GOVERNMENT FUNDING & NEWS

Canada faces the lowest effective tariff rate from the United States among major trading partners, positioning it for potential trade advantages even amid a weakening global economy, according to a report by U.K.-based Oxford Economics Group Ltd. The company estimates Canada’s current effective tariff rate at 2.5 percent – lower than Mexico’s rate of four percent and well below those for other major U.S. trading partners. For example, the U.S. tariff rate is estimated at 35 percent for China, 15 percent for Japan, 13 percent for South Korea, and eight percent for both the U.K. and the European Union. Adam Slater, lead economist at Oxford Economics, said that if these low tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports persist, both economies could benefit from supply chain shifts. However, he cautioned that uncertainty over the eventual outcome of U.S. tariffs and the future of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) will remain a near-term drag. CUSMA-compliant goods are exempt from U.S. tariffs. Canada continues to face 50-percent tariffs on aluminum and steel exports to the U.S. and 25-percent tariffs on non-U.S. vehicle components. Non-CUSMA-compliant goods now face a 35-percent tariff, up from 25 percent, and tariffs on softwood lumber were recently raised to 35 percent. Wealth Professional

The Government of Ontario launched the Protect Ontario Financing Program, the first phase of the $5-billion Protecting Ontario Account that was announced in the 2025 provincial budget. The Protect Ontario Financing Program will provide Ontario-based businesses that have been impacted by higher U.S. tariff rates, including the steel, aluminum and auto sectors, with up to $1 billion in liquidity support in the form of loans to protect workers and operations. Ontario-based businesses in these sectors that are facing tariff-related challenges, such as payroll, lease payments and utility payments, will be able to access the Protect Ontario Financing Program in addition to federal government supports, such as loans and loan guarantees, and would undergo rigorous assessment and due diligence to determine eligibility and ensure taxpayer funds are used responsibly. Govt. of Ontario

The Government of Canada will spend an estimated $128 billion on capital expenses over the next five years, almost two thirds ($83 billion) of which will be related to National Defence, according to a report by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO). Federal capital amortization expenses are $7.1 billion higher over the next five-years compared with the PBO’s March 2025 Economic and Fiscal Outlook. This mostly reflects better data shared by National Defence. If the projections hold, annual government capital spending is expected to double compared with the past decade, to more than $30 billion per year over the next five years. Parliamentary Budget Office

The federally funded global innovation clusters had a total of $71 million in program funding that remained unused by the end of the first five years of the clusters program in 2023, according to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED). The money was returned to the fiscal framework in line with Budget 2023, ISED said. Also, the government’s Strategic Innovation Fund is under review, with some critics suggesting it needs to be more effective at coordinating across sectors and accelerating commercialization. Prime Minister Mark Carney has asked all federal ministers to look for expenditure savings of up to 15 percent by August 28, 2025, raising questions about the future of some of the government’s innovation programs. Also, some stakeholders in Canada’s innovation ecosystem have called on the government to streamline the number of innovation programs and better coordinate them. ISED

See also: Canada doesn’t have an innovation system – It has 134 siloed and fragmented programs

The mayors of Calgary, Cochrane, Canmore and Banff asked Prime Minister Mark Carney to include a passenger rail line from Calgary to Banff as one of the projects in Canada’s national interest under new federal legislation. A joint letter, co-signed on July 22 by mayors Jyoti Gondek, Jeff Genung, Sean Krausert and Corrie DiManno, expresses collective support for the proposed project, which envisions a hydrogen-powered passenger rail link between the Calgary International Airport and Banff. The conventional, rather than high-speed, train line would be built parallel to the existing CPKC freight rail tracks and include stops in Calgary’s downtown, on the northwest edge of the city, in Cochrane, in Mini Thî (on the Stoney Nakoda Nation) and in Canmore. Banff-based Liricon Capital Ltd. and Toronto-based Plenary Americas are facilitating the project, currently under design. A memorandum of understanding has been established between Invest Alberta Corp., the Alberta Transportation Ministry and the Canada Infrastructure Bank to fund 50 percent of the project’s more than $1.5-million capital costs, with Liricon financing the rest. Calgary Herald

The Government of Alberta says it will not accept the Government of Canada’s electric vehicle mandate that requires 20 per cent of new cars sold in Canada to be zero-emission next year and 100 per cent by 2035. “The federal government must face the inevitable and abandon the unrealistic, ineffective and unwanted EV mandate before it kicks in next year,” Rebecca Schulz, Alberta’s environment minister, said in a statement. In the last year alone, Albertans purchased over 223,000 new vehicles, all while fewer than 25,000 EVs were produced in Canada that same year, she said. “Albertans could purchase every single EV produced in this country and we still would not be close to meeting this unrealistic plan.” “Large automakers like Ford, GM, Toyota, Honda, and Stellantis have warned this mandate will kill jobs and investment and must be scrapped, Schulz said. The mayors of 48 towns and cities in Ontario, many of which depend on auto-manufacturing, have also called on Ottawa to scrap the mandate. A new Leger poll found that 71 percent of Canadians also want the mandate rolled back due to high costs and implementation concerns, Schulz noted. Govt. of Alberta

The Government of Ontario is investing $75 million to train up to 7,800 additional students at colleges, universities and Indigenous Institutes across the province for in-demand jobs in construction and urban planning. This investment will fund up to 7,500 new seats at colleges and Indigenous Institutes for construction programs such as welding, carpentry and renovation skills. The funding will also support up to 300 new seats for graduate students at universities to train vital urban and land use planners across the province by 2028. Colleges receiving funding to expand enrollment in the construction programs starting as early as September 2025 include: Cambrian College, Confederation College, Collège Boréal, La Cité, Centennial College, Durham College, George Brown College, Humber Polytechnic, Conestoga College, Fleming College, Georgian College, Niagara College and Fanshawe College, as well as Kenjgewin Teg, an Indigenous Institute. Universities receiving funding to expand enrollment in their graduate level planning programs include: Queen’s University, Toronto Metropolitan University, the University of Guelph, York University and the University of Waterloo. Govt. of Ontario

The Government of British Columbia’s CleanBC Industry Fund is investing $35 million to support regional industry projects that aim to create local jobs and grow the area’s clean economy. Funding recipients include:

• Creative Energy, which will investigate the potential for recovering waste heat from a data centre in downtown Vancouver. This technology can reduce emissions by capturing and redistributing waste heat to nearby buildings connected to Creative Energy’s district energy system.
• In the Kootenays, Teck Resources will pilot the use of biocarbon to partially replace fossil fuels in critical mineral and metal production.
• ARC Resources has electrified all of its major facilities in northeastern B.C. and is evaluating additional opportunities to replace gas-powered engines with electric ones connected to the provincial grid.
• Cenovus Energy, at several facilities in the northeast region, will replace conventional pneumatic pumps with solar electric pumps in order to eliminate vented methane emissions from chemical injection systems.
• NorthRiver, at its McMahon Gas Plant, will replace sulphur-recovery units with a carbon capture and storage system in order to reduce emissions from acid gas processing and combustion, and to lower carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide air emissions. Techcouver

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) announced more than $25 million for 33 projects aimed at improving electric vehicle charging availability, decarbonizing freight transportation and developing innovative technologies for medium- and heavy-duty trucks. NRCan contributed more than $9.7 million to 23 projects to install more than 850 EV chargers across Canada through the Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program. These investments will make it easier for Canadians to access convenient electric vehicle charging stations at their workplaces, in public spaces, along highways and where they live in multi-unit buildings. Additionally, NRCan contributed $8 million for six projects under the Energy Innovation Program. These projects will drive innovation in the medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sectors, address real-world operational challenges for electric fleets and support the development of Canadian intellectual property. NRCan’s Green Freight Program contributed the remaining $7.9 million for four projects, which are helping the transportation, construction and public works industry modernize their fleets, lower fuel costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. NRCan

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) announced over $13 million in federal funding to support five clean energy projects in Ontario that will help modernize existing electricity systems. Funded through the Energy Innovation Program-Smart Grids Demonstration Call for Proposals, these projects will advance clean electricity generation in Ontario and allow customer-owned devices such as solar panels and batteries to access and benefit from electricity markets, by generating and selling energy. NRCan said this will drive down energy costs for Canadians while ensuring Canada’s electricity grids are smarter, more sustainable, more resilient and ready for the economy of the future. NRCan

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario announced close to $10 million in funding for the Western Joint Electrical Training Society. This project will provide innovative, hands-on training to construction electrician apprentices, journeypersons and other workers across Canada to address green skills, knowledge and competency gaps. John Zerucelli, Secretary of State (Labour) also announced more than $3 million for the National Electrical Trade Council for a project that will train Red Seal powerline technicians to use drones for powerline maintenance to support the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Together, these projects will mean nearly 17,350 workers will be able to upgrade or gain new skills. These projects are funded by the Sustainable Jobs stream of the Union Training and Innovation Program under the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy. ESDC

Gary Anandasangaree, federal minister of Public Safety, announced a new call for proposals under the 2025 Cyber Security Cooperation Program (CSCP), to strengthen the country’s cyber resilience and address evolving cyber threats. Originally launched in 2019, the CSCP provided funding to projects that improved the security of Canada’s vital cyber systems. CSCP 2025 will build on the success of its last call for proposals to provide up to $10.3 million over five years to support initiatives that promote cyber security innovation, knowledge sharing and capacity building. The CSCP is a key component of Canada’s new National Cyber Security Strategy. Applications for funding are now open and interested organizations are encouraged to visit the CSCP page for more information, including a list of priority areas and terms and conditions. Public Safety Canada

See also: “Federal government’s cybersecurity strategy needs overhaul to include partnership with the private sector” below in this Short Report’s “Reports and Policies” section

The First Nations-Canada Joint Committee on Climate Action (JCCA) made progress on several key priorities, according to the JCCA’s seventh annual report to the Prime Minister and the National Chief. This included launching the new JCCA website, deepening the consideration and mainstreaming of the Assembly of First Nations’ National Climate Strategy within federal climate policy, and making space for First Nations youth and supporting their participation to encourage intergenerational and intersectional dialogue on climate change. The annual report outlines the steps taken toward a stronger and more transparent climate partnership, highlighting JCCA’S commitment and progress towards the shared goals of advancing First Nations Climate Leadership. This includes the full partnership of First Nations in all federal climate policy and supporting self-determined climate action. In 2024, the JCCA focused its efforts on several areas, including:

• Analyzing, reporting and proposing solutions to address identified gaps and challenges in First Nations access to federal climate change-related funding.
• Strengthening intergenerational and intersectional dialogue, and continuing to create spaces for the inclusion and promotion of Indigenous youth voices by hosting youth sessions at each of its meetings.
• Reviewing and updating the JCCA mandate based on lessons from the JCCA five-year review.

For 2025, the JCCA has committed to holding discussions and making progress on four priorities:

• Uplifting First Nations Climate Leadership in federal policy and programs.
• Monitoring progress and delivering results for First Nations.
• Strengthening dialogue through long-term relationship-building.
• Improving communication and broadening the reach of the JCCA. Environment and Climate Change Canada

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Canada needs to protect intellectual property and make federal procurement a lever for IP ownership

Canada must change how it treats intellectual property or risk spending up to $150 billion annually on defence technologies the country doesn’t control, strengthening companies that don’t answer to Canadians, and subsidizing the success of foreign nations, say two IP experts.

“We can invest billions in defence and advanced technology. But if foreign companies own the intellectual property and control the data, then Canada doesn’t hold the power,” Jim Hinton and Alexis Conrad wrote in an op-ed in The Financial Post.

“We’re not building Canadian strength. We’re financing someone else’s. That’s not sovereignty. That’s surrender,” they said.

Hinton is an IP lawyer and founder of Own Innovation. Conrad is the principal IP advisor at Communitech.

Modern defence runs on dual-use technologies – the kind that can be used in both civilian and military settings – like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, quantum and advanced materials. “Their value lies in code, data, algorithms and patents,” they said. “And in Canada, we still don’t treat any of that as a national asset.”

Each year, Canadian universities conduct research worth more than $15 billion, much of which is publicly funded.

But there’s no national framework to ensure that the IP created through this investment benefits Canadians, Hinton and Conrad noted.

“Instead, we’re watching it slip through our fingers. More than 75 percent of Canada-funded AI research ends up in the hands of foreign companies, based on ownership data published by global patent offices.”

Between 2005 and 2022, researchers at 50 Canadian universities co-authored scientific papers with scientists linked to China’s military, they said. More than 20 universities partnered with Chinese IT company Huawei on hundreds of patents.

Despite claims in 2021 that those ties had been cut, some filings continued as recently as this February, according to records with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Patent office records also show that Dalhousie University handed electric battery IP to Tesla, and that the University of Toronto gave AI patents to Google, Hinton and Conrad said.

Canada ranks among the top 10 countries globally for research output. “But when it comes to turning that research into commercial value and retaining ownership, we fall off the map.”

In contrast, in the U.S. the CHIPS Act is pouring US$52 billion into domestic semiconductor development, with strict rules around IP, jobs and ownership.

South Korea gives homegrown firms a leg up in defence contracts. Finland ensures its IP remains Finnish. “All of them see innovation as a matter of national interest.”

“Canada, on the other hand, is still playing by 1990s free-market rules in a 2025 global security economy,” Hinton and Conrad maintained.

The federal government’s first major procurement decision after announcing the new defence policy was a contract awarded to an Australian company, with little evidence that Canadian options were seriously considered, they said.

“We pat ourselves on the back for ‘supporting jobs.’ But labour without ownership doesn’t build wealth, it builds dependence.”

“If Canadian companies are just assembling someone else’s tech, and don’t own the IP or data behind it, we’re not growing our economy. We’re renting someone else’s. And we’re paying top dollar to do it.”

Sovereignty today means owning the foundations of innovation – the source code, the algorithms, the patents, the AI models and the infrastructure behind them, Hinton and Conrad said. “Without that, we are perpetually reliant on others for products and power.”

To change Canada’s approach to IP, the country first needs to make federal procurement a lever for Canadian ownership, they said. “Ask tough questions before signing deals, like who owns the resulting IP? Where is the data stored? Who controls it after the contract ends?”

Second, Canada must connect innovation programs like ElevateIP to a national strategy focused on dual-use technologies, defence commercialization and domestic control.

Third, “we need to stop being shocked every time Canadian innovation ends up in someone else’s hands. It’s not a surprise. It’s a system design failure, and one we can fix.”

“We can build it here. We can own what we build. And we can sell it to the world on our terms,” Hinton and Conrad said.

“If we’re going to spend $150 billion to defend the country, let’s make sure we’re not also defending everyone else’s innovation pipeline along the way.” Financial Post

RESEARCH, TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION

Three Canadian universities ranked among the leaders of the 2025 Academic Ranking of World Universities, published by ShanghaiRanking Consultancy. The ranking assesses 2,500 institutions from around the world according to factors that include publications in top journals, Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals awarded to alumni and staff, and the per capita performance of the institution. The countries with the greatest number of universities in the top 100 were the United States (37), China (15), and the United Kingdom (eight). The Canadian universities that appeared in the top 100 were the University of Toronto (#25), the University of British Columbia (#53), and McGill University (tied for #76). Harvard University topped the rankings list for the 23^rd year, followed by Stanford University and MIT. ShanghaiRanking

The Royal Society of Canada (RSC), in partnership with academies and institutions in Canada and globally, is leading the creation of a multidisciplinary and international task force focused on strengthening resilient knowledge systems. Changes afoot in the U.S., along with social and political crosscurrents around the world, augur a weakening of multilateral institutions and the open circulation of people, ideas and goods, along with unprecedented attacks on science and science-based agencies in government as well as research-intensive academic institutions and civil society organizations, the RSC said. The task force will address three challenges:

• How can we better understand the forces driving threats to independent, evidence-based knowledge systems and respond effectively to them? 
• How can countries and researchers collaborate to effectively mitigate these threats and navigate the current context by engaging artists, scientists and scholars to help sustain the momentum of their work?
• How can countries accelerate robust knowledge production and amplify its impact within and beyond academic and other settings?

If you’re interested in contributing to this work, please send a brief paragraph describing your broad area of expertise and your thoughts on the contributions you could make to Darren Gilmour at dgilmour@rsc-src.ca RSC

A new study by McGill University suggest that AI tutoring for training and education, including in neurosurgery, provides better results when paired with human instruction. Researchers at the Neurosurgical Simulation and Artificial Intelligence Learning Centre at The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital) of McGill University are studying how AI and virtual reality (VR) can improve the training and performance of brain surgeons. They simulate brain surgeries using VR, monitor students’ performance using AI and provide continuous verbal feedback on how students can improve performance and prevent errors. Previous research has shown that an intelligent tutoring system powered by AI developed at the Centre outperformed expert human teachers, but these instructors were not provided with trainee AI performance data. In their most recent study, the researchers recruited 87 medical students from four Quebec medical schools and divided them into three groups: one trained with AI-only verbal feedback, one with expert instructor feedback, and one with expert feedback informed by real-time AI performance data. The team recorded the students’ performance, including how well and how quickly their surgical skills improved while undergoing the different types of training. They found that students receiving AI-augmented, personalized feedback from a human instructor outperformed both other groups in surgical performance and skill transfer. This group also demonstrated significantly better risk management for bleeding and tissue injury – two critical measures of surgical expertise. The study suggests that while intelligent tutoring systems can provide standardized, data-driven assessments, the integration of human expertise enhances engagement and ensures that feedback is contextualized and adaptive. The study, published in the journal JAMA Surgery, was funded by the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, a Mitacs Accelerate Grant, the Franco Di Giovanni Foundation, Canadian Graduate Scholarships, Le Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé, and a McGill University Max Binz Fellowship. The Neuro

A working group convened by Health Canada recently published an article on “Principles and Priorities for Responsible Innovation in Neurotechnology for Canada,” in the Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences. The working group’s principles and priorities are built on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s adaptation of a recommendation on responsible innovation. The working group narrowed down the original nine principles into five guiding principles for the full life cycle of neurotechnology that are both responsive to the Canadian context and anticipatory of future initiatives in the country. The corresponding author of the multi-author article is Dr. Judy Illes, PhD, professor of neurology at the University of British Columbia, and professor and director at Neuroethics Canada. Cambridge University Press

Montreal-based Dialogue Health Technologies Inc., a virtual healthcare and wellness platform, announced the upcoming launch of a comprehensive Women's and Family Health offering. Fully built in-house and integrated within its platform, this new offering will provide evidence-based, whole-person care from trusted women's health clinicians, supporting all women and families through life’s most important transitions. The rollout will start in January 2026, beginning with specialized menopause care, which addresses a critical need in women’s healthcare. These services will be delivered by Dialogue clinicians who will complete robust training, including attending the scientific conference organized by the Menopause Society of Canada. The Women’s and Family Health offering will include coaching and navigation support, personalized care plans and educational resources. Dialogue Health Technologies

U.S. health-care giant Johnson & Johnson is closing its JLabs innovation centre – where it supports about 30 early-stage life sciences companies – at the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto at the end of the year,. Johnson & Johnson didn’t say why it’s leaving Toronto, one of three locations to close, along with Houston and Washington, D.C. JLabs opened in Toronto in 2016 with a $19.4-million commitment from the Ontario government. The 40,000-square-foot space offered member startups access to specialized lab facilities, office space and Johnson & Johnson’s network of mentors, researchers and investors. MaRS and the University of Toronto (U of T), which partially owns MaRS, are seeking a new partner to replace JLabs. U of T will manage the space in the meantime. MaRS LinkedIn post

Eric Saumure, co-founder of Ottawa-based accounting firm Zenbooks, launched OpenSME, a campaign to advocate for the implementation of open banking in Canada, focusing on the needs of small businesses. OpenSME seeks to pressure the federal government to establish clear timelines and policies for open banking, which would allow small businesses to access real-time banking data, improving their ability to forecast finances, obtain loans and track payments. Saumure’s campaign has gained support from tech companies like Xero and Dext, emphasizing the importance of designing an open banking framework that benefits both small businesses and their financial advisors. Despite past delays in implementing open banking in Canada, there is cautious optimism among Canadian fintech leaders about future progress. OpenSME plans to continue advocating for these changes through petitions, roundtables and feedback collection for a pre-Budget 2026 submission. Startup Ecosystem Canada

Toronto-based online used car retailer Clutch officially opened its West Coast facility in Richmond, B.C. The 30,500-square-foot location marks a milestone in Clutch’s national expansion and will serve as Clutch’s operational headquarters for B.C., powering its vehicle inspection and logistics capabilities throughout the province. Clutch previously operated out of this same facility between 2021 and 2023, before laying off staff and pulling back to focus on Ontario and the Maritimes. The reopening comes at a pivotal time as Clutch continues to experience record-breaking growth, having recently surpassed $1 billion in vehicles purchased directly from Canadians. T-Net

Nearly 90 percent of marketers surveyed are already including AI into their processes, according to a survey by Chicago-based Outcomes Rocket. This rate of adoption ranges across all levels and the size of organizations, especially the small ones that extensively use AI to develop a competitive advantage. Generative AI is the most widely adopted, with 93.5 percent of marketers being active users of these tools. Tools such as ChatGPT, Jasper, and Copy.ai allow marketers to compose their blog posts, create ad copy, brainstorm campaign ideas, and create visuals, in many cases within a few minutes. The second-most widely adopted is data analytics AI. Around 61.9 percent of the marketers have adopted platforms such as Google Analytics, Tableau, or Looker to help them obtain insights using information on customer behaviour, campaign effectiveness and web traffic. Only 24.3 percent of marketers have used agentic AI, which is capable of executing marketing campaigns with minimal human input. In spite of AI’s popularity, 93.4 percent of marketers encounter problems regularly with the AI-created content, including errors, bias or irrelevant results. This resulted in 71.1 percent of them saying they’ll never publish any results produced by AI without reviewing or editing them. Only 42.4 percent are confident that they could recognize AI-generated content. Eight-six percent of marketers reporting time savings, averaging 4.74 hours per week. Around 88.9 percent of marketers reckon that AI will cost them jobs in the coming two to three years. There were 1,229 marketers across various industries, roles, and organization sizes who were surveyed. Outcomes Rocket

Toronto-based BenchSci, officially known as Scinapsis Analytics Inc., is turning to AI to slash its costs. Since May, BenchSci has cut 23 per cent of staff – about 83 jobs – as it goes all-in on adopting generative AI to do work formerly done by humans, the company said in an e-mail. Chief executive officer Liran Belenzon signalled BenchSci’s commitment to generative AI in a July blog post: “As I often remind my team, those who fail to embrace AI risk being left behind – not by the technology itself but by peers who have mastered it,” he wrote. BenchSci helps pharmaceutical companies cut time and costs from the drug discovery process. The company this year “shifted to become an AI-first company, which has become our guiding principle. Before adding new people or processes, we ask: ‘Could AI do this?’” BenchSci has rolled out company-wide tools, including Gemini for Google Workspace and NotebookLM, and is using AI to automate repetitive workflows in its hiring practices and otherwise using AI to streamline operations and boost efficiencies. Canadian tech companies such as League Inc. and Geotab Inc. are now requiring that employees use AI tools and are incorporating their usage into employee performance reviews. Vancouver business intelligence software provider Klue Labs Inc. let 40 percent of its employees go in June in order to stay competitive in the AI era. The Globe and Mail

Rogers Communications Inc. announced it has entered into a definitive agreement with InfraRed Capital Partners to sell its portfolio of nine Rogers Business data centres. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Rogers will continue to sell data centre services on behalf of InfraRed and will provide network connectivity to the data centres. InfraRed is a subsidiary of Sun Life, a leading Canadian-based financial services company, and is an experienced digital infrastructure owner. The transaction is part of Rogers’ planned sale of real estate and non-core assets. Rogers intends to use the net proceeds from the transaction to repay debt. The transaction does not include Rogers’ corporate data centres used for the company’s network and IT purposes. Rogers

Toronto-headquartered Hudbay Minerals is selling Mitsubishi Corporation a 30-percent stake in its Copper World project in Arizona for US$600 million as the Trump administration rolls out tariffs on some imports of copper products. The deal includes an initial cash contribution of US$600 million, comprising US$420 million as consideration for a 30-percent equity interest in Copper World at closing, and US$180 million as a matching contribution within 18 months of closing. The deal secures a long-term strategic partner in Mitsubishi, which has investments in a world-class portfolio of large and high-quality copper assets, including five of the top 20 copper mines globally by 2024 production. Once construction is completed, the Copper World mine is expected to produce 85,000 tonnes of copper per year over an initial 20-year mine life. Hudbay Minerals

Calgary Transit announced plans to expand its fleet with the purchase of 120 new electric buses. The move will facilitate the replacement of multiple aging diesel vehicles. Officials say thanks to federal government support, including a $325-million grant announced in 2023, they were able to purchase 30 to 40 more buses than would have been possible with diesel or compressed natural gas (CNG) options. The buses are being purchased from Nova Bus, part of the Volvo Group, and are Nova LFSe+ electric buses. Calgary Transit says the new buses will look similar to Calgary’s current Nova Bus CNG models. They will be used primarily on shorter routes and during peak times to enhance service and reduce emissions in high-density areas. All 120 buses are expected to be in service by the end of 2028. Calgary aims invest nearly a half-billion dollars to decarbonize its transit system by 2050. City of Calgary

Markham, Ont.-based NordSpace broke ground on the site that will facilitate Canada’s first commercial space launch, planned for later this month in Newfoundland. The Atlantic Spaceport Complex (ASX), which is also set to become Canada’s first operational commercial spaceport, is located just outside of the small town of St. Lawrence, Nfld., on the province’s southeastern coast and approximately 350 kilometres from St. John’s. The $10-million initial development phase consists of two sites: SLC-01, which will feature two launch pads for orbital missions, and SLC-02, which will consist of at least one smaller launch pad for suborbital missions, radar systems and other ground support equipment for the ASX’s launch operations. Markham (Business News)

Concordia University engineering students launched their rocket Starsailor from an isolated launch site in the Mistissini region of Northern Quebec – Canada’s first attempted space launch since 1998. The 13-metre liquid-fuel rocket, designed and built by Space Concordia, a student society at Concordia’s Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science, cleared the launch rail and soared into the morning sky. About eight minutes later, students said on the livestream that it appeared from telemetry that the nose cone of the rocket had separated earlier than expected, around the time that the Starsailor would have experienced maximum dynamic pressure during flight. If so, the rocket is unlikely to have reached an altitude of 100 kilometres, generally considered to mark the height above Earth’s surface where space begins. The nose cone apparently survived its brief, high-speed journey. Once recovered, it can provide data that will allow the Concordia team to reconstruct precisely what happened during flight. The Globe and Mail

Bolton, Ont.-headquartered Canadensys Aerospace Corporation is working on a ground test demonstrator designed to prove out a future lunar agriculture module (LAM). The company received a task authorization from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) it shared on LinkedIn, to continue developing the LAM on a project that has been ongoing since 2023. The project “looks to design, produce and operate a full-scale, closed-loop, remotely monitored and controlled lunar agriculture system, simulating operations on the lunar surface,” Canadensys said. Both the CSA and DLR (the German space agency) are working on LAM and the task authorization is a follow-on from funding announced in 2024 for Canadensys, as well as previous work. Academic partners the University of Guelph and McGill University are assisting with nutrient delivery, illumination control, plant health monitoring and robotic assistance. Canadensys also is designing the first Canadian lunar rover, and is developing a lunar utility vehicle concept as well. SpaceQ

Denver is planning to look at the feasibility of using a small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) for power generation at the Denver International Airport. The announcement came on the day Colorado law changed the classification of nuclear energy's definition under state law to include it as a clean energy resource. The Denver airport is expecting passenger numbers to increase to 120 million passengers annually by 2045. According to the City of Denver, "A sustainable power supply will be necessary to meet the demands of airport assets, as well as the airport's safety and customer experience goals." However the change in Colorado’s law to identify nuclear power as clean energy still has opposition from dozens of environmental groups that signed a letter to Governor Jared Polis opposing the change – pointing out a commercial-scale SMR has yet to be built and operated. CBC News

An internal Meta Platforms document detailing policies on chatbot behavior has permitted the company’s AI creations to “engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual,” generate false medical information and help users argue that Black people are “dumber than white people.” These and other findings emerge from a Reuters review of the Meta document, which discusses the standards that guide its generative AI assistant, Meta AI, and chatbots available on Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, the company’s social-media platforms. Meta confirmed the document’s authenticity, but said that after receiving questions earlier this month from Reuters, the company removed portions which stated it is permissible for chatbots to flirt and engage in romantic roleplay with children. The standards have permitted provocative behavior by the bots, Reuters found. Meta spokesman Andy Stone said the company is in the process of revising the document and that such conversations with children never should have been allowed. Reuters

See also: AI chatbots being used as friends, confidants and therapists are causing harm to individuals and families

VC, PRIVATE INVESTMENT & ACQUISITIONS

Canadian venture capital market activity continued to decline in the first half of 2025 amid ongoing trade and geopolitical uncertainty, according to a new report by the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA). CVCA tracked $2.9 billion in total VC funding deployed across 254 deals in Canada during the first six months of 2025. That represents a 26-percent drop in dollars invested and a 22-percent decline in deal count compared to the same period last year. Notably, it also marks the lowest first half (H1) total since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. One bright spot was life sciences, where $894 million was deployed across 58 deals, putting this year on pace to surpass 2024. Private equity investors poured a record $30.9 billion into Canadian companies in the first six months of the year, up 258 percent from the same period last year and more than the $27.2 billion invested in all of 2024. There have been only eight “mega-deals” so far this year, the lowest H1 count since 2017. United States investor participation in Canadian VC also declined by three percent compared to 2024. CVCA reported that while there was “a modest rebound” for Canadian VC during the second quarter on a quarterly basis, total investment ($1.65 billion) and deals (131) still dropped by 36 percent and 28 percent year-over-year, respectively. CVCA

Quebec’s seed-stage funding landscape is recovering from a grim 2024, with its year-over-year growth outperforming national numbers, but the province is still dealing with a downturn in venture capital activity. According to a joint report compiled by the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA) and Réseau Capital, the Quebec tracked 29 seed-stage deals totalling $79 million since the beginning of 2025, a 31-percent increase in capital invested compared to this time last year. These deals made up nearly half of all VC transactions in the province. The decline in pre-seed and seed-stage deals Canada-wide continued in Q2. Seed deals in Canada totalled $256 million across 86 deals, with both deal counts and funding amounts roughly 30 percent below five-year averages. Earlier this year, experts warned that low pre-seed and seed-stage activity in Quebec could spell trouble for future deal flow, as it could indicate a “weakening pipeline” of startups graduating to the Series A stage and beyond. The broader picture of Quebec VC was not as rosy. Sixty VC deals totalling $524 million closed in the first half of the year, as total funding declined 57 percent year over year. Funding across all sectors tracked in the report – software, life sciences, cleantech, and agribusiness (agtech) – declined year-over-year in Quebec. The second quarter ranked 40^th out of the past 50 quarters since 2013 for overall VC funding in the province. BetaKit

The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (Ontario Teachers’) announced that its assets under management grew $3.3 billion in the first six months of 2025 to $269.6 billion. Ontario Teachers’ six- and 12-month total fund net returns were 2.1 percent and 7.1 percent. Since inception, Ontario Teachers’ long-term returns were 6.9 percent over 10 years and 9.2 percent since inception. The total return for the first six months of this year was predominantly driven by public assets, particularly gold, said Jo Taylor, Ontario Teachers’ president and CEO. As of January 1, 2025, the plan was fully funded with a $29.1 billion preliminary funding surplus, Ontario Teachers’ said. Ontario Teachers’

Toronto-based AI developer Cohere raised US$500 million in a Series D funding round led by Radical Ventures and Inovia Capital. Additional participation included existing investors AMD Ventures, NVIDIA, PSP Investments, and Salesforce Ventures, as well as new investors, including Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, among others. The new funding values Cohere at US$6.8 billion. Cohere is also adding Inovia partner and former Google chief financial officer Patrick Pichette to its board. Cohere also announced it recruited former Meta AI research head Joelle Pineau as its new chief AI officer. And Cohere named Francois Chadwick as chief financial officer, based in San Francisco. He was most recently a partner at KPMG, but previously served as CFO of startup Shield AI. A couple of weeks ago, Cohere made its flagship product, a system called North used for building AI agents, widely available. Cohere

Montreal-based tech company Uno Platform raised $3.5 million in a seed funding round led by AQC Capital. Total investment of $6.4 million in Uno Platform to date also includes investment from Desjardins Capital and Oliva Capital. Uno Platform is an open-source, enterprise developer productivity platform for building cross-platform .NET applications that run on Mobile, Web, and Desktop. The company said this investment will accelerate the rollout of its premium tooling Uno Platform Studio, built on top of the free and open-source platform that includes features like real-time visual editing and generative AI-assisted workflows. Business Wire

St. Paul, Minn.-headquartered Ecolab entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Montreal-based Ovivo’s electronics division for approximately US$1.8 billion in cash. Ovivo Electronics is a fast-growing global provider of ultra-pure water technologies for semiconductor manufacturing. The division has over 900 staff and projected sales of US$500 million this year. Ecolab said the acquisition will further strengthen its global high-tech growth engine by bringing together Ovivo’s ultra-pure water technologies with Ecolab’s water solutions, digital technologies and global service capabilities. The combined technology platform will enable Ecolab to expand its offerings to provide circular water management solutions for its microelectronics customers designed to significantly reduce fresh water use in their manufacturing process while maximizing chip production and quality. Ecolab

Edmonton-headquartered ATB Financial entered into an agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Cormark Securities Inc., a Canadian independent investment bank with offices in Toronto and Calgary. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Cormark provides investment banking, broad-based equity research coverage and institutional sales and trading to clients in Canada and internationally. ATB Capital Markets and Cormark firms will integrate their operations under ATB Capital Markets’ CEO, Darren Eurich. Cormark’s Scott Lamacraft and Susan Streeter will join as executive chair and head of strategy and growth, respectively. ATB Financial  

San Francisco-based Landbase, an agentic AI company that helps businesses find and contact their next customer, announced its acquisition of Vancouver-based Adauris. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Three co-founders of Adauris – Tina Haertel, Logan Underwood and Griffin Cook – have joined Landbase to lead the development of its inbound marketing tools. Adauris developed AI tools to produce audio readouts of articles, as well as to identify which site visitors are most likely to become buyers. Landbase will integrate the technology into its AI sales and marketing platform. Landbase bought Toronto startup LavaReach in February. Landbase

Toronto-based crypto firm Informal Systems announced that one of its software technology spinouts, Malachite, is joining New York-based Circle to help build Arc, a new open Layer-1 blockchain network, purpose-built for stablecoin finance and test-launching later this year. Circle purchased the intellectual property behind Informal’s Malachite software, which powers blockchain technology, in a deal with undisclosed terms. An undisclosed number of Informal staff will join Circle as part of the deal to work on Arc. Informal Systems

REPORTS & POLICIES

Federal government’s spending review is too narrow and won’t deliver sufficient savings: C. D. Howe Institute

The federal government’s “comprehensive spending review” is a misnomer due to its narrow focus and carveouts that limit the review’s effective coverage to about one-third of program spending, according to a report by the C. D. Howe Institute.

The review will deliver at most $22 billion in savings in 2028/29, says the report by John Lester, fellow-in-residence at the C. D. Howe Institute.

“That is not ambitious enough. Savings of around $50 billion are required to put federal finances on a fair and prudent path,” he says.

The current across-the-board approach must be abandoned in favour of reductions targeted at the poorest-performing programs government wide, he argues.

The government’s review aims to achieve up to a 15-percent in reduction in government operating expenditures in 2028-29.

Lester says the government’s definition of operating expenditures appears to be compensation and other costs of running government departments, agencies, and Crown corporations, and “other transfers,” defined as total transfers less major transfers to persons and other levels of government.

These expenses are almost half of program spending forecast for the current fiscal year, but Lester estimates exemptions will reduce the coverage of the review to just under one-third of program spending. 

He estimates that exempting transfers that support investment reduces the expenditure review base by about $32 billion, while the carveout for statutory transfers and refundable tax credits eliminates roughly $15 billion each. In addition, the proposed increases in defence spending will be exempt.

“As a result, the fiscal savings from the review will amount to about $22 billion in 2028/29, less than half the amount required to put federal finances on a fair and prudent path,” Lester says.

To make up the shortfall, the scope of the review should be broadened rather than making deeper cuts to the narrow base, Lester says.

The spending review should include not only all program spending but also programs delivered through the tax system, he says.

In addition, the government should completely abandon the across-the-board approach in favour of reductions targeted at the poorest-performing programs government wide.

An across-the-board approach makes it impossible to maximize the net benefit of reducing spending because programs are not compared across departments, Lester points out.

“This shortcoming is magnified by the narrow focus of the review, which makes it inevitable that some of the programs cut or modified will be providing greater benefits than some of the programs untouched by the review.”

The government should therefore proceed in two stages, Lester recommends.

First, immediately apply a multi-year cap on the day-to-day costs of running the government that would force managers to realize efficiencies in program delivery and internal operations.

Second, set up a longer-term process to identify underperforming programs and build consensus for change.

The government should also revert to its prior practice of using the debt-to-GDP ratio as a fiscal anchor and commit to reducing the debt ratio over the forecast horizon, Lester says.

This recommendation is based on the view that debt-financing of current expenditures is unfair to future generations because it harms economic performance and will lead to higher tax rates or lower spending if debt levels become unsustainable due to an economic downturn, he notes.  

The pre-election status quo forecast showed deficits and the debt ratio declining over the forecast horizon, Lester says.

“Policies recently implemented and the initiatives in the Liberal Party election platform will almost double the current year’s deficit and raise the debt ratio by almost 1.5 percentage points relative to the pre-election baseline.”

The deficit is projected to remain high over the forecast horizon, causing the debt ratio to rise about 2.5 percentage points over the three years ending in 2028/29, instead of falling 1.7 percentage points in the pre-election status quo forecast, Lester notes.

The maximum $47 billion in cumulative savings from expenditure review are not enough to prevent a rise in the debt ratio over the forecast horizon, he adds.

Additional cumulative fiscal consolidation of approximately $60 billion is required to achieve a lower debt ratio in 2028/29 than in 2025/26, Lester says.

The additional consolidation could, in principle, be achieved by tax increases or further spending reductions, he says. “However, the recent election revealed a preference for tax reductions rather than increases.”

Further, the U.S. has made permanent the tax cuts implemented in Trump’s first term, which will make increases in business taxes particularly damaging, Lester points out.

Finally, the personal income tax burden on Canadians was the fifth-highest in the Organisation for Economic Development and Co-operation in 2022.

The lower debt target should therefore be achieved through further spending reductions, Lester maintains. This “deeper cuts” scenario would reduce program spending as a share of GDP to 14.7 percent in 2028/29, which is slightly above its average from 2014/15 to 2019/20.

Program spending would be approximately unchanged from 2025/26, but would still be nine percent higher than in 2024/25.

As currently proposed, “The expenditure review is a narrowly focused exercise that essentially imposes across-the-board cuts determined at the department level,” Lester says.

This approach has the advantage of timeliness and economizing on the scarce time of politicians and civil servants.

However, it cannot maximize the net benefit from expenditure restraint, primarily because across-the-board cuts make it impossible to eliminate or restructure the programs that are performing poorest overall, or to compare programs across departments.

The exclusion from the review of provisions supporting investment by the private sector or other levels of government is similarly problematic, Lester says. For example, payments under the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy are part of transfers subject to review but are excluded because they support private sector investment.

Excluding investment-supporting programs signals that investment is a government priority, but a better approach would have been to establish an investment expenditure “envelope” and review measures within it with an eye to improving the effectiveness of spending through reallocations and replacement of ineffective programs, Lester says.

He suggests that a special cabinet committee be formed to develop the policy envelopes, review the classification of programs made by departments, and determine which programs would be eliminated.

The prospects for using the expenditure review to eliminate poorly performing programs will be greatly enhanced by a thoughtful communications strategy, he adds.

The Treasury Board Secretariat, in consultation with departments, should draw up a list of programs to be analyzed, develop a work program, and ensure its completion, Lester says.

“To maximize the benefits of expenditure restraint, the review must expand to cover all areas of government spending, including tax-based measures, and shift away from blunt, across-the-board cuts toward more strategic reductions focused on programs that deliver the least value for money, Lester says. C. D. Howe Institute

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Federal government’s cybersecurity strategy needs an overhaul to include partnership with the private sector

The federal government’s new cybersecurity strategy remains “top-down, paternalized enforcement with strict controls and too much secrecy,” according to a commentary from Policy Options.

The rhetoric in the strategy, Securing Canada’s Digital Future, seems to acknowledge that there’s a need for a paradigm shift to shared responsibility across the entire cybersecurity ecosystem, says the commentary by Matt Malone, a Balsillie Scholar at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, and Adam Richert, a J.D. candidate in the Faculty of Law at Thompson Rivers University.

Ottawa’s strategy emphasizes two overarching principles, including a focus on “whole-of-society engagement” – a recognition that all Canadians, including businesses, “have a role to play in improving Canada’s national cyber resilience.”

“It thus places a large premium on fostering partnerships with the private sector in this area,” Malone and Richert say. However, they add: “This rhetoric has not been matched by action.”

Ottawa instead should take several steps: delegate powers to individuals and businesses to bring some cases on their own, give businesses new civil legal options and eliminate duplication in reporting and enforcement among government agencies.

Last summer, the Auditor General of Canada conducted a performance audit of the federal government’s management of its activities, responsibilities and resources in this area.

The resulting report concluded that the primary federal institutions responsible for combating cybercrime “did not have the capacity and tools to effectively enforce laws intended to protect Canadians from cyberattacks and address the growing volume and sophistication of cybercrime.”

While accepting the recommendations, Dominic LeBlanc, then minister of Public Safety, reiterated his confidence in “law enforcement and intelligence agencies’ ability to continue to keep Canadians safe online.”

But many Canadian businesses may not share this view because they are increasingly confronting data breaches, intellectual property theft and ransomware attacks, Malone and Richert say.

Indicating the lack of trust in the government’s approach, as of 2023, the last year for which there is data, only one in eight Canadian businesses reported cybersecurity incidents to police services.

This is only slightly higher than the individual reporting rate. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre estimates that only five percent to 10 percent of cybercrimes are reported by individuals.

Malone and Richert point out that the reporting systems are not simple. There is no single point of contact to report a cybercrime. Although the RCMP has discussed establishing a single point of contact, it has not been created.

“This leaves Canadian businesses to navigate a jurisdictionally complex landscape,” they say.

Each of the following federal institutions has its own channel for reporting cyber incident-related information: the RCMP, the Communications Security Establishment, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC), the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the Competition Bureau, and more.

“Instead of reporting cybercrime to government, Canadian businesses are looking to private parties for protection,” Malone and Richert note.

In the most recent official survey on the topic, a 2022 Statistics Canada survey found 47 percent of responding large businesses had a cyber security insurance policy in 2021 – a considerable increase from nine percent only two years earlier.

The RCMP tackles cybercrime through the CAFC, the National Cybercrime Coordination Centre and the federal policing cybercrime program, which investigates “the highest levels of cybercrime threatening Canadians and [Canada’s] national interests.”

However, the RCMP has struggled to staff these teams. About one-third of its cybercrime positions were vacant as of January 2024.

According to an access to information request from October 2023, there were only 73 employees working as cybercrime investigators across the entire country – roughly the same number of people at Public Safety who either have “communications” in their job title or who work in the dedicated communications branch of the department.

Even if a cybercrime is reported and investigated, there is often no clear path to prosecute the wrongdoer, Malone and Richert argue.

The Public Prosecution Service of Canada does not even have a section devoted to cybercrime or intellectual property theft from Canadian businesses – in contrast with the U.S. Department of Justice which has a division focused on computer and IP-related crime.

Even where Canada has decent criminal laws, it rarely uses them, the authors maintain. “If the federal government to improve its track record, it needs to rethink its enforcement paradigm.”

“The current approach favours the concentration of power in the hands of [the federal] government, which leads to lacklustre results. A more agile approach would see the government delegate some of it,” Malone and Richert say.

For example, British Columbia, Manitoba and Nova Scotia have all recently created civil legislation – complementing existing criminal laws – to give individual victims of non-consensual disclosure of intimate images more power to bring cases on their own.

When it comes to protecting IP, businesses could profit from having civil tools such as rights of action for the misappropriation of trade secrets and confidential information. “Creating such actionable rights would go far in redressing the paltry state of government enforcement of criminal laws.”

Similarly, enforcement is currently handled by a plethora of separate government agencies replicating many functions, Malone and Richert say. “They should be streamlined to make them more efficient.”

“Despite a public service that has grown rapidly in recent years, along with record spending on consultants, there are severe staffing issues in the areas of fighting cybercrime,” they add.

 “Delegating power to businesses – recognizing that government cannot do everything – and streamlining reporting obligations on businesses are critical steps in acting against cybercrime.” Policy Options

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Canada’s fight with the U.S. over digital sovereignty is just getting started

Canada may have a chance to redeem its digital sovereignty in the forthcoming review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) and in fledgling negotiations on a Digital Trade Agreement with the European Union, according to a commentary from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

The Mark Carney government scrapped Canada’s Digital Services Tax in June, “with nothing to show for it in negotiations with the Trump administration,” says the commentary by Gabriel Rojas Hruška, a writer and researcher “committed to ethical, inclusive approaches to technology and public policy.”

In the forthcoming CUSMA review, Canada and Mexico should jointly push to remove two sections from the digital trade chapter so that social media companies can be held liable for the content they disseminate, as allowable in Canadian law, Hruška says.

“In fact, much of the digital trade chapter should be revised or pulled out of CUSMA, including sections prohibiting governments from requiring sensitive personal information be kept on domestic servers,” he argues.

With respect to the EU digital trade deal, Canada’s priority should be to learn from and consider harmonizing with digital sovereignty policies in Europe, Hruška says.

Germany passed a Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) in 2017 to restrict access to content often seen elsewhere as “lawful but awful” by allowing for the use of fines to compel takedowns by social media companies and hold them accountable – thus helping ensure a higher standard of online discourse.

The U.K.’s Online Safety Act protects minors from mature content, and the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation sets high standards for privacy and data sharing by online companies.

In Canada, the Online News Act and Online Streaming Act encourage the consumption of domestic cultural or news content, while the now-axed Digital Services Tax (DST) was designed in part to tax largely untaxed digital economy revenues and level the playing field between large U.S. and smaller domestic digital economy firms.

“Sadly, the DST was recently rescinded under pressure from the Trump administration,” Hruška says.

All of these laws and frameworks allow for national regulation without foreign interference – hence the term “digital sovereignty,” he notes.

Such laws and frameworks place duties and obligations on online platforms while simultaneously creating a structure for legal enforcement measures like the ability to impose significant fines for non-compliance.

“This liability is precisely what the Trump administration opposes and is fighting on multiple fronts on behalf of U.S. tech giants,” Hruška says.

In the U.S., Section 230 of the Communications Act shields social media platforms and online streaming companies from liability for user-generated content – regardless of whether or not those users are real people, bots, or actively promoted by companies’ algorithms.

Prior to the second Trump presidency, the U.S. government had begun forcing this legal regime onto other countries inside ecommerce and digital trade chapters within U.S. trade agreements, Hruška says.

CUSMA, for instance, includes similar language to Section 230 in its digital trade chapter. Most notably, Sections 19.17.2 and 19.17.3  limit the ability of member countries to hold digital platforms accountable for harmful or objectionable content unless the platform itself created the content.

“This, of course, diverges from the way in which media companies have historically been responsible for what they publish,” Hruška says.

Collectively these sections in CUSMA form a liability shield that complicates efforts to enforce new laws, such as Canada’s now-defunct Online Harms Act, which sought to hold social media firms responsible for more than just defamation. “As it stands, such measures might be effectively unenforceable under CUSMA’s (current) terms.”

“Canada has good reasons to back out of some of the language it agreed to in CUSMA while forging cooperative partnerships with countries with more responsible regulatory regimes,” Hruška says.

Canada could introduce measures comparable to Germany’s NetzDG, for example, or adopt General Data Protection Regulation-like protections for personal information and privacy online. 

Denmark is embarking on reforms that would grant Danes copyrights to their own image to inhibit the spread of deepfakes, he notes.

Hruška says Canada could work with the EU on a new version of the Online Harms Act, which in turn would empower Canada to better protect its citizens against rampant disinformation – an issue that, according to recent polling, a significant majority of Canadians believe affected the last federal election.

Making matters worse, the Trump administration has shifted from digital legalese in trade deals to “gunboat diplomacy” in support of U.S. tech firms desperate to avoid liability, taxation or competition wherever they operate, Hruška says.

He pointed to Bazil, which in the aftermath of the failed coup attempt by former president Jair Bolsonaro, proposed the Law of Freedom, Liability, and Transparency on the Internet, commonly known as the “Fake News Bill.”

The bill included measures to control group messaging, required user identification in cases of suspected bot activity, and sought to limit the spread of false information of any kind.

U.S. tech companies vociferously opposed the measure and the law was eventually shelved in May 2024.

Trump has taken to denouncing Brazilian courts’ judicial process against Bolsonaro as a “witch hunt” and imposing 50 percent tariffs on Brazilian imports. The U.S. government also has imposed visa restrictions on Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes (along other unspecified persons related to him).

The U.S. government also initiated an investigation under the Trade Act on the grounds that Brazil’s attempts to regulate the internet constitute “attacks on American social media companies,” according to the U.S. Trade Representative.

“The U.S., then, is trying to frame Brazil as performing ‘unfair foreign practice[s] affecting U.S. commerce’ for trying to protect its democracy,” Hruška contends.

As the global debate over digital sovereignty intensifies, Canada stands at a pivotal juncture, he says. The outcome of upcoming trade negotiations and legislative reviews will determine whether or not the country can defend its right to regulate its digital landscape, hold foreign companies liable for their actions, and protect Canadian citizens from disinformation.

“For the sake of Canadian democracy and the integrity of our public discourse, now is the time to set plans in action.” Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

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Retention of STEM graduates in Canada has improved in the last decade

The retention of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) graduates in Canada has improved in the last decade for both Canadian and international students, according to a Statistics Canada (StatsCan) study.

However, retention varied by educational and demographic characteristics, the study found. Canadian STEM graduates generally showed higher retention rates compared with international graduates.

Among Canadian students, graduates from mathematics and computer and information science programs, graduates with a doctoral degree, and graduates from high-ranking universities were less likely to stay in Canada than other students.

“The lower retention rates among graduates from high-ranking universities and those with advanced degrees are particularly insightful,” said study authors Youjin Choi, a research analyst, and Feng Hou, a principal researcher – both in StatsCan’s Social Analysis and Modelling Division.

Among international students, graduates from engineering and computer and information science, graduates from master’s degree programs, and graduates from India were more likely to stay in Canada.

The majority of American students left after completing their postsecondary studies. 

During the 1990s, Canada experienced a net loss of skilled workers to the United States, and the “brain drain” to the U.S. was driven mainly by medical professions (e.g., physicians and nurses), according to the study.

“In today’s world, where research and development in the science, technology, engineering, mathematics and computer science (STEM) sector drive economic prosperity, the brain drain of STEM workers has become a growing concern,” Choi and Hou said.

The popularity of STEM fields in Canadian postsecondary education and the number of STEM graduates have grown among both Canadian and international students.

The number of Canadian graduates from STEM postsecondary programs at the bachelor’s level or higher increased from 45,380 in 2010 to 63,250 in 2021, and the number of international student graduates from STEM quadrupled from 5,550 to 24,900.

The share of international students among total STEM graduates went up from 11 percent to 28 percent during the same period.

The study relied on data from the Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS) and T1 Family File (T1FF). The PSIS contains detailed information on all students who graduated from provincially funded postsecondary institutions in Canada from 2010 onwards. Graduates who file an individual (T1) income tax return in Canada appear in the T1FF.

This study focused on Canadian and international graduates from STEM degree programs (bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees) at provincially funded universities and colleges in Canada from 2010 to 2020.

Among Canadian students who graduated in 2010, 90 percent appeared in the T1FF in the first year after graduation. This share decreased over time after graduation to 87 percent in year 3, 85 percent in year 5, and 83 percent in year 10.

Canadian students who graduated in 2018 showed a similar pattern during the first three years after graduation, at slightly higher levels.

Across graduation cohorts from 2010 to 2018, increasing percentages of international student graduates filed tax returns in Canada.

While 51 percent of the 2010 cohort of international students appeared in the T1FF three years after graduation, 65 percent of the 2018 cohort did so. This increase is consistent with the increase in the number of post-graduation work permit holders, Choi and Hou said.

Among Canadians who graduated from 2015 to 2020, 86 percent of graduates from mathematics and related studies and computer and information science programs filed tax returns three years after graduation.

This rate was lower than the average rates for all STEM graduates (89 percent) and non-STEM graduates (92 percent).

Under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) computer systems analysts and mathematicians could benefit from enhanced mobility, Choi and Hou noted.

Canadian doctoral degree graduates (83 percent) were less likely to file tax returns in Canada than graduates from bachelor’s (89 percent) and master’s (90 percent) degree programs.

Doctoral degree holders may be more likely to seek positions abroad to enhance their career prospects, build international collaborations and gain exposure to different research environments, the study’s authors said. Also, they could easily move to the U.S. as teachers at the university level and scientists under the NAFTA.

Wider variations in the tax filing rates were observed among international students.

Among the 2015-to-2020 cohort of international students, graduates from programs in engineering and engineering technology (69 percent) and computer and information science (68 percent) were more likely to be actively present in Canada three years after graduation than graduates from programs in other STEM fields (53 percent for mathematics and related studies). Graduates from master’s degree programs (72 percent) were more likely to have filed tax returns in Canada three years after graduation than graduates from bachelor’s (56 percent) and doctoral (54 percent) degree programs.

For both Canadian and international students, graduates from highly-ranked universities with strong STEM programs were less likely than other graduates to file tax returns in the early years after graduation.

Among the 2015-to-2020 cohort, 84 percent of Canadian and 56 percent of international STEM graduates from high-ranking universities appeared in the T1FF three years after graduation.

The rates for graduates of other institutions were higher (91 percent of Canadian students and 68 percent of international students).

The university ranking matters particularly for computer and information science and engineering, Choi and Hou said.

Among the 2015-to-2020 cohort of Canadian graduates in the field of computer and information science, 77 percent of graduates from high-ranking universities filed their tax returns in Canada, whereas 90 percent of other graduates did so.

STEM graduates from high-ranking universities may be more mobile and have a higher chance of finding a high-paying job in other countries, including the U.S., because their university credentials are more likely to be recognized and valued in foreign labour markets, Choi and Hou said. Statistics Canada

THE GRAPEVINE – News about people, institutions and communities

Daniel Jutras was appointed the chair of the board at U15 Canada, starting September 1, 2005. Jutras is the Rector of the Université de Montréal. A specialist in civil and comparative law, his expertise is internationally recognized, the result of a long career devoted to the study of contract law and civil liability, class actions and judicial institutions. He succeeds Dr. Peter Stoicheff, president of the University of Saskatchewan, who has served as chair since 2022. During Stoicheff’s term, U15 Canada promoted renewed support for major research infrastructure including the Canadian Light Source and Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization and deepened international partnerships to ensure Canada realizes the opportunities of participation in Horizon Europe. U15 Canada

Microsoft named Matt Milton as president of Microsoft Canada. Milton, who previously served in several senior leadership roles at Kyndryl and IBM, has spent over 20 years leading multi-billion-dollar global businesses and helping some of the world’s most iconic organizations create differentiated value through technology. Microsoft’s presence in Canada spans over 40 years, with nearly 5,300 employees across 11 offices in seven cities. Milton succeeds Chris Barry, who left to lead Microsoft’s U.S. government contracts. Microsoft

Bobbie Racette stepped down as CEO of Calgary-based Virtual Gurus and into the role of founder and president. Racette said she’ll be dedicating her energy to telling the Virtual Gurus story, deepening the company’s purpose and impact strategy, and forging partnerships that will shape the future of work for diverse talent. Elliot Schneier, the company’s chief operating officer who jointed Virtual Gurus nearly two years ago, was named the new CEO. Schneier will focus on scaling the Virtual Gurus platform, expanding into new markets, and deepening the integration of its AI-powered solutions. Virtual Gurus also appointed former Benevity CEO Kelly Schmitt as chair of its majority-women board of directors. Virtual Gurus is a gig work platform that connects remote assistants to companies looking for help with tasks like bookkeeping, marketing and customer support, with a focus on employing historically underrepresented individuals. Virtual Gurus, BetaKit

Shopify executive Alex Danco, who worked on the commerce company’s crypto tools, is joining  Andreessen Horowitz as editor-at-large to lead the financier’s blog and written output. Danco says he has been blogging since his early twenties. Alex Danco’s Newsletter

Do Kwon, who created the Luna and TerraUSD cryptocurrencies that collapsed in 2022 and triggered a market meltdown across the crypto economy, pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud and agreed to forfeit US$19 million in proceeds from his crypto dealings. At a hearing in federal court in New York, Kwon, who ran crypto company Terraform Labs, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, securities fraud and wire fraud, and one count of committing wire fraud, according to court records. If the judge decides to enforce the maximum penalty, Kwon could face 25 years in prison. But as part of the plea agreement, the government would not ask the judge for a sentence of more than 12 years. Kwon, 33, who is a citizen of South Korea, also agreed to serve the first half of his sentence in the United States before seeking a transfer to South Korea. The New York Times

Four union leaders affiliated with Centrale des Syndicats du Québec (CSQ) issued a statement calling for greater attention from the Government of Québec to the “slow erosion” of the cégep network. Éric Gingras, CSQ president, said morale is at a low point among college staff as the year kicks off. "Aging buildings and infrastructure, lack of staff and budgets to deliver services – there's plenty to be discouraged about. No one is talking about our network and the effects of repeated cuts. This political silence is unacceptable," Gingras said. Youri Blanchet, president of the Fédération de l'enseignement collégial – FEC-CSQ, said support services are being cut even though student numbers are projected to rise steadily through 2032, meaning larger class sizes. “This could directly affect access to college by limiting the system’s ability to adapt to increased enrollment,” he said. Valérie Fontaine, president of the Fédération du personnel de soutien de l'enseignement supérieur – FPSES-CSQ, said a number of college buildings are aging and require major renovations, along with classrooms. Éric Cyr, president of the Fédération du personnel professionnel des collèges – FPPC-CSQ, said the vacant and eliminated professional staff positions “are piling more work onto those who remain, raising the risk of burnout and absenteeism.” Centrale des Syndicats du Québec

Centennial College in Scarborough, Ont. and Vancouver-based Riipen partnered to support the college’s goals of embedding work-integrated learning into programs and offering students a transformative educational experience. Centennial will leverage Riipen’s platform to deepen its ties to industry based in Ontario, help educators bring applied learning to the classroom, and equip learners with the skills needed to excel in the labour market. The partnership includes benefits such as expanded connections, enhanced skill development and mentorship for students, as well as practical curriculum integration for educators. The partnership is supported by the RBC Future Launch Program, a 10-year, $500-million commitment to supporting youth for the future of work. Centennial College  

Riipen co-founder Dana Stephenson, in an article for University Business, points to the importance of participating in work-integrated learning (WIL). Yet only half of recent college graduates participated in an internship, according to data from Handshake, he says. Internship postings on Handshake dropped 15 percent over the last two years as applications surged. Stephenson describes barriers to WIL such as a lack of time, juggling coursework and part-time jobs, or financial reasons. Additionally, work-based learning is often treated as a peripheral activity, rather than as “one of the most critical drivers of post-graduate success,” he says. “Higher education needs to flip the script. Gaining work experience during college should be recognized not as a bonus but as a critical competitive advantage.” However, too many internships are unpaid, inaccessible or disconnected from a student’s field of study, he says.  Several U.S. universities are moving beyond pilot programs to scale work-based learning across disciplines, embedding it as a core component of their educational models, Stephenson notes. “By building work-based learning into the core of the academic experience and making it a central piece of the educational mission, institutions can equip students with the work experience and skills they need to build meaningful and durable careers.” University Business

A team of nine students from the Saskatchewan Polytechnic Digital Integration Centre of Excellence partnered with deep technology firm mPowered Technologies to improve the security of aerial drones through the use of encryption. The patent-pending encryption technology secures the drone communication protocol to defend against cyberattacks. Students worked on implementing mPowered’s encryption, which they then tested by applying ethical hacking techniques. They developed their confidence and skills through the project’s weekly presentations and collaborative approach, with some students now presenting at conferences. Saskatchewan Polytechnic

Durham College in Oshawa, Ont. is set to offer its AI Governance, Utilization, Innovation, Development & Ethics (AI GUIDE) Program to a new cohort in the fall, as well as a dedicated oil and gas-focused version. Delivered virtually over six weeks, the program gives working professionals an understanding of issues surrounding AI adoption and governance. The AI leadership program was co-developed by the Council of Canadian Innovators and the AI Hub at Durham College in 2024. Participants will gain a foundational understanding of AI governance, regulatory frameworks, and the ethical, legal and societal implications of emerging technologies. The program also includes exclusive guest speakers, applied learning activities, and a Digital Badge that can be added to LinkedIn profiles to showcase participants’ credentials. Durham College

An AI framework published by the Center for Innovation, Design, and Digital Learning at the University of Kansas includes four recommendations for implementing AI at all levels of education, reported Rhea Kelly, editor-in-chief of Campus Technology. The first recommendation advises establishing a transparent, human-centred foundation that prioritizes educator judgement, student relationships and family input. The framework also encourages schools to establish dedicated task forces to conduct audits and risk analyses before adopting any AI tools, as well creating an ongoing review and improvement process that includes professional learning and community development opportunities. The framework also recommends ensuring the use of AI to improve AI accessibility for students, while safeguarding against misjudgment by prohibiting AI tools from making key decisions on student progress, accommodations or disciplinary actions. Campus Technology

In a new article for Inside Higher Ed, Ray Schroeder, senior fellow for the Association for Leaders in Online and Professional Education, describes agentic AI and how it can be used in the postsecondary setting. Schroeder explains that agentic AI differs from the “passive research assistant” nature of generative AI by acting more like a “project manager” that is capable of planning and executing processes from simple commands, with minimal human supervision. In student recruitment and admissions, these tools are capable of engaging prospective students 24/7 with tailored outreach, while in teaching and learning, they function as autonomous tutors that can adapt to each student’s learning pace and style. Schroeder says agentic AI also can help with administrative support, such as creating enhanced, annotated grade books and continuously updated, enhanced course plans for faculty; predictive analytic reports for deans and directors; individualized retention and advancement recommendations; marketing and public relations materials and plans; library recommendations for acquisitions; and student engagement. Schroeder encourages readers to experiment with agentic AI agents as they become available and consider who at their institution is “leading the move to agentic AI.” Inside Higher Ed

Fleming College is launching on September 15, 2025 a new Indigenous Environmental Sciences Pathway Program for Indigenous learners who wish to pursue a career in the environmental and natural resource sciences. Indigenous students will not require a high school diploma to be admitted and will not pay any tuition fees. Throughout the program, delivered through a combination of online and in-person classes at Fleming’s Sutherland campus in Peterborough, Ont., students will receive dedicated academic and personal support. Upon completion, they will be able to transfer into a Fleming diploma or certificate program with up to five credits. Fleming College

Royal Roads University will offer a business and sustainability program at its Langford, John Horgan Campus starting this September. This undergraduate certificate – which can be laddered with an undergraduate diploma – is designed to introduce topics of economic, environmental and social sustainability in business. The program utilizes a challenge-based approach and requires that students examine areas of business through a systems thinking lens. They’ll learn how to lead change, manage impacts and apply their learning in real time. Courses in the certificate and diploma program will cover a wide range of topics including accounting, economics, marketing, human resources, business in the environment, business and humanity, global social entrepreneurship, finance, law, ethics, Indigenous business in Canada, and business model innovation. Royal Roads University

Trent University in Peterborough officially opened the Lightbody Drive Shed, the first building at its new 60-acre Trent Farm Research Centre. The centre aims to address key challenges in Canadian agriculture, including climate change, carbon sequestration, and sustainability. The Lightbody Drive Shed, named for the late Bob and Margie Lightbody, will serve as a work and storage space for those conducting fieldwork. The Trent Farm Research Centre is home to a growing number of collaborative research projects and provides critical career opportunities for students – particularly those in Trent’s Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems degree program, many of whom are first-generation farmers and agri-food professionals. Trent University

McGill University-led international team develops new way to make high-performance lithium-ion battery materials

A team of McGill University researchers, working with colleagues in the United States and South Korea, developed a new way to make high-performance lithium-ion battery materials that could help phase out expensive and/or difficult-to-source metals like nickel and cobalt.

The team’s breakthrough lies in creating a better method of producing “disordered rock-salt” (DRX) cathode particles, an alternative battery material.

Until now, manufacturers struggled to control the size and quality of DRX particles, which made them unstable and hard to use in manufacturing settings. The researchers addressed that problem by developing a method to produce uniformly sized, highly crystalline particles with no grinding or post-processing required.

“Our method enables mass production of DRX cathodes with consistent quality, which is essential for their adoption in electric vehicles and renewable energy storage,” said Jinhyuk Lee, an assistant professor in McGill’s Department of Mining and Materials Engineering and corresponding author of the team’s paper, published in Nature Communications.

The researchers devised a two-step molten salt process to synthesize the DRX particles. Molten salt enables better control over particle formation, improving quality and efficiency.

The researchers promoted nucleation (the formation of small, uniform crystals) of the particles, and then limited their growth. This allowed them to produce battery-ready particles that are smaller than 200 nanometres, a size considered important for unlocking these materials’ performance in lithium-ion batteries.

When tested in battery cells, the new materials maintained 85 percent of their capacity after 100 charge-discharge cycles. That’s more than double the performance of DRX particles produced using older methods.

The researchers say their findings offer a promising path toward more sustainable and cost-effective lithium-ion batteries, a critical component in the global shift to electrified transportation and the use of renewable power.

The research was carried out by a McGill team in collaboration with scientists at Stanford University’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

The research was funded by U.S.-based battery company Wildcat Discovery Technologies and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. McGill University

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