technologies Inc., an online car seller, raised $50 million in a Series D funding round led by Silicon Valley-based Altos Ventures, an early investor in Roblox. Industry Ventures and BMO Capital Partners joined the round as new investors, while existing investors Flight Deck Capital and FJ Labs also participated. Clutch, which lets customers browse, inspect and buy cars online,  aims to hire 100 more workers. Two years ago, after a $95-million financing fell through, the online car merchant cut 65 percent of its staff and pulled out of Western Canada. But Clutch’s staffing has tripled since then to 243 people. Clutch stopped sourcing cars from auctions and now only buys from individuals through its website, which improved the mix, quality and cost of vehicles sourced. The company cut marketing costs, started charging for deliveries, cut its spend on reconditioning cars without hurting customer satisfaction scores and secured a less costly inventory lending facility from BMO. The Globe and Mail

Montreal-based startup FLiiP, which develops software for fitness businesses, raised $4.4 million in seed funding, in an all-equity round led by Cultivation Capital with participation from Boreal Ventures. Cultivation Capital general partner Timothy Stern is joining FLiiP’s board along with Boreal Ventures managing director David Charbonneau. FLiiP’s features include customer relationship management, embedded payments processing and internal payroll, and loyalty tools to retain existing customers. The company said it will use this funding to expand across North America, invest in product innovation and grow its team. FLiiP

Saskatoon-headquartered RAYHAWK Technologies raised $3 million in a seed financing round led by Emmertech, a Saskatchewan-based venture capital firm specializing in ag-tech and agribusiness innovation. RAYHAWK has developed proprietary technology for automating the potentially hazardous lid opening, inspecting, closing and sealing of railcars. With this new funding, the company said it will double down on commercialization of its technology, with a focus on grain terminals, food processing plants, port facilities and mining sites. RAYHAWK

Calgary-based health tech startup RetinaLogik raised $1.1 million in convertible note financing and secured a Class II medical device licence from Health Canada, marking a major milestone for its innovative portable eye test product. The funding round was co-led by Spring Impact Capital and the University of Calgary’s UCeed, with additional support from Startup TNT, HaloHealth and new investors ScaleGood Fund, Local Investing YYC, and Mount Rundle Club. RetinaLogik plans to use this funding to expand its platform by doubling its available eye exams and increasing its team of more than 10 employees. Founded in 2021 by CEO Abdullah Sarhan and chief operating officer Julia St. Amand, RetinaLogik aims to modernize vision care with its flagship product, which integrates virtual reality and artificial intelligence to deliver portable and efficient eye exams. Calgary.tech

Oklahoma is poised to become the first Republican state to try to use its influence as an investor to end diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in corporate America, targeting companies including Amazon. Todd Russ, the state’s treasurer, is targeting six companies that Oklahoma has invested in through its US$2-billion Tobacco Settlement Endowment fund, saying it will start screening firms for their approach to DEI and various social issues. Vancouver-based athleisure company Lululemon is among them, along with others including Amazon, Google parent company Alphabet and Netflix. Companies including GM, Pepsi, Amazon, Google, Disney, GE, Intel, PayPal, Chipotle and Comcast have removed some or all references to DEI from annual reports, in a wave of backlash against DEI that has become a central issue of President Donald Trump’s second term. The government-funded railroad service Amtrack confirmed to Bloomberg it would roll back its DEI programs and policies. Yahoo!News

Jeff Bezos’s $10-billion climate and biodiversity fund halted its funding of one of the world’s most important climate certification organizations, amid broader concerns U.S. billionaires are bowing down to U.S. President Donald Trump and his anti-climate action rhetoric. The Bezos Earth Fund is no longer funding the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), an international body that assesses if companies are decarbonizing in line with the Paris Agreement on climate change. The Bezos Earth Fund had been one of two core funders of the SBTi, with the Ikea Foundation: the two accounted for 61 percent of SBTi’s total funding last year. Researchers familiar with the SBTi, as well as advisers at the organization, raised concerns that the vanishing support was part of a broader trend of wealthy individuals moving away from funding causes that Trump – who has previously called climate change a hoax – did not agree with.  A spokesperson from the Bezos Earth Fund said a three-year grant to SBTi for capacity building ended in December 2024 as originally agreed. SBTi has not requested additional funding from the Bezos Earth Fund, so no decision has been made about further funding, the spokesperson said. The Guardian

Toronto- and Gatineau, Que.-based private equity firm H.I.G. Capital agreed to acquire Toronto-based Converge Technology Solutions’ common shares for $1.3 billion. Shareholders will receive $5.50 for each common share in cash as Converge delists from public markets. As part of the deal, Converge will merge with H.I.G.-owned, Florida-headquartered entity Mainline Information Systems. Mainline is a diversified IT solutions provider specializing in enterprise server, hybrid cloud, cyber storage and network and security solutions – products similar to those of Converge. Following the deal’s closing, Converge CEO Greg Berard will serve as CEO of the combined business and Mainline president and CEO Jeff Dobbelaere will serve as president. Converge Technology Solutions

Victoria, B.C.-based British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) and Luxembourg-headquartered BBGI Global Infrastructure S.A. have agreed that BCI would acquire and take BBGI private, in an all-cash deal that would value BBGI at US$1.32 billion. BCI’s investment in BBGI will be made by BCI’s Infrastructure & Renewable Resources program, which invests in assets that include a portfolio of direct investments in companies across a variety of sectors spanning regulated utilities, energy, telecommunications, transportation timberlands and agri-businesses. BCI said it believes BBGI is a high-quality business with an attractive, established portfolio of core infrastructure assets and a development platform with opportunities for further growth. The deal still requires shareholders’ approval. BBGI

San Franciso-based Landbase announced the acquisition of Toronto-based LavaReach, which offers an AI-powered platform to help sales teams research companies at scale. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. LavaReach co-founders Daniel Zhao and YiMing Han will join Landbase and use their “deep technical skills and AI prowess” to accelerate the scaling of Landbase’s go-to-market automation solutions. Landbase offers agentic AI for go-to-market, building innovative solutions to help sales and marketing teams. BusinessWire

REPORTS & POLICIES

Canada launches Canadian Genomics Strategy backed by investment of over $175 million and new advisory council

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) officially launched the federal government’s Canadian Genomics Strategy, backed by an investment of $175.1 million over seven years, starting in 2024-25.

Canada’s key policy challenges in genomics, based on ISED’s consultations with genomics experts, researchers, business leaders and interested Canadians, are:

• Canada needs to secure greater genomics-related commercialization. While the commercial application of genomics research in health is increasingly well-established, significant opportunities also exist in the agriculture and environment sectors. 
• Canada's genomics ecosystem is fragmented and needs coordination. The strategy aims to create new national partnerships and initiatives to improve access and analysis of genomic data between government, post-secondary institutions and private sector organizations. 
• Canada faces significant labour shortages in the bioeconomy. According to BioTalent Canada, Canada will require 65,000 additional workers by 2029.

To respond to these challenges, the strategy’s goals are to:

• Advance commercialization and adoption of genomics applications by Canadian businesses.
• Strengthen the leadership of the genomic enterprise to foster collaboration and improve data accessibility across Canada's genomics ecosystem. This will involve collaborative networks and cross-sector partnerships with industry, academia, non-governmental organizations and the public sector. By promoting interdisciplinary cooperation, these efforts will facilitate greater data sharing, knowledge exchange, and innovation in genomics.
• Develop top-tier talent in Canada's genomics sector, cultivating a robust pipeline of highly qualified people to address critical workforce needs.

To enhance federal programming to meet these strategic goals, the federal government will set up an expert advisory council reporting to the deputy minister of ISED, and comprised of industry, academic and government experts to provide strategic guidance to the government on new and developing opportunities while ensuring the strategy continues to align with rapidly changing science.

The Canadian Genomics Strategy is led by ISED, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), in collaboration with key partners such as Genome Canada.

The strategy will support the development of personalized medicine, advanced diagnostics and novel therapeutics including next-generation vaccines, with applications in treating rare diseases, chronic illnesses and cancer.

In agriculture, genomics will enhance crop resilience and livestock health, supporting food security.

The strategy also will drive clean technology innovations, such as biofuels and bioremediation techniques that reduce pollution and minimize environmental impacts.

Genomics also has applications in forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, environmental stewardship, energy and mining.

The strategy was first announced in Budget 2021 with a $400-million commitment, of which $136.7 million went to Genome Canada to kick start the new strategy.

Since 2000, Genome Canada has invested about $1.6 billion in federal funds in large-scale applied and translational genomics research in Canada. This investment has leveraged $2.4 billion in co-funding from provincial governments and other sources for a total investment of $4 billion.

As part of the strategy’s funding commitment, Genome Canada will receive an additional $96 million over five years to provide funding opportunities through its Genomic Applications Partnership Program, which provides support to projects that are ready to develop or adopt new made-in-Canada genomics tools and products.

In addition, ISED’s global innovation clusters are receiving $20 million over six years to advance genomics-specific initiatives.

Innovative Solutions Canada will receive $15 million over five years to enable the government to partner with eligible Canadian small businesses and facilitate the early development, testing and validation of prototypes, and will help make the federal government a first adopter in the genomics space.

Other funding as part of the strategy includes:

• $20 million over four years for Genome Canada’s six regional Genome Centres to better assist private sector firms.
• $2.5 million over five years for Genome Canada to advance Canadian data management under the strategy.
• $4 million over four years to CIHR to support the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health.
• $9 million over seven years to NSERC’s Collaborative Research and Training Experience program, to support the training and mentoring of teams of highly qualified students and postdoctoral fellows from Canada and abroad.
• $6 million over six years to CIHR’s Health Research Training Awards to increase the supply of highly qualified research personnel. ISED

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Canada’s problem is taking products to market, not creating products in the first place: Narwhal Project

Canadian startups do worse than their international peers in their ability to scale, raise sufficient capital and be acquired, according to a new study from the Narwhal Project.

On the positive side, startups in Canada raise more money compared with all countries but the U.S. and a low percentage of “zombie” startups, partly due to the level of government support.

The study is by Charles Plant, a researcher and founder of the Narwhal Project, which helps companies accelerate their growth.

Plant, a serial entrepreneur, innovation economist and scaleup advisor, started the multi-year research Narwhal Project to discover the underlying factors essential to creating world-class technology companies.

The objective has been to understand how companies can accelerate their growth and how governments, companies and academia can identify and adopt best practices in technology commercialization.

Plant’s study looked at 260 technology companies launched in Canada in 2014 and compared them with startups founded in 2024 in five other countries.

In total, his study covers 5,545 companies in Canada, the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany and Israel that were founded in 2014 and raised at least US$500,000.

By looking at this “Class of 2014,” Plant identified an emerging pattern:

• Canada is in the middle of the pack in founding technology companies.
• Canadian companies raise more money compared with all those countries except the U.S.
• Including only senior stock exchanges, Canada has the third-lowest rate of initial public offerings at 2.2 percent.
• At 10.4 percent, Canada has the lowest percentage of companies acquired and they were acquired with the third-lowest pre-acquisition funding. In comparison, 21.8 percent of German companies have been acquired to date.
• Canada has the highest percentage of companies that have raised funding in the last four years, but they have the lowest average amount raised. Furthermore, 20 percent of these companies were last supported by grant funding, the highest by far of any country.
• Canada has a low percentage of zombies, partly due to the level of government support, but the funding per zombie is the lowest of all six countries.
• Finally, at 8.4 percent, Canada has the lowest rate of companies getting to a Series B round or beyond and thus falls in last place in terms of ability to scale among leading countries.

Getting to a Series B funding round is important as this is when companies begin scaling, Plant noted.

Before a company gets to a seed funding round, it must (in the software world, in any case) show that it has a big market and can get a few buyers in that market. Seed capital is used to determine whether there is product market fit, and an A Series round is used to learn how to go to market efficiently.

“Series B is then used to pour money on the fire and scale quickly. A company that doesn't get to the Series B round generally has failed to scale,” Plant said.

His study found that 95 percent of the Canadian companies in the study got to a seed round, which he said shows that developing a product or generating intellectual property – all part of R&D – isn't an issue.

However, only 8.4 percent of Canadian companies got to a B series round or beyond, and this shows they are failing in some way to go to market, Plant said.

Either they haven't found a big enough market, they can't find product-market fit or they can't market efficiently, he said. “These are all failures in marketing and sales.”

Plant said the data shows that Canadian governments' focus on R&D, intellectual property and patents is misguided. “Our problems are about taking products to market and not that of creating those products in the first place.”

As for the study’s further findings, Canada, with 6.3 companies founded per 1 million population, sits in the middle of the pack of the six countries in the study.

For example, Israel had 15.8 startups per million population and the U.S. had 11.8 startups, while Germany had two and France 4.4.

Canada is doing very well in terms of the average amount of funding startups receive. With an average funding of almost $30 million, Canada's companies have access to more funding than countries such as the U.K., France, Germany and Israel.

The U.S. had 25 companies that received more than $1 billion in funding. The U.K. had four, France one, and Canada and the others had none.

Since their founding, there have been 21 Canadian startups with initial public offerings (IPOs), which is 8.1 percent of Canada’s Class of 2014.

Most of these IPOs were on junior exchanges like the TSX Venture Exchange. The most noteworthy IPO was Fusion Pharmaceuticals, which went public on NASDAQ and was later acquired by AstraZeneca.

Four others went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange, including: Goodfood, HLS Therapeutics, Lift & Co., and The Valens Company, which was acquired.

If you count these five and not the others that went public on junior exchanges, Canada’s Class of 2014 had a 2.2 percent IPO incidence, ahead of France and Germany but behind the other comparators.

The significant difference in Canada is the amount of funding these five companies have had, Plant said.

The average of the five Canadian companies that went public on senior exchanges was $182 million, which puts Canada behind the U.S. and France but above other countries.

Looking at all IPOs, the average Canadian firm got $57 million in funding, less than all the other countries but Israel.

In total, 27 Canadian companies of the Class of 2014 were acquired, representing 10.4 percent. Internationally, 13.7 percent of the class has been acquired to date. “In this regard, Canada falls behind all comparator nations.”

There are no notable companies in the acquired Canadian group, as the average total funding they received before acquisition was $12.8 million, Plant said.

In comparison, the average company acquired internationally had received $37 million of funding. While acquisitions internationally were at all stages of development, in Canada, only four companies had raised a B round.

“Fundamentally, Canadian companies receive less funding than international averages and sell earlier than those founded elsewhere.”

Canada’s Class of 2014 has one unicorn (companies valued at $1 billion or more), Blockstream. Valued at $3.2 billion, the company offers a blockchain technology that develops digital asset infrastructures for the emerging bitcoin economy.

There is an excellent crop of companies with good potential to succeed in the next few years, Plant said. These firms include:

• Wealthsimple
• KOHO Financial
• PAPER
• AlayaCare
• Deep Genomics
• Loopio
• League
• WorkJam
• 7shifts
• Avidbots Corp.

Defining which companies still have potential and which do not is a contentious exercise, Plant cautioned. For his analysis, he determined that any company that had received funding in the last four years still had the potential for future success, while those that hadn't have stalled.

“On this basis, Canada has the greatest percentage of companies with future potential” among the six countries compared, he said. However, these companies also have the lowest funding of all six countries.

Canada has proportionally two to three times as many companies kept active through government grants as other countries, Plant noted. “Perhaps Canada has such a high percentage of promising companies after 10 years because government grants are used to prop them up.”

In Canada, after 10 years, 45 percent of the Class of 2014 companies are zombies. These companies are still alive but are not succeeding at scaling or at least haven't managed to raise capital in the last four years.

This is low compared with other countries but is directly related to the number that still have potential, Plant said. “Since we are determined to let companies live as long as possible, we don't have as many zombies.” Narwhal Project

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Ottawa releases new National Cyber Security Strategy but specific action plans have yet to be developed

Public Safety Canada released the federal government’s new National Cyber Security Strategy aimed at protecting Canada’s national security and economy, deterring cyber threat actors and promoting international rules-based behaviour in cyberspace.

The government has committed an initial investment of $37.8 million over six years to the new strategy. However, the strategy lacks specific action plans which are yet to be developed in collaboration with other partners and stakeholders.

Last week, the federal government barred the use of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek’s chatbot on government devices over “serious privacy concerns” and fears the company could inappropriately collect and retain sensitive data. The app is banned on devices and networks overseen by Shared Services Canada.

The new National Cyber Security Strategy outlines Canada’s long-term plan to improve partnerships across all levels of government, law enforcement, industry, Indigenous communities, academia and international allies to reduce critical infrastructure disruptions to services that people in Canada rely on every day.

The strategy, Securing Canada’s Digital Future, includes two overarching principles that will guide Canada’s approach to cyber security:

• Whole-of-society engagement: The federal government will deepen partnerships with key stakeholders to address crucial issues in the cyber security landscape. Partnerships with other levels of government, law enforcement, Indigenous communities, the private sector, academia and civil society will be critical to developing the solutions that will address tomorrow’s cyber security challenges.
• Agile leadership: Canada’s cyber security solutions will be developed in close collaboration with partners and stakeholders and set out in a series of issue-specific action plans over the coming years, that will provide opportunities for the federal government to make ongoing investments in Canada’s cyber security.

The federal government will use these principles to deliver results under three pillars:

1. Working with partners to protect Canadians and Canadian businesses from cyber threats.

For instance, through the new Canadian Cyber Defence Collective, the federal government will use public-private partnerships to address national-level cyber security challenges, policy priorities and cyber operations.

The government also is committed to strengthening its relationship with academia. As a first step, Ottawa recently announced funding for a new Cyber Attribution Data Centre at the University of New Brunswick.

This centre will use the latest intelligence analytics to better understand the origin or nature of cybercrime and will train and equip the next generation of AI cyber security specialists.

The Cyber Security Innovation Network supports the growth of Canada's cyber security ecosystem through collaboration between academia, the private sector, not-for-profit sectors and other levels of government.

The network funds high-impact projects to enhance research and development, commercialize products and services, and develop cyber security talent.

The government said it will also consider cyber security certifications and designating trusted companies with preferred Government of Canada contractor status.

The Digital Technologies Research Centre partners with industry to research threats to supply chains, transportation, energy and other infrastructure.

The federal government also will build on the success of the Get Cyber Safe program and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. The government will continue publishing public awareness documents for cyber-related topics such as AI, the threats posed by large language models, and how to identify misinformation, disinformation, and mal-information to increase engagement with people in Canada.  

2. Making Canada a global cyber security leader, including through grants and contributions from the Cyber Security Cooperation Program.

The government has announced the Canadian Cyber Security Certification program to enhance cyber security in the defence sector and ensure that companies bidding for select Canadian government defence contracts maintain a high level of cyber security.

Also, Global Affairs Canada has created a new role, a foreign policy senior official for cyber, digital and emerging technology, to coordinate international engagement across government and represent Canada internationally.

3. Detecting and disrupting cyber threat actors.

This effort will include fostering the widespread adoption of strong cyber security standards and practices, increasing Canadian threat-monitoring capabilities to better detect incidents when they occur, and encouraging the sharing of threat intelligence and information across economic sectors.

For example, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission intends to implement mandatory rules for blocking botnets by internet service providers following consultations. 

Ottawa said the National Cyber Security Strategy will facilitate faster information sharing and ensure that all partners are taking the necessary measures to prevent cyber incidents.

The strategy also will fund initiatives to improve the nation’s cyber security, including awareness and education programs for children and youth to ensure they can fully participate in a digital age, while being resilient and prepared.

The strategy also supports Canada-U.S. cross-border critical infrastructure and cyber resilience as well, and more closely aligns Canada’s approach to cyber security with U.S. partners and other international allies.

The new National Cyber Security Strategy builds on the successes of the 2018 Strategy, which saw the creation of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security based within the Communications Security Establishment, and the National Cybercrime Coordination Centre under the stewardship of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Cyber security is a whole-of-society responsibility, Ottawa said. “The Government of Canada calls on other levels of government, Indigenous communities, the private sector and academia to be partners in the creation of a series of action plans, each of which would work to address a key challenge identified in this strategy.” Public Safety Canada

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New vision for post-secondary education needed, with a multi-year international education strategy: report by The Dais

Canada needs to develop a refreshed, multi-year international education strategy and repair “Brand Canada” in the wake of significant negative impacts from federal government changes to the International Student Program, according to a report by The Dais.

Ottawa also needs to clarify immigration processes and graduate pathways and bolster the integrity of student recruitment practices, says the report by the public policy and leadership think tank at Toronto Metropolitan University.

The report, Where to From Here: Towards a new vision and policy framework for international higher education in Canada, was produced in partnership with the CSA Public Policy Centre.

“Over the long term, a sustainable and successful international education system requires a fundamental reassessment of Canada’s vision, goals and policy frameworks,” said the report’s authors.

They are: Graham Dobbs, senior economist at The Dais; Mahtab Laghaei, policy and research assistant; André Côté, director of policy and research; and consultant Noah Morris.

The federal government’s changes last year to the International Student Program sent “shockwaves through Canadian higher education,” the authors said.

The government’s reforms included an international student intake cap and a 35-percent cut in study permits for fall 2024 to address unsustainable growth.

The number of students on active study permits had grown from 300,000 in 2013 to more than 1 million by the end of 2023.

The federal government expressed concern about bad actors exploiting students and pressures on housing affordability, health care and other services.

“For many Canadian colleges and universities, the reforms severely curbed a major revenue source they had grown to depend on in an environment of provincial financial constraint,” the report’s authors noted.

The federal changes acted as “an emergency brake on a system out of control,” they said. “However, the short-term repercussions were significant.”

They included uncertainty and anxiety for current students about their prospects in Canada and a collapse in new applications and enrolments. Post-secondary institutions suffered large revenue losses, with some announcing program closures.

“The reforms created frustration and uncertainty across both the public and private international education sectors, and damage to Canada’s international reputation,” the authors said.

Roundtable discussions held in preparing the report outlined four key requirements for a successful renewal of international education in Canada:

• First, there must be a commitment to taking a longer view in shaping the vision, strategies and policy framework for international education in Canada.
• Second, coordinated solutions are needed in a system jointly stewarded by federal and provincial governments and delivered through designated learning institutions with their many partners.
• Third, a firmer federal hand in strategy, coordination and oversight is needed, but should stop short of federal intervention in provincial post-secondary policy and workforce planning.
• Last, beyond the scope of this report, provinces must address the post-secondary funding “elephant in the classroom.” Provincial austerity policies in post-secondary education, limiting both operating grants and domestic tuition, created the conditions for universities and colleges to aggressively pursue growth in international enrolments. “A renewed international education system will not succeed without financially sustainable designated learning institutions.”

The report’s findings and recommendations for specific sectors and other stakeholders fall under six themes:

1. Renewing Canada’s international education goals and strategy:

The Government of Canada, along with the provinces and territories, post-secondary sector, student groups and other stakeholders, should:

• Lead a process of meaningful, broad consultation to shape a refreshed, long-term vision and policy objectives for international education in Canada.
• Develop a new multi-year international education strategy for Canada.
• Designate an expert and specialized body as the forum for ongoing, good-faith federal-provincial coordination of international education programming.
• Commit to regular review and evaluation of international education in Canada and transparent reporting of outcomes to Canadians.

2. Clarifying immigration and career pathways for graduates:

The Government of Canada, in consultation with the provinces and territories and the post-secondary sector, should:

• Put in place predictable, multi-year processes for setting the annual student visa cap and provincial allocations.
• Establish a provincial role in determining Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP)-eligible post-secondary programs and setting graduate student levels.
• Enhance the transparency of immigration pathways for prospective and current international students, including PGWP eligibility.
• Develop labour market information tools to inform post-secondary recruiters and students about in-demand fields of study and career pathways.

3. Ensuring integrity and consumer protection in recruitment:

The Government of Canada and provinces and territories, in collaboration with the post-secondary sector, the education recruitment industry and other groups, should:

• Establish a common recruitment standard and code of conduct to ensure ethical and accountable practices.
• Establish standards for the accuracy and comprehensiveness of international student recruitment information.

4. Enhancing oversight and quality assurance of designated learning institutions (DLIs):

The provincial governments, with the Government of Canada and post-secondary institutions, should:

• Strengthen accountability and oversight for DLIs.
• Update the joint governance of DLIs.
• Standardize international education program quality and student outcome reporting.

The Government of Canada, in consultation with the provinces, territories and the post-secondary sector, should:

• Modernize student visa processing to simplify and speed up the process for prospective students and post-secondary institutions.
• Establish a recognized institutions framework that rewards DLIs that demonstrate the best outcomes in achieving international student success.

5. Improving academic support and services:

Provincial governments, in consultation with the Government of Canada, the post-secondary sector, student groups and service providers, should:

• Develop a common standard for international student services at DLIs to encourage comparable service levels across Canada.
• Mandate that DLIs provide a minimum level of international student services and demonstrate they are meeting the pan-Canadian service standard.

6. Repairing “Brand Canada:” 

The federal and provincial governments, in consultation with the post-secondary sector and international recruitment industry, should:

• Develop a strategy for repairing “Brand Canada” through the EduCanada partnership.
• Encourage the diversification of source-country recruitment, and increase transparency in the assessment process for student visas.

Canada’s post-secondary education system fell into crisis in 2024 due to years of inadequate oversight, lack of federal-provincial collaboration, post-secondary funding restraint, and insufficient attention to the quality of education, according to The Dais’s report.

However, provincial and federal policymakers, higher education leaders, student groups and sector associations, and other key stakeholders can join forces to revitalize the system, the report says.

“Together, they can create a world-class education and experience for international students, while ensuring sustainability and value for the post-secondary system, communities from coast-to-coast and Canada’s global standing.” The Dais

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Canada needs a federal department or agency responsible for managing public data on unidentified aerial phenomena: Canada’s chief science advisor

Some public sources estimate that Canadians report between 600 and 1,000 unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) in Canada annually, according to a new report from the Chief Science Advisor of Canada.

One in four respondents to a survey commissioned by the Sky Canada Project report say they have personally witnessed a UAP in their lifetime, the report says. However, only 10 percent reported their sightings and 40 percent of respondents would not know who to contact for reporting.

A majority of survey respondents support the establishment of a federal government service to gather UAP reports and make findings publicly available.

“Sometimes what is being observed in the sky is not immediately clear, and a person may wonder if what they are seeing is a natural phenomenon, a new type of aircraft or something else altogether,” Chief Science Advisor Dr. Mona Nemer said in the report.

“Our goal was to find the current resources and processes in place for handling and following up on UAP reports, to compare them with the best practices in other countries, and to make recommendations for potential improvements,” Nemer said.

The report focuses on the services available to the Canadian public for reporting UAPs and not on the UAPs themselves, she stressed. “The Sky Canada Project is not about investigating what UAPs are. It is about science informing and serving everyone.”

British Columbians reported the highest number of sightings (32 percent), followed by Ontarians (29 percent) and Prairie residents (25 percent).

Consultations with many federal departments and agencies revealed that they do receive UAP sighting information and reports from their stakeholders and the public, according to Nemer’s report.

However, few of these departments investigate these sightings unless they pertain to specific aspects of their respective mandates, such as national security, transportation safety or public safety.

Most departments do not compile the reports they receive, making it difficult to provide information on the number of reports or the type of responses given to witnesses.

Currently, UAP reports are scattered across multiple government and non-government organizations.

Canada, like many other countries, has several citizen-driven organizations dedicated to receiving, investigating and discussing reports of UAPs. “Nonetheless, their presence does not address the fragmented way that UAP sightings are handled by both the authorities and the scientific community,” the report says.

The Sky Canada Project highlighted several gaps and areas for potential improvements with respect to UAP reporting in Canada. They include:

• Lack of a cohesive and standardized system for reporting and follow-up: UAP reports are received by various departments in different forms with little coordination or oversight, leading to inconsistent data collection that hinders scientific investigations.
• Absence of public engagement: There is no official, accessible platform for Canadians to report UAP sightings, obtain potential explanations or review reliable information about UAPs. This situation contributes to the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation.
• Limited analysis of UAP reports: Reports of UAP sightings are not further analyzed unless they are deemed to pose safety or security risks. Individuals reporting sightings rarely receive follow-ups.
• Insufficient scientific involvement: Efforts to study UAPs with scientific rigour and engage the Canadian scientific community have been limited in Canada.
• Modest efforts to enhance science literacy, including around planetary sciences: Combined with the lack of a transparent and cohesive system for UAP reporting and analysis, this exacerbates the impact of misinformation and disinformation.

While there is no single model or universally established operating standard, the processes in place in a few countries, notably the United States, France and Chile, provide interesting examples of coordinated, transparent and scientifically driven approaches to UAP reporting, the report says.

In the U.S., the Department of Defense’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office established in 2022 has structured approaches for collecting and investigating data on UAP sightings, and for communicating findings.

In addition, NASA released an independent study in September 2023 focused on how best to collect future UAP data to advance scientific study. NASA also created the position of Director of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Research to further the study of UAPs and coordinate research efforts.

Similarly, France’s GEIPAN (Groupe d'Études et d'Informations sur les Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non identifiés / UAP Study and Information Group) operates under the French space agency CNES (Centre national d’études spatiales / National Space Study Centre) since 1977. Its mission is to collect, investigate and archive UAP reports, and make its findings available to the public.

In Chile, the SEFAA (Sección de Estudios de Fenómenos Aéreos Anómalos / Section for the Study of Anomalous Aerial Phenomena), serves as the official body responsible for collecting, analyzing and scientifically studying UAPs. It operates within the General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics.

The chief science advisor’s report makes several recommendations to the federal government in order to: improve coordination and analysis of UAP reports in Canada; promote public trust and mitigate disinformation; and enhance scientific rigour and science literature surrounding UAPs:

Reporting and data oversight

• Identify a lead: A federal department or agency responsible for managing public UAP data should be identified. The lead should be a trusted and recognized scientific organization, and have the capacity to communicate with the public and an already established international scientific network. The Canadian Space Agency could be considered for such a role.
• Establish a dedicated service: This service would collect testimonies, investigate cases and post its analyses publicly. It would proactively inform Canadians about UAPs. To achieve these goals, it could convene a network of government and academic partners and experts to conduct scientific analyses and follow up with observers.
• Enhance reporting capacity in civil aviation: Transport Canada should encourage pilots, cabin crews and air traffic controllers to report UAP sightings without fear of stigmatization. In collaboration with NAV CANADA, they should analyze UAP reports to track trends and provide pilots with explanations, helping to reduce distractions during flights. These reports could be correlated and merged with those submitted by the public on similar sightings.

Communications

• Support public dialogue: A proactive strategy to increase transparency and communication with the public regarding UAPs should be developed. Such a strategy could bring together trusted publicly facing organizations, including science centres and museums, as well as public libraries.
• Promote intra-governmental collaborations: An internal directive to ensure collaboration among all federal agencies with relevant expertise or data would aid the lead organization in providing explanations to witnesses and correlating recent observations with previous reports. Additionally, since some departments would continue to receive reports under their mandates (for example, Transport Canada or the RCMP), they should be encouraged to forward their data as appropriate to the lead organization.
• Improve media relations: The lead organization should play a significant role in mitigating misinformation and disinformation by responding to public and media inquiries related to UAPs, and by documenting and communicating common misinterpretations of observations. Examples of such approaches, including interactive digital tools, are found in other countries.
• Promote the application of up-to-date evidence to effectively address misinformation and disinformation: Among others, a multidisciplinary expert panel should be set up to advise the lead organization on effective approaches to countering misinformation and disinformation.

Research

• Facilitate open access and open data: Data related to UAPs should be made available to the public for transparency and to support research.
• Conduct surveys: Periodic surveys of Canadians should be carried out to gauge their perceptions of UAPs and assess the impact of the dedicated services.
• Support citizen science: Participatory science initiatives and programs should be developed to enable volunteer participation in the study of UAPs. Among other benefits, such activities tend to increase the likelihood of informed citizenry and enhance interest of youth in science and technology careers.
• Provide tools for data collection: The development and deployment of publicly accessible digital and portable tools should be supported, such as bilingual applications for smart phones and interactive platforms, to provide information, including for data collection and ongoing research programs.
• Build on Canada’s strength in astronomy and aerospace research: Canada has a superb talent pool and physical research infrastructure, and is part of major international initiatives aimed at understanding our planet and the universe, and developing tools for space travel and exploration. The sector should be further supported and given opportunities to be part of the public dialogue.

International collaboration

• Information sharing: The lead organization should establish partnerships with international entities dedicated to UAPs, such as AARO and NASA (U.S.A.), GEIPAN (France), and SEFAA (Chile), to share data, methodologies and best practices in UAP research and investigation.
• Cooperation in research and communication: Canada should actively engage with international partners for research collaborations and public awareness efforts.

A more structured approach to the management of UAP reporting in Canada would enhance transparency and combat disinformation, and also demonstrate Canada’s commitment to scientific rigour and inquiry, the report concludes.

This will not only improve public trust but also position Canada alongside some of its allies as leaders in the global effort to elucidate the nature of UAPs.

“Adopting a science-based, collaborative approach will help address public concerns, demystify UAPs, and potentially reveal valuable insights into aerial phenomena that are currently unexplained.”

Nemer commissioned a $34,369 national survey by Ottawa-based Earnscliffe Strategy Group on UAPs despite findings that most Canadians have little interest in the subject, according to a story in the Western Standard.

“Unidentified aerial phenomenon is not an issue of high concern to respondents,” stated the survey report. “Just seven percent say they pay a lot of attention to the topic.”

“Only 1 in 10 feel it is very important to dedicate funds to investigate reported sightings,” the survey noted.

However, Nemer said in a forward to her report that its preparation “has garnered more public anticipation than any project in the history of this office.”

Conservative MP Larry Maguire has been publicly advocating for a research effort like the Sky Canada Project since 2022.

“The Sky Canada Project represents the first substantive attempt to study how Canada can best respond to reports of UAP,” Maguire told CTVNews.ca. “The haphazard nature of our current approach to UAP monitoring and reporting leaves too much room for speculation.” Office of the Chief Science Advisor

THE GRAPEVINE – News about people, institutions and communities

Toronto-based MaRS Discovery District innovation hub appointed Grace Lee Reynolds as CEO. Lee Reynolds was initially appointed as interim CEO when Alison Nankivell announced her departure in December, after just nine months at the helm. Nankivell is now president and CEO of Export Development Canada. Lee Reynolds has held senior positions at MaRS since 2011. MaRS said her strategic priorities will include: enhancing support systems to increase the odds of success for science and tech ventures; reinforcing MaRS’ role as a critical hub for scientific commercialization and innovation; strengthening MaRS as a conveyor; and expanding funding models. MaRS also named as new board members Helen Angus, CEO of AMS Healthcare and former Ontario deputy minister of health, and Andrew Joyner, managing director of real estate firm Tricon Residential. MaRS

Toronto-based The Firehood, an angel network that focuses on supporting women in the technology sector, appointed Theresa Evanoff as its new executive director as the network looks to expand its presence in international markets. According to The Firehood, Evanoff has “a proven track record” of building innovation ecosystems, citing her role in launching two international accelerators: German Accelerator in Southeast Asia and the accelerator program at analytics firm Moody’s. The Firehood was founded in 2021 by entrepreneurs and investors Graham and Claudette McGowan to address the barriers faced by women in Canada’s tech industry. BetaKit

VentureLAB, with offices in Markham and Vaughan, Ontario, appointed Nima Khadem Mohtaram to be its first-ever head of medtech initiatives. Mohtaram is “uniquely positioned” for the role, ventureLAB said, citing his more than 15 years of experience in the life sciences and medical technology fields including his service as ventureLAB’s medical device advisor since 2022. VentureLAB said Mohtaram is tasked with building a “cohesive and collaborative ecosystem” that supports entrepreneurs developing and scaling medtech solutions. This appointment also reinforces ventureLAB’s three-pillar strategy to drive Canada’s leadership in the semiconductor, AI and medical technology sectors. ventureLab

Shell Canada president Susannah Pierce is leaving the company after four years at the helm, after the firm shed its remaining Canadian oil assets in January. Her departure is effective March 3. Pierce said in a LinkedIn post that she is leaving to pursue personal interests. Stastia West, Shell’s current vice president for its Canadian integrated gas division, will succeed Pierce, the company said. Pierce, who is based in Calgary, was with Shell for 16 years and served in a variety of senior roles. The Globe and Mail

Seattle-based Pendulum named Jean-François Gagné, co-founder and former CEO of then Montreal-headquartered Element AI, as its chief strategy and product officer. After Element AI’s acquisition by $200-billion ServiceNow, Gagné served as head of AI product management and strategy at ServiceNow. Pendulum, which makes AI supply chain tools, also announced it raised US$22 million, including $11 million in non-dilutive R&D capital and $11 million in venture capital from Lowercarbon Capital, Cross Border Impact Ventures, Decisive Point, Collab Fund, and Blaise Agüera y Arcas, chief technology officer of Technology & Society at Google. Pendulum

Burnaby, B.C.-based legaltech company Clio promoted Luke Slan to new general manager to oversee its Canadian operations as the company looks to expand in its home market. Slan, who started as an account executive in 2018, was recognized as the company’s top sales representative in 2020 and 2021 before becoming a sales manager in 2022. Clio said it will expand its market presence and product offerings in Canada with a strengthened cross-functional team spanning product and engineering, sales, marketing and channel partners. Clio

U.S. semiconductor manufacturer Intel Corporation appointed Ama Aziz as general manager of Intel Canada. Prior to her appointment, Aziz was leading the Marketing for the America’s Territories division and served as Intel’s interim regional chief marketing officer for the Americas. In her new role, Aziz is responsible for implementing a strategy to grow Intel’s presence in the Canadian market. Intel Corporation

Rossland, B.C.-based engagement software startup ThoughtExchange, which offers an AI-powered survey and engagement platform, appointed George Psiharis as its new CEO. Psiharis brings experience as a former chief operating officer at both Clio and Montreal-based healthtech startup AlayaCare. ThoughtExchange co-founder and former CEO Dave MacLeod led the search for the new leader after nearly 10 years at the helm, the company said. MacLeod will now transition to company president and chief product officer, where he will oversee research and development and artificial intelligence innovation. Thought Exchange

Toronto-based cybersecurity company Lorica appointed Marcella Arthur as CEO. Lorica, which provides end-to-end encrypted data processing for AI applications, was founded in 2017 by chief research officer Glenn Gulak and chief technology officer Alhassan Khedr. Last June, the company tapped former president of accounting software startup FreshBooks, Mark Girvan, to take over as CEO, a position that seems to have been short-lived. According to Girvan’s LinkedIn profile, he is now the chief revenue officer of Denver, Colorado-based inventory management platform Cin7. Lorica

Sudbury, Ont.-based healthtech startup Verv Technologies appointed John Simmons as its executive chairman and interim CEO. Simmons previously served as the board chair at Verv and has extensive leadership experience and an “exceptional track record” in executive and board roles across the Canadian, U.S. and international healthcare sectors, Verv said. Founded in 2012 by company president Jeff Sutton, Verv is developing an at-home blood testing kit that the company claims can separate plasma with just a few drops of whole blood. Verv

Toronto-Dominion Bank head of technology Greg Keeley is leaving to pursue an external opportunity, the latest in a series of senior leadership departures as the bank remediates its anti-money-laundering failures in the U.S. Keeley joined TD in 2018 and moved up the ranks in the technology division. In 2022, he joined the bank’s most senior leadership team as senior executive vice-president of platforms and technology. He oversaw technology programs for the bank’s business operations, as well as projects on digital evolution. TD’s U.S. chief information officer Vladimir Shpilsky – who joined the bank last fall – succeeds Keeley and will report to incoming CEO Raymond Chun, effective immediately. The Globe and Mail

The U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment accusing Andean Medjedovic, a 22-year-old Canadian math prodigy, of exploiting vulnerabilities in two crypto protocols to fraudulently obtain about US$65 million worth of investors’ digital assets. According to court documents, from 2021 to 2023, Medjedovic allegedly exploited vulnerabilities in the automated smart contracts used by the KyberSwap and Indexed Finance decentralized finance protocols. Medjedovic borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars in digital tokens, which he used to engage in deceptive trading that he knew would cause the protocols’ smart contracts to falsely calculate key variables. Through his deceptive trades, he was able to, and ultimately did, withdraw millions of dollars of investor funds from the protocols at artificial prices, rendering the victims’ investments essentially worthless. Medjedovic also allegedly laundered the proceeds of his fraudulent schemes through a series of transactions designed to conceal the source and ownership of the funds. He is charged with one count of wire fraud, one count of unauthorized damage to a protected computer, one count of attempted Hobbs Act extortion, one count of money laundering conspiracy, and one count of money laundering. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the unauthorized damage to a protected computer count and 20 years in prison on each of the other counts. U.S. Department of Justice

Gautier “Cole” Killian, a 24-year-old former student at McGill University, has been identified as a member of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team, where he is listed as a volunteer and has a working email associated with DOGE, according to a WIRED magazine report. An archived McGill profile for a “Cole Killian” lists him as a Bachelor of Science student majoring in math and computer science with a research focus in “exploring the unique properties of Decentralized Autonomous Organization on online organizations structures.” Killian’s involvement with DOGE has drawn attention due to the Musk team’s role in slashing government spending, restructuring federal agencies and accessing sensitive government data, despite the lack of government experience among the six team members. All are under age 25. In addition to Killian, three of the members are students at U.S. universities; one attended the University of Nebraska without graduating and another attended the University of Berkeley. National Post

McGill University said it needs to cut $45 million from its 2025-26 budget to eliminate operating deficits over the next three years, following a series of setbacks that have made costs surpass revenue. After that, the following two budgets will have to be cut by $16 million and $14 million, respectively. McGill predicts that without cuts, its deficit could balloon to $194 million by 2028. The university said in a town hall with students and staff that the cuts could lead to up to 500 layoffs. McGill has asked individual departments and offices to come up with a plan for cuts. Once those are submitted, McGill's provost, Christopher Manfredi, said the school will have a better idea of how many positions will be cut. Manfredi said the school will also continue its hiring freeze, which will also lead to the downsizing of its overall staff. The university employs nearly 13,000 people and has roughly 40,000 students. McGill partially blamed the Quebec government’s new policies of hiking tuition for out-of-province students for the revenue shortfall. CBC News

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), which represents more than 45,000 college faculty and support staff, is calling on the Government of Ontario to provide a $1.4-billion emergency infusion to stabilize the college system. The $1.4 billion is the provincial government’s own 2024-2025 revenue loss projected for the sector, OPSEU said. Ontario currently ranks last amongst the provinces for per-student postsecondary funding, by a wide margin. An additional $1.34 billion to the colleges, and $2.78 billion to universities, would be needed to bring Ontario up to the national average, OPSEU said. Since 2010, provincial grants and revenues from private sources have remained relatively stable in other provinces. Meanwhile, in Ontario, tuition fee revenues have tripled, eclipsing provincial funding as the primary source of revenue – while provincial funding has shrunk by 28 percent, according to the OPSEU. The College Student Alliance is also calling for Ontario’s political parties to ensure that their election platforms prioritize postsecondary funding. OPSEU

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