Research Money

The Short Report: July 16, 2025

Research Money
July 16, 2025

GOVERNMENT FUNDING & NEWS

The Government of Canada announced over $1.3 billion in funding to support more than 9,700 researchers and research projects across Canada. At a time when global challenges are becoming increasingly complex, this funding will empower the next generation of Canadian researchers – those whose work will drive the scientific and technological breakthroughs that underpin Canada’s national response to critical issues such as public health, artificial intelligence, climate change and social equity, the government said. The funding is distributed across the country through:

The Government of Canada announced an investment of more than $29.8 million, through the College and Community Innovation (CCI) program, for colleges, Cégeps and polytechnics. Managed by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the CCI program fosters collaboration between colleges and industry, public and community organizations to drive economic, social, health and environmental advancements. The 51 awards announced today are being funded through two key CCI grant types:

  • $6.32 million for 34 awards through the Applied Research Tools and Instruments grants, providing funding for Canadian colleges to acquire essential research equipment, strengthen partnerships with industry, public and health organizations while offering hands-on training opportunities for students.

  • $23.5 million over five years for 17 awards through the Technology Access Centre grants, expanding colleges' capacity to deliver top-tier applied research and innovation services to local organizations while fostering expertise in specialized research areas.

The funding “will advance genomics-driven agricultural innovation, accelerate health sector innovation and accessibility, and strengthen critical minerals research for sustainable mining, among many other areas,” said Alejandro Adem, president of NSERC. NSERC

The Government of Canada awarded two contracts for a total value of more than $160 million to Virginia-based CACI, Inc. - FEDERAL as part of the second phase of the Counter Uncrewed Aircraft System (CUAS) Urgent Operational Requirement. This is a critical new capability to support Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members deployed on Operation REASSURANCE. This contract includes the integration and mounting of the CUAS onto a new light armoured tactical vehicle platform, as well as in-service support for the systems for up to 10 years. The CUAS capability will provide CAF members with improved protection against smaller hostile uncrewed aircraft systems through detection, identification, tracking and degradation and defeat using integrated vehicles with sensors and effectors. Ottawa awarded the contract to a U.S.-based company a couple of weeks after the Office of the Procurement Obud’s report [Short Report, July 2] said innovative Canadian companies and other stakeholders in Canada’s innovation ecosystem have frequently complained that federal departments and agencies give preference to large companies – including foreign multinationals – and/or the lowest bid when awarding procurement contracts. The government lacks a government-wide vendor management program and there’s no tracking for underrepresented suppliers and small and medium enterprises, the Procurement Ombud’s report said. “It is not possible to demonstrate progress since there is no baseline established and no tracking for underrepresented groups.” Several Canadian companies have developed counter uncrewed aircraft systems technologies. National Defence

The Government of Canada is set to proceed with awarding a major defence contract despite industry concerns that its requirements are written in a way that all but assures a single American company is eligible. A tender for night-vision binoculars – worth more than an estimated $100 million – was set to close on July 8 at 2 p.m. A competing company said the request includes a technical requirement that favours one American firm, at the exclusion of all others. The request requires a specific signal-to-noise ratio for the image intensifier tubes in the binoculars. The European competitor, Photonis, said the requirement is unique to the Canadian military – not reflecting industry norms, nor the requirements of NATO allies. Photonis said in a statement it has "attempted to engage the Government of Canada on this issue a number of times to course-correct the terms" of the request for proposals. The company supplies night-vision products to other NATO allies. The contract's posting comes at a time when Prime Minister Mark Carney has repeatedly said Canada is looking beyond the U.S. for defence spending. In June, Carney signed a new defence and security agreement with the European Union, signalling his commitment to deepen Canada's partnership with the EU. Several Canadian companies also manufacture high-quality night-vision binoculars. CBC News

The Government of Canada announced that it has implemented a new Interim Policy on Reciprocal Procurement. Under this new policy, suppliers from countries that limit Canadian access to their own government contracts can be restricted from bidding on Canadian federal contracts. This measure will prioritize suppliers from Canada and from the country’s reliable trading partners that provide reciprocal access to suppliers from Canada through trade agreements. The policy applies to all federal departments and agencies and will be implemented in two phases:

  • Phase 1, the interim policy, will focus on applying the policy based on the location of suppliers, started with the roll-out of training and tools on June 30, 2025, to support implementation. The interim policy is effective as of July 14, 2025.

  • Phase 2, the complete policy, will determine supplier eligibility based on the origin of goods and services being offered, and will be introduced at a later date. Public Services and Procurement Canada

The Montreal-based, federally funded Scale AI global innovation cluster announced a total of $98.6 million to support 23 new applied AI projects. Scale AI is providing $31.7 million, with participating companies contributing the remainder in cash and resources. With this latest round of investments, Scale AI said it is contributing to the acceleration of AI adoption across multiple industries through the deployment of new, advanced solutions, helping to strengthen the economy and boost national productivity. While Scale AI is funding projects from coast to coast, this funding supports initiatives led by businesses in Quebec adopting AI technologies in a diversity of use cases, ranging from planning and scheduling aircraft maintenance, forecasting retail demand and optimizing inventory, to deploying AI-driven sorting lines in recycling centres, among other innovative applications. For example, a project led by Quebec City-based applied AI startup Coveo received $4.5 million from Scale AI for a $16-million project to enhance e-commerce search, recommendation and product catalogue automation systems. Evan Solomon, federal minister of Artificial Intelligence and Innovation, spoke at the announcement at SCALE AI’s offices and said if Canada didn’t support its innovators, there won’t be a Canadian economy of the future. SCALE AI

The Regina-based, federally funded Protein Industries Canada global innovation cluster announced a new pilot project with agricultural food processor Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) and Winnipeg-based Seven Oaks Hospital Chronic Disease Innovation Centre (CDIC). A total of $48.7 million has been committed to the project, which aims to develop new pea protein ingredients and finished food products. LDC has developed a pea protein isolate that will be produced in its new facility, currently under construction in Yorkton, Sask., and expected to be operational by the end of 2025, With a focus on taste and nutrition, the new products developed by CDIC have the potential to help provide a wider selection of nutritious protein options for Canadian families, particularly seniors looking to manage muscle loss and sarcopenia. The ingredients’ use in other food and feed products will also help strengthen Canada’s domestic food supply chain, while increasing market access potential for Canadian pea crops, Protein Industries Canada said. Protein Industries Canada

The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) and Vancouver-based Creative Energy reached financial close on a $50 million loan to support the deep decarbonization of buildings through connection to district energy systems. The partnership will enable Creative Energy’s clients in British Columbia and Ontario to reduce more than 90 percent of their emissions through options such as switching from natural gas heating to efficient electricity-based district energy systems. The first building retrofit project under the partnership will be at Thompson Rivers University, upgrading 12 buildings and providing heating capacity to one new building across its Kamloops, B.C. campus. The campus will transition from decentralized natural gas heating to a high-efficiency electrified heat source using a centralized air-source and water-source heat pump strategy. The technology will reduce emissions from the heating systems in the connected building by 95 percent, creating a more sustainable campus for students and moving the university very close to its 2030 zero-carbon goal. With buildings accounting for around 18 percent of Canada’s total emissions, the CIB’s retrofit investments aim to enhance building sustainability while reducing energy consumption and associated capital costs. CIB

The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) will disburse $20.1 billion less than its target to disburse $35 billion by 2027-28, according to the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO). The PBO estimates that the CIB will disburse only $14.9 billion by 2027-28 compared with its target of $35 billion by that year. By 2029-30, the CIB will disburse $20.7 billion. However, the CIB has already met its target of $1 billion for Indigenous investments, which are expected to reach $3.1 billion by 2027-28. The CIB’s purpose is to co-invest in infrastructure projects that would not have been financially feasible for public and/or private sector investors to proceed with alone. The CIB invests in five priority sectors, each with their own funding target. These sectors are (target in brackets):

  • Public Transit ($5 billion).

  • Green Infrastructure ($10 billion).

  • Trade & Transportation ($5 billion).

  • Broadband ($3 billion).

  • Clean Power ($10 billion).

The CIB is not expected to reach its disbursement goals in any sector by 2027-28, the PBO said. PBO

Canadian business aren’t moving yet to the U.S. amid the Trump administration’s tariffs, according to a report by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CCC). The CCC’s Business Data Lab found that less than one per cent of the 9,103 businesses surveyed in April and May had established operations in the U.S. Only five percent of companies that export goods and eight percent of service exporters had established operations in the U.S. Other highlights of the report included:

  • Exporters, usually among the most optimistic, now trail other firms in sentiment. This drop reflects supply chain disruptions, tariff anxieties, higher costs and softening demand.

  • Exporters saw a 32-point increase in supply chain obstacles, driven by trade disruptions. This was the second consecutive quarter in which supply chain obstacles rose for all businesses.

  • Canada’s counter-tariffs are hitting businesses harder than the U.S. measures they answer. A higher share of Canadian businesses report medium-to-high exposure to Canada’s retaliatory tariffs (37 percent) than to U.S. tariffs (35 percent). Canadian Chamber of Commerce

 Shafqat Ali, president of the Treasury Board, launched a “Red Tape review” of regulations across federal departments and agencies with regulatory responsibilities. As part of this review, ministers will review regulations in their portfolios and propose actions and measures to eliminate red tape – including removing outdated regulation, reducing duplication with provincial rules, and making it easier to access and deliver services. The review will be overseen by the recently created Red Tape Reduction Office, and within 60 days ministers will report to the president of the Treasury Board on their organizations’ progress and next steps. According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), the combined cost of regulation to businesses from all three levels of government was estimated at $51.5 billion in 2024, with approximately $17.9 billion attributed to red tape. In 2024, the CFIB found that the average business spent 735 hours (92 days) on regulation, 256 hours (32 days) of which was spent on red tape. Under the federal Red Tape Reduction Act, when introducing new regulatory administrative burden, regulators are required to repeal an existing amount of burden. If a new regulation is introduced that imposes burden on business, regulators must repeal an existing regulation within two years. Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) announced nearly $16 million in federal funding for energy projects in the Maritime provinces that will help deliver reliable, affordable clean energy in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. This investment will support key initiatives in the region, including:

  • Modernizing electricity grids to deliver more reliable, affordable and clean power to Canadians.

  • Advancing carbon capture and clean technologies to reduce emissions and bring more- affordable, low-risk Canadian energy to market.

  • Expanding renewable energy capacity by advancing wind and solar power projects. 

  • Supporting clean energy projects in Indigenous, rural and remote communities and advancing economic reconciliation.

The funding includes $6 million for Nova Scotia Power Inc. for a project to demonstrate three new distribution grid technologies to modernize Nova Scotia’s electricity distribution network. Saint John Energy Inc. is receiving more than $5.2 million for a project to modernize electricity distribution in the City of Saint John through intelligent grid management systems. NRCan said this funding is rooted in collaboration with provinces, offshore regulators, Indigenous partners, workers and industry to ensure that federal investments reflect Maritime strengths and priorities and deliver long-term prosperity. NRCan

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is accepting applications for the Research Opportunities in Space Science program, 2025 Cycle 4 and is providing up to $1.5 million. For Cycle 4 the CSA intends to fund up to six projects in two areas. They include:

Gateway/Artemis Science and Technology Utilization – Up to four projects will be selected.

  • Each is for three-year awards.

  • Three projects leveraging only Category A expenses ($75,000/year).

  • One project leveraging Category A and B expenses ($175,000/year).

Planetary Exploration and Space Astronomy – Up to two projects will be selected.

  • Three-year awards, $50,000 per year for each award.

The CSA said that for this space science opportunity “there are no plans to fund projects in Atmospheric and Earth-System Science, or Solar-Terrestrial science for Cycle 4.” The deadline for applications is August 22, 2025. SpaceQ

Siksika Nation launched a court challenge of the Government of Alberta’s decision to lift its moratorium on coal mining on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains earlier this year. The Blood Tribe has joined the litigation, according to JFK Law, which is representing the Siksika in court. This isn’t the first time these Treaty 7 First Nations have challenged the Alberta government’s decision to open up the eastern slopes to coal mining. In May 2020, then-premier Jason Kenney repealed the 1976 coal policy, which prohibited coal mining in certain parts of the eastern slopes without consultation, which was challenged in court by the Siksika, Blood Tribe, Ermineskin Cree and Whitefish Lake bands, as well as a group of local ranchers. Due to intense public backlash, the government backtracked in February 2021, reinstating the coal policy. In January this year Alberta Energy Minister Brian Jean ordered the Alberta Energy Regulator to lift the moratorium, despite a new coal policy still being in the works, an action the new judicial review application notes was done without any input from Siksika Nation. The application notes that “extensive development authorized by the Crown,” including not just mining but municipal development and the establishment of conservation areas and tourism, which “has eroded the lands and resources critical to Siksika’s practice of its Treaty rights and culture, leaving fewer and fewer areas that can sustain Siksika’s Treaty-protected way of life.” Last week, the Alberta government reached a settlement [Short Report, July 9] with Evolve Power Ltd. and Atrum Coal Ltd. over lawsuits filed by the companies related to the government’s reinstating of the coal policy in 2021 restricting coal mining on the Eastern Slopes. Siksika Nation

The Government of Alberta plans to hold public consultations this fall on adding nuclear power to the province's energy mix, Premier Danielle Smith said. There have long been discussions about building reactors in Alberta – including ones that could power oilsands operations – but the province is currently reliant on greenhouse-gas emitting natural gas for electricity. Alberta’s consultations are set to begin around September or October, when Chantelle de Jonge, parliamentary secretary for affordability and utilities, plans to hold nuclear consultation sessions. Small modular reactors (SMRs) probably make the most sense at remote rural sites that are heavy energy users, Smith said. "Our oilsands projects are perfect for it, if you can get both the power and steam, power and heat." Maryland-based X-Energy Reactor Co. has designed a SMR that company CEO Clay Sell said would be “perfectly suited for Alberta” and is pursuing opportunities to add power to Alberta’s electricity grid in general. CBC News

Alberta now has highest number of measles cases per capita in Canada and North America – 1,284 as of July 11, 2025, or around 200 cases per million population. In comparison, India, which ranks second in the world in total measle cases, has a rate of six cases per million. The number of cases in Alberta is now higher than all 1,200 measles across 38 states in the U.S., where vaccine skepticism if now official federal government policy. Measles is a preventable childhood disease that leaves at least two of every 1,000 children with infections with several intellectual disabilities, pneumonia or hearing loss. Measles can also be fatal and also poses substantial risks to unvaccinated women carrying a child, including birth defects, premature deliveries, miscarriages and death. In Alberta, the vaccine normally is not given till a child reaches 12 months of age (though under certain circumstances the age can be six months). That means in the province all babies under six months and most under a year old are vulnerable to measles. “We have a situation basically in which the province wasn’t properly prepared or led and which has slow-walked virtually everything,” James Talbot, former chief medical officer of health for Nunavut, told Andrew Nikiforuk, a writer for The Tyee. In Talbot’s view, Alberta hasn’t had an appropriately qualified public health expert as chief medical officer of health since Premier Danielle Smith, a COVID skeptic, fired Deena Hinshaw in 2022 for her handling of the pandemic. Hinshaw is now a deputy provincial health officer for British Columbia, whose BC Centre for Disease Control reported no currently active measles cases as of July 10, 2025 and 104 cases so far this year, compared with Alberta’ 1,284 cases. The Tyee

RESEARCH, TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION

Brain Canada and Breakthrough Discoveries for thriving with Bipolar Disorder (BD²) announced an international partnership to advance research and transform care for people living with bipolar disorder. As part of the partnership, the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute will receive US$2.3 million to join the BD² Integrated Network, a collaborative research and clinical care model that will improve care, intervention and outcomes for people living with bipolar disorder. The BD2 Integrated Network – the largest collaborative scientific network focused on bipolar disorder – combines a traditional longitudinal cohort study of 4,000 participants and a learning health network to iteratively improve outcomes. Bipolar disorder is a highly complex and heterogeneous disorder that affects an estimated 40 million people worldwide with more than 70 percent of people with bipolar disorder being misdiagnosed at least once. It takes seven years on average to diagnose bipolar disorder, and less than 50 percent of those who are diagnosed find an effective treatment. Brain Canada

The Trump administration’s cuts to scientific research and federal scientists have caused unprecedented upheaval at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which has spearheaded advances against the disease for decades. NCI now faces an exodus of clinicians, scientists, and other staffers – some fired, others leaving in exasperation. After years of accelerating progress that has reduced cancer deaths by a third since the 1990s, the NCI has terminated funds nationwide for research to fight the disease, expand care and train new oncologists. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Government Efficiency were given a mandate to slash research contract spending by the NCI by more than a third. Those cuts could well result in a perceptible slowing of progress in the fight against cancer, current and former NCI employees and academic researchers and scientists said. The White House wants Congress to slash the cancer institute’s budget by nearly 40 percent to $4.53 billion, as part of a larger proposal to sharply reduce the National Institutes of Health 2026 budget. KFF Health News

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on July 14 that the Trump administration can proceed with dismantling the U.S. Education Department by firing thousands of workers. The order could ease Trump’s efforts to sharply curtail the federal government’s role in the nation’s schools. It also represents an expansion of presidential power, allowing Trump to functionally eliminate a government department created by Congress, without legislators’ input. It comes after a decision by the Supreme Court last week that cleared the way for the Trump administration to move forward with cutting thousands of jobs across a number of federal agencies, including the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, State and Treasury. The new order by the court was unsigned and gave no reasoning, as is typical in such emergency applications. The order is technically temporary, applying while appeals proceed through the courts. In practice, thousands of fired workers whom a Boston judge had ordered be reinstated are now again subject to removal from their jobs. The Trump administration has announced plans to fire more than 1,300 workers, a move that would effectively gut the Education Department, which manages federal loans for college, tracks student achievement and enforces civil rights laws in schools. The New York Times

The Saskatchewan Research Council’s (SRC) rare earth processing plant is only operating at about 25 percent of its expected capacity after months of waiting for key equipment. The plant in Saskatoon was supposed to process 400 tonnes of rare earth elements annually starting in 2025 – enough to power 500,000 electric vehicles. Instead, this year’s output is expected to be closer to 100 tonnes due to delays getting equipment needed to build the facility. SRC was hit by supply chain issues post-COVID, SRC chief executive Mike Crabtree said. “Equipment that would normally have been off the shelf or delivered within five to six weeks was taking nine to 12 months.” Crabtree expects the facility will be fully operating by the end of 2026, making the facility “one of the first — if not the first — plant of this scale to come online [in Canada],” he said. At that point, he said the plant will be producing more than 400 tonnes of neodymium-praseodymium metals – used in magnet motors – as well as about 30 tonnes of dysprosium and around 15 tons of terbium, two metals that China had imposed export controls on in April. The operation, backed by more than $100 million in provincial and federal government funding, will ultimately process all 17 rare earths. Bloomberg News

VIATEC (Victoria Innovation, Advanced Technology and Entrepreneurship Council) announced the first series of BOOST recipients. Eleven Victoria, B.C.-based, high- potential technology ventures were selected to receive assistance to implement high-impact projects. BOOST is a new initiative led by VIATEC to help Greater Victoria’s tech companies grow faster and stronger. It focuses on supporting local startups and scale-ups that show high potential by connecting them with expert advisors, targeted resources and customized growth plans. Qualifying companies are selected through a comprehensive screening process that assesses their growth potential, leadership team, market opportunity and readiness to scale. The Government of Canada, through Pacific Economic Development Canada, is supporting VIATEC with a $2.5-million investment to deliver BOOST through the Business Acceleration Pilot, which aims to accelerate job creation and long-term economic impact in the region. Recipients receive up to $45,000 in investment to implement their personalized growth plans to expand into new markets. VIATEC

Hydro-Québec suspended its pre-construction studies at a proposed hydroelectric project in traditional Innu territory in Labrador after protesters blockaded the work site. Protester Jerome Jack said Innu people in Labrador were not properly consulted by the Innu Nation or Hydro-Québec about the proposed power plant, to be built at Gull Island along the Churchill River Hydro-Québec spokesperson Lynn St-Laurent said the utility is monitoring the situation with a commitment to understanding the demonstrators' concerns. "We recognize the cultural, historical, and spiritual importance of the Gull Island territory for Innu communities," St-Laurent said in an email. The Innu Nation said there have been public meetings with communities and elders, and there are more to come, and there will be no final agreement without a ratification vote. The Canadian Press

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNRL) one of Canada’s largest oil and gas companies, failed to fulfill an agreement it struck with B.C.’s energy regulator to address thousands of inactive pipelines in the province and faced no financial penalties, according to an article by The Narwhal. Internal government documents obtained by The Narwhal and the Investigative Journalism Foundation reveal CNRL failed to meet targets it proposed to the BC Energy Regulator to gradually deactivate more than 4,300 pipelines it operated across the province. Companies like CNRL operate thousands of short pipelines which connect natural gas wells — including hydraulic fracturing operations — to major pipeline networks. When the wells no longer produce natural gas, companies operating in B.C. are required to decommission pipelines within 18 months. The legal timeline is aimed at protecting the environment from leaks and damage as pipelines gradually decay. But CNRL failed to deactivate the pipelines in accordance with a plan agreed to by the BC Energy Regulator and didn’t meet targets for any of the years 2020, 2021 and 2022. The BC Energy Regulator said it did not fine CNRL (which posted gross revenues of more than $41 billion last year, according to its 2024 financial statements) because the regulator did not deem it necessary to ensure the company got back into compliance. Martin Olszynski, chair in energy, resources and sustainability at the University of Calgary’s law school, said CNRL has a track record of being slow to clean up and deactivate its assets. As of June 2, the Alberta Energy Regulator reported CNRL holds more than 20,000 inactive wells in that province — or more than 25 percent of Alberta’s inactive wells. The Narwhal

Aqua-Guard Spill Response Inc. was announced as the Grand Prize winner of the Impact Canada Oil Spill Response Challenge led by Natural Resources Canada. As the Challenge winner, Aqua-Guard will receive a $2-million prize grant from NRCan. For the past three years, as part of the NRCAN Challenge, Aqua-Guard has been developing a solution to address a critical gap in oil spill response: the efficient removal of floating oil sheens. While existing mechanical solutions effectively recover light to heavy viscosity oil spills, they fail to recover thin oil sheens – forcing responders to rely on inefficient and wasteful sorbents. Aqua-Guard’s innovation in oil sheen recovery, named CFSH (Carbon Fibre Super Hydrophobic), introduces a first-of-its-kind mechanical solution capable of efficiently recovering ultra-thin oil sheens from water surfaces – a challenge previously deemed “non-recoverable” in the oil spill response industry. The CFSH solution revolutionizes oil spill response by enabling:

  • High-efficiency mechanical recovery of ultra-thin oil sheens (including recovery from 50 microns to less than 0.08 microns).

  • Minimized waste and reduced disposal costs compared to sorbents.

  • Versatility across all aquatic environments, including marinas, ports, lakes, rivers, refineries, offshore waters and ice-infested waters.

Aqua-Guard worked closely with collaboration from industry, including from the Western Canada Marine Response Corporation. Other key collaborators to the project include Proactive Environmental, Staynor Response Services, CN Rail, Canadyne Technologies, Canflex, and Cascade Aerospace. Aqua-Guard will now work to finalize the commercial solution. HazMat Mag

A group of eight residents from Fort St. John in northeast British Columbia filed a formal application with the federal Competition Bureau, calling for an investigation into the David Suzuki Foundation’s use of allegedly false and misleading imagery in its anti-natural gas campaigns. The complaint centres on the repeated use of a two-decade-old aerial photo of multiple natural gas wells in Wyoming. The residents claim the image is being used to falsely represent current development in B.C.’s Montney Formation – a major gas-producing region responsible for roughly half of Canada’s natural gas output. According to the group, the David Suzuki Foundation has used the image on its website, social media, reports and in fundraising appeals, despite acknowledging in some instances that the photo is not from B.C. The complainants argue this misleads the public and donors, in violation of Section 74.01(1) of the Competition Act. The complaint, filed under Sections 9 and 10, calls on the Competition Bureau to investigate and impose remedies, including stopping the use of the image, issuing corrective statements and returning any money raised through misleading representations. CFNR Network

Concerns about climate change have dropped to a “third tier” issue in a new Leger poll that asked Canadians about what they thought were the biggest challenges for Canada. Trade and tariff issues and U.S. relations were No. 1, at 20 percent. Prime Minister Mark Carney could find this shift in public opinion makes his life easier as he seeks to accelerate major projects that are in the “national interest” while facing calls to roll back the climate policies of previous prime minister Justin Trudeau, including a planned emissions cap on the oil and natural gas industry, electric vehicle mandates, an oil tanker ban off the B.C.’s northwest coast, plans to force fossil fuels off the electricity grid, and hostility to oil development and pipelines. In the Leger poll, just four percent of respondents listed “climate change/extreme weather” as the No. 1 issue facing Canada today, putting it in eighth place among the 14 top issues offered as choices. That’s in sharp contrast to a similar Leger poll conducted in 2019, which showed that “fighting climate change” ranked as the third most frequently cited priority (by 30 percent), just a few points behind taxation and “jobs and the economy” (both 35 percent). Andrew Enns, executive vice-president of Leger, said environmental issues have tumbled over the ensuing six years into the “third tier” of public concerns, as Canadians are seized with economic issues, including tariffs, housing prices, immigration and inflation – all of which were ranked by poll respondents as more pressing than climate concerns. However, the Leger poll also found 42 percent of Canadians said projects deemed by the federal government to be in the national interest should require the support of federal and provincial governments as well as affected Indigenous communities. Only eight percent said Ottawa’s support alone should be enough. National Post

The Government of Canada is set to reimburse car dealers for electric-vehicle subsidies they paid to customers before Ottawa shut down the program in January. Transport Canada hosted a webinar with the car dealerships outlining how the program will be reopened to reimburse the businesses for rebates of up to $5,000 car, incentives Ottawa cancelled after Tesla claimed millions of dollars in rebates in a short period. Car dealerships will have one month to make a claim to get their money back. The government owes the country’s car dealers a total of as much as $11 million for rebates on EV sales, said Huw Williams, head of the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association, which represents 3,500 sellers. The government has yet to say when it will fulfil its promise to resume the rebate program it calls Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles for current car buyers. Meanwhile, Canada continues to fall behind on efforts to build up a network of electric vehicle charging stations, even as the rising number of chargers along key corridors makes it easier for Canadians to take their EVs on longer trips, researchers say. There are just over 35,000 charging stations across the country right now – well short of the 100,520 Canada needs to meet its policy goals for electric vehicles, according to a report last year by Montreal-based consultancy Dunsky Energy and Climate. The Globe and Mail, Financial Post

Edmonton-based Artificial Agency, an AI startup pioneering generative behaviour for gaming, announced today the alpha launch of its flagship product. The AI-powered behaviour engine lets developers add fully autonomous, embodied characters that interact with players in complex ways, as well as AI “game directors, non-embodied beings” that manage the overall story and adapt the game in real-time based on how players are performing. The technology is now available to select studios as part of Artificial Agency’s pilot program. The gaming industry remains a bright spot and huge growth opportunity amid a declining media and entertainment market. Total gaming revenue is expected to rise from US$227 billion in 2023 to US$312 billion in 2027. Artificial Agency

Calgary-based Net Zero Now Ltd. announced the completion of environmental studies on its first energy campus in Alberta, a 320-acre site specifically selected to meet the infrastructure requirements and locational preferences of both electricity generation and data centres. With data centres applying for 16,229 megawatts (MW) of load capacity from the electricity grid in Alberta, and the Alberta Electric System Operator imposing an interim large load connection limit of 1,200 MW, Net Zero's energy campus is solving the most critical constraint in Canada's fastest-growing data center market: access to electricity where data centres want to operate. The energy campus provides a speed-to-market and low-cost electricity supply solution that includes 400 MW of base load electricity generation, power quality services, backup supply and an accompanying data centre campus. In addition to the focus on achieving a net-zero carbon emission electricity supply, Net Zero will deploy net-zero building techniques to reduce the embodied and operational carbon footprint of its data centre. Net Zero Now Ltd.

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Centre is testing “robotic coyotes,” a new autonomous deterrent system to keep airfields safe from bird flocks and other wildlife that can endanger military flight operations. By using lifelike plastic predator “coyotes” – decoys mounted on unmanned ground vehicles, researchers aim to prevent potentially catastrophic collisions between birds and jet fighters and other military aircraft. Bird-aircraft strikes, also known as BASH (Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard), have long plagued military and civilian aviation, resulting in damaged equipment, costly repairs and, in some cases, the loss of life. Traditional scare tactics – such as noise cannons or static decoys – tend to lose effectiveness over time as animals become habituated. The Army’s new robotic approach is designed to change the game by bringing mobility, unpredictability and machine learning to the fight. If successful, these robotic deterrents could provide around-the-clock coverage with minimal human intervention. The Debrief

The European Commission released a voluntary code of practice for AI companies, aimed at helping firms comply with standards set by the EU AI Act. Developed by 13 independent experts with input from 1,000-plus stakeholders, the code offers practical tools to align transparency, copyright and safety and security processes with the regulatory standards. The transparency chapter, for example, includes a model documentation form to let businesses know what information is required in mandatory reporting. After the code of conduct is officially endorsed by member states and the Commission, businesses can become voluntary signatories to reduce administrative burden and increase legal certainty “compared to providers that prove compliance in other ways,” according to the Commission. Some industry groups and AI providers have called for a lessening of the current state of regulatory hoops and clearer guidance. CIO Dive

VC, PRIVATE INVESTMENT & ACQUISITIONS

Delaware-based Airalo, co-founded by Canadian Abraham Burak who lives in Toronto, announced a US$220-million investment led by new investor CVC, propelling Airalo to “unicorn” status and valuing the company at over $1 billion. The funding round included participation by  existing investors Peak XV and Antler Elevate. Airalo is the world’s largest travel eSIM provider. eSIMs embed directly in a device’s hardware, replacing conventional SIM cards. The company’s mobile app empowers travellers to instantly get the highest quality roaming experience when abroad, at prices Airalo said are a fraction of what they would normally pay. Airalo said the new capital will help improve its user support and provide new products. Airalo

Toronto-based Moonvalley, an AI research company building foundational AI video models and tools trained exclusively on licensed content, raised $84 million in additional funding led by existing investor General Catalyst. The round includes strategic investments from leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency, AI cloud CoreWeave, and Comcast Ventures. Existing investors Khosla Ventures and YCombinator also participated, bringing total funding to $154 million. The funding reflects a broader industry shift as enterprises and entertainment companies champion AI development that respects intellectual property, Moonvalley said. Moonvalley

After about two decades of working for Brookfield Asset Management, Bahir Manios and David Levenson have launched their own firm to invest in infrastructure, health care and financial services. The two men established Genesis Financial Asset Management with ambitions to invest in transactions worth as much as $1 billion. The firm’s model is to raise separate pools of capital for each deal, with no deadline to exit the investment, rather than raising money for a fund that deploys the cash into multiple assets or companies. The Toronto-based firm is looking to buy controlling stakes or provide structured financing to insurance companies, asset managers, infrastructure providers and health care services. The founders have participated alongside individual investors in three hybrid capital transactions so far worth a total of $100 million. Bloomberg News

Montreal-based Rivr, an AI-powered media search and content discovery platform for video creators and brands, raised $3.6 million in seed funding. The round was led by GreenSky Ventures, a Toronto-based early-stage venture capital firm focused on Canadian business-to-business and deep-tech startups. With the help of artificial intelligence, Rivr ingests multimedia content such as gaming videos, podcasts, live events, workshops and interviews, and converts that into data that clients can search and analyze for highlights and insights without the need to spend as much time rewatching source material themselves. Rivr plans to use the funds to grow its team and further refine and commercialize its platform. The Saas News

Toronto real estate venture builder R-Labs raised $3.5 million to help real estate startups reach commercial scale. The funding round was led by global engineering firm Hatch, with participation by existing investors Oxford Properties, Dorsay Development Corp, and LandSure Systems Ltd. R-Labs said the funds will expand the company’s capabilities to co-found new companies with experienced entrepreneurs addressing Canada’s most complex sector challenges, particularly in housing affordability, climate resiliency, complete communities and building optimization. Examples of companies co-created with R-LABS include Assembly, a modular housing company providing turnkey sustainable wood construction solutions in urban markets for both market and affordable housing, and NOAH, an advanced flood risk platform helping insurers, lenders, and property owners understand and manage flood risk. R-Labs

Kitchener, Ont.-based health tech startup Cobionix raised US$3 million to accelerate the commercialization of its flagship autonomous medical robot, CODI®, in North American and U.K.  healthcare systems. The funding round was led by venture capital firm TitletownTech, with participation by University of Calgary robotics expert Paul McBeth and Lions Investment. Co-founded in 2021 by University of Waterloo engineering alumni Nima Zamani and Dr. Tim Lasswell, with UWaterloo science alumnus John Van Leeuwen, Cobionix said its robotic arm can facilitate various tasks like remote ultrasounds, potentially reducing health care professionals’ workloads. Pilot programs are already underway in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K., including collaborations with the Saskatchewan Health Authority and the National Health Service. The new funding will support further clinical validation and facilitate the launch of CODI® into U.S. healthcare markets. University of Waterloo

Opennote, an edtech startup co-founded by students from Guelph, Ont. and Irvine, Calif., raised about $1.2 million in a funding round led by Afore Capital. The startup, which personalizes educational experiences for undergraduate students, also secured a spot in Y Combinator’s Summer 2025 cohort. Opennote, which uses Meta’s open-source Llama models for its AI ecosystem, offers various pricing tiers aimed at both individual students and educational institutions. The company’s founders aim to use the Y Combinator resources to enhance international expansion and infrastructure development. Startup Ecosystem Canada

Victoria, B.C.-based CelluloTech closed a seed funding round to accelerate the commercial rollout of its patented solvent-free cellulose functionalization technology, which could significantly reduce the use of plastics and harmful chemicals across multiple industries. The round – the amount of funding wasn’t disclosed – was led by Neglected Climate Opportunities, a subsidiary of the Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust, with participation from Meliorate Partners, an early-stage sustainability-focused venture fund. Cellulotech’s core innovation enables the transformation of cellulose – the world’s most abundant organic compound – into a scalable, cost-effective and fully recyclable alternative to plastic, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and other unsustainable materials. The technology’s applications span sectors such as packaging, hygiene, textiles, construction and paper products, offering a potential pathway to detoxify and decarbonize global supply chains. The company plans to expand production capabilities and bring its green chemistry solution to market at scale. CelluloTech

U.S.-based global AI semiconductor company Tenstorrent, which was founded in Canada and has an office in Toronto, agreed to buy California-based Blue Cheetah Analog Design, a startup building highly customized analog mixed-signal technologies. Financial terms weren’t disclosed Tenstorrent is a next-gen computing company that builds computers for AI. Blue Cheetah has been an integral vendor for Tenstorrent, which said that advanced interconnects and other analog and mixed-signal components like Blue Cheetah’s have been critical to the performance and efficiency of AI systems. Acquiring Blue Cheetah brings the capabilities in-house to Tenstorrent. Tenstorrent is just one of many Canadian AI hardware companies that have moved to the U.S. Key competitor Nvidia acquired Toronto AI model optimizer CentML last month, while AMD acquired Toronto AI chipmaker Untether AI last month. Tenstorrent

REPORTS & POLICIES

Canada needs to leverage its natural resources for strategic advantage, including using energy as a “hard power”

Canada needs to leverage its energy capacity and other natural resources for the country’s strategic advantage, use its energy as a “hard power,” and establish a North American energy alliance, according to a new report by the Business Council of Canada (BCC).

To do so, Canada requires a new federal advanced research projects agency to drive innovation and heighten economic competitiveness, says the report, Selling to our strengths: A roadmap for leveraging Canada’s energy, agri-food and critical minerals in a time of global uncertainty.

The BCC represents 170 major companies.

Despite successive Canadian governments having signed trade agreements granting preferential access to more than 60 percent of the global economy, Canadians are no better off today than they were a decade ago, the report says.

“The problem is clear. Canada lacks the export infrastructure – both physical and regulatory – to fully leverage its natural assets and deliver to allies and trading partners the commodities they need and want.”

Canada requires a coherent framework that connects its “admirable ambition” to pragmatic policies that bolster the country’s capacity to produce, transport and enrich the value of its energy, food and mineral resources, according to the report.

Foreign policy should evolve to focus on national security and expanding the country’s economic interests and global influence through trade.

A new trade strategy and action plan can send the right signal to trading partners that Canada’s diplomatic efforts will pursue commercial success and contribute to energy, mineral and food security, according to the report.

Canada’s energy capacity – not just oil and natural gas but also critical minerals, uranium and nuclear technology – should be leveraged for the country’s strategic advantage, especially as the world thirsts for energy security, the report says.

The next era of energy policy should focus on creating strong and resilient supply chains within North America and on expanding Canada’s ability to reliably provide energy to trading partners outside of the continent.

A new alliance with the United States and Mexico should be pursued to maximize energy security in North America, the report says.

Canada should work immediately with NATO members to create a critical mineral reserve for defence technology and military purposes. “Doing so will require targeted federal resources to support mining in Canada.”

Canada can and should reclaim its position as an agriculture and agri-food superpower, the report says. This includes building on its strengths as a leading exporter of commodities such as grains and pulse crops and inputs essential to global food production, like nitrogen and potash.

Ultimately, unlocking Canada’s energy, agriculture and critical mineral potential will require significant structural changes, according to the report.

Regulatory reforms are needed in many areas, especially with regard to project approvals and permitting. Canadian business leaders agree with the government’s intention to advance the principle of “one project, one assessment.”

However, the report urges the government to go further in its efforts to reduce regulatory redundancy and move to “one decision” with Indigenous rights holders involved in that process.

Canada is in urgent need of a national trade infrastructure strategy – developed collaboratively by the federal, provincial and territorial governments and private sector – to strengthen economic growth and reach new markets, the report says.

Yet such a strategy will fall short if work stoppages continue to occur at an unprecedented rate, the report warns. In this respect, a strong commitment by the government to protect Canada’s supply chains from future labour disruptions is also urgently needed.

Canada’s low-emitting exports are a competitive advantage that should be maintained in the decades to come, the report notes.

Access to affordable electricity has been a strategic advantage for decades, but markets now face a new era of constraints, higher costs and grid security risks.

Canada should champion a national effort designed to secure new sources of reliable, affordable and sustainable electricity in strategic jurisdictions.

A national effort to strengthen the competitiveness of carbon markets in Canada is also required. Such an effort should include a comprehensive review of carbon pricing regimes and assess the potential to create synergies between existing markets.

The report’s recommendations include:

  1. Revamp foreign policy to grow Canada’s global market share.

  • Develop a global trade strategy/action plan designed to champion Canadian business and strengthen the country’s competitive advantage in traditional and emerging markets.

  • Create trade envoys, appointed by government, to work directly with regional ambassadors to build relationships and advance trade and investment opportunities identified by the Canadian government.

  • Establish an Expert Trade Advisory Panel consisting of private sector representatives to work with the government to share intelligence and exchange information about emerging risks and market opportunities.

  1. Unleash energy as Canada’s “hard power.”

  • Pursue the development of a North American energy alliance that focuses on maximizing the shared energy security, economic and geopolitical interests of the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

  • Create a North American regulatory task force responsible for developing a common vision to identify and expeditiously approve infrastructure that strengthens the resiliency of North America’s energy and critical mineral supply chains, with a specific emphasis on cross-border infrastructure.

  1. Make Canada a major supplier of critical minerals to NATO.

  • Work with industry and the financial sector to encourage production and processing of priority minerals using concessional financing and tools like bilateral contracts and derivative instruments such as forwards, futures and options.

  • Create a dedicated financial instrument for defence critical minerals in Canada, modelled after the U.S. DPA Title 3 program.

  1. Unlock Canadian resources through a modern, efficient project approval process.

  • Ensure that timelines for regulatory processes, including permits and project approvals at both the federal and provincial/territorial levels are short, concrete and adhered to.

  1. Develop a national trade-enabling infrastructure strategy and permanently resolve labour disruptions in critical industries.

  • Create a national strategy that supports trade-enabling infrastructure and focuses on physical infrastructure, ports, railways, pipelines, roads and connectivity into gateways and corridors to support long-term trade.

  • Connect rural communities to foreign markets by building out broadband to support the digitization of farming and natural resource projects.

  • Publicly commit to resolving – through policy or legislative amendments – labour disputes and acts of civil disobedience that harm the country’s capacity to trade with its allies and trading partners.

  1. Futureproof Canada’s low-carbon advantage.

  • Build out a new era of electricity generation and transmission.

  • Champion a national effort focused on achieving a dual mandate for electricity production and grid security.

  • Build and strengthen interprovincial transmission connections to create new energy markets and improve energy reliability and energy security.

  • Pursue long-term infrastructure plans designed to strengthen or expand the Canada-U.S. electricity corridor and identify ways to streamline the approval processes for cross-border infrastructure.

  • Create competitive carbon markets to cut industrial emissions.

  1. Create a new agency to drive innovation and breakthrough technologies.

  • Mandate the agency to ensure better technology transfers between publicly funded research and the Canadian companies that could commercialize those ideas.

  • Create dedicated streams for high-value export-oriented industries such as agrifood, energy and critical minerals.

  • Allow the agency to invest in high-risk, high-reward research and development, and in technologies that emerge from the agency’s collaboration with the private sector.

The report says that as geopolitical tensions increase, Canadian policymakers must position Canada for success in a new world order increasingly shaped by economic and security priorities.

Incrementalism should not be the goal, according to the report. Rather, Canada should pursue a vision that builds a future where capturing global market share in energy and resources creates a high quality of life for Canadians and positions the country as a stable destination for long-term capital valuing returns from responsible resource development.

“The world has changed – and if we play our cards right, it may be changing in Canada’s favour. As has often been said, Canada has what the world wants.” Business Council of Canada

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Time is right for federal government to build a stronger research ecosystem: U15 Group 

The federal government should focus on supporting talent, research and innovation that are essential to strengthen Canadian industry and secure supply chains, according to a report by the U15 Canada group of research universities.

Federal support must be used to turn Canadian discoveries into Canadian prosperity, sustainability and resiliency, says the report, From Discovery to Prosperity: A Roadmap for Homegrown Success.

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

“A stronger research ecosystem means high-paying jobs, better healthcare, cleaner energy and new technologies that improve the quality of life for everyone.”

The role U15 universities can play has never been more critical, including by:

  • Developing talent: Developing the next generation of leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, and healthcare professionals who will realize Canada’s future success.

U15 universities are the backbone of Canada’s highly qualified talent pipeline, enrolling nearly 50 percent of all university students. Over 156,000 students graduate annually from a U15 university, including 48,000 graduate students.

“To stay competitive, Canada must invest ambitiously to grow this talent pipeline and close the talent gap with our peers.”

  • Driving innovation: Driving breakthrough research and technologies that strengthen our society, power economic growth, and support Canada’s global competitiveness.

  • Delivering impact: Delivering real-world solutions to Canadians’ most pressing challenges, creating lasting impact in communities from coast to coast to coast.

The report’s key takeaways and recommendations are:

  • People lead innovation. Scientific breakthroughs, medical advances and economic growth all begin with talented people – without them, businesses cannot scale, industries cannot compete, and communities cannot thrive. Yet, Canada ranks 25th among OECD countries and last in the G7 for advanced degree attainment.

Recommendation: The government should commit to expanding Canada’s highly qualified talent pipeline by setting a national goal to close the graduate degree gap with OECD peers, strengthening and expanding research training programs, and rebuilding Canada’s global reputation to attract the best and brightest from around the world.

Closing the  talent gap also means Canada must keep pathways open to attract and retain top international talent.

Following disruptive reforms to the immigration system, a distinctions-based approach that upholds the highest standards in recruitment and international education would better ensure a managed international student program that attracts the best and brightest from around the world who can contribute to a stronger Canada.

  • Innovation underpins prosperity. Research and innovation help build a strong, resilient and technologically enabled economy.

Recommendation: The government should utilize Canada’s research ecosystem to build domestic capacity by delivering the proposed capstone governance mechanism, establishing a Sovereign Technologies Fund to advance critical new technologies in a competitive world, and better supporting academia-industry collaboration (for example, through mechanisms like industrial research chairs, commercialization supports and collaborative R&D initiatives) to accelerate innovation-based growth.

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

“Such a strategically focused fund would help strengthen Canada’s national security and our industrial competitiveness.”

  • Research delivers impact. From new health therapies to clean energy solutions and better social policies, research improves people’s lives, strengthens communities and supports Canada’s global competitiveness.

U15 universities alone account for over 75 percent of the $1.2 billion in industry-sponsored research across Canadian academia, providing businesses with the knowledge, resources, and solutions they need to innovate and grow.

Since 2010, U15 universities have filed over 18,000 invention disclosures, 11,000 patent applications, and launched more than 1,100 research-based startups – including nearly 120 in 2023 alone. “This fuels new technologies, companies, and expertise that secure made-in-Canada solutions.”

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

In 2022-2023 alone, researchers at U15 universities worked with over 3,600 organizations on federally funded research grants – including over 1,000 non-profits, 1,800 businesses, hundreds of educational institutions, nearly 500 healthcare providers, and government bodies at the municipal, provincial and federal levels.

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

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

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Canada’s life sciences industry needs more support from Canadian investors including pension funds: adMare Institute

Canadian venture capital funds with a strong life sciences specialization are too few and too small to support scaling therapeutic companies throughout the entire funding life cycle, according to a report by the adMare Institute.

In the current geopolitical context, the historical reliance on international capital highlights vulnerability in accessing capital in the near future as it appears that foreign capital is pulling back from the Canadian market, says the report, Does Canada Own Its Life Sciences Future?

“Domestic institutional investors, particularly pension funds, are uniquely suited to address this gap,” the report says. However, Canadian pension fund investment in domestic life science companies remains limited.

Six of Canada’s top 10 venture-backed exits in the last decade are therapeutics companies, the report notes. “Despite this, the country struggles to convert its scientific excellence into a thriving life sciences industry.”

Key barriers include limited Canadian investment capital to support promising domestic firms as they scale over time, to yield a larger number of anchor companies necessary for complete cluster formation.

The report analyzes capital flows into Canadian therapeutics firms to explore how investor types and capital origins influence the creation of domestic anchor firms and the development of a flourishing life sciences industry.

According to the report, from 2013 to 2024, life science companies attracted just seven percent of Canadian venture capital and have fewer domestic investors at every growth stage.

The data revealed strong sector growth: total deal value increased from $122 million in 2013 to $842 million in 2024, peaking at $1.2 billion in 2021.

Therapeutics companies account for 48 percent of Canadian life science companies and generated 78 percent of venture capital deal value – underscoring their economic importance. Overall, venture capital provided the bulk of funding to Canadian therapeutics companies: 69 percent at startup, 78 percent at early-growth, and 94 percent at late-stage.

However, the majority of capital provided to Canadian therapeutics companies is from foreign investors, mostly U.S.-based, and similarly, these same foreign investors capture the bulk of the returns.

Across all sectors, Canadian deals involving only Canadian investors accounted for 61 percent of the market in 2024, but only 22 percent of dollars invested.

In the case of Canadian therapeutics companies, domestic investors made up just 45 percent of all investors, and domestic participation dropped from 42 percent at startup to just 24 percent at late stage.

“Domestic involvement also shrinks as deal sizes grow, highlighting a structural gap in Canada’s investor ecosystem,” the report says.

Comparing the total amount of life sciences VC capital in the U.S. and Canada in relation to GDP over the last decade points to a notional funding shortfall of approximately $1.5 billion per year, the report notes.

These domestic funding gaps are primarily filled by U.S. VC firms with larger, often pension-backed funds, that benefit from the earlier de-risking of opportunities by Canadian investors. “This situation is concerning as large equity stakes by foreign firms often result in greater foreign influence over company growth, as well as eventual returns and intellectual property flowing out of the country when companies exit.”

In the case of Canadian therapeutics companies, seven of the top 20 exits (over $100 million) were $1 billion+ acquisitions by international firms, accounting for 71 percent of total exit value. While mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have many benefits, the report’s analysis shows that more than 75 percent of the investors receiving returns from the top 20 exits are international.

“The combination of significant international M&A and high prevalence of international investors highlights the leakage of economic value and missed opportunities to strengthen Canada’s innovation ecosystem and drive economic growth.”

A strong body of academic research links pension fund investment and its ability to provide patient, long-term capital, with gains in domestic innovation and productivity, the report says.

Patient capital enables firms to weather downturns, invest in fixed assets, and build high-quality teams, all of which increase a firm’s “stickiness” to its home region and reinforce local economic development.

Lessons can be drawn from international initiatives [including in the U.S., U.K. the European Union, Ireland, Korea, Denmark and France] and Quebec’s dual mandate approach to maximize returns, while investing in the province’s economy. “This approach helps to explain why Quebec pension funds have been most active in Canadian therapeutics companies and funds to date.”

In the U.K., for example, the British Business Bank recently established the British Growth Partnership (pending regulatory approval), aiming to channel even more institutional capital, including U.K. pension funds, into high-growth companies, including those in life sciences.

The European Investment Fund has launched several initiatives to engage institutional investors in the life sciences sector, aligning with broader economic development goals across Europe and recognizing the sector’s track record for investment returns that outperform other sectors.

In France, the Tibi Initiative is a French government-backed effort to address the chronic lack of capital for high-potential tech companies in the country, reduce reliance on non-European capital and retain startups domestically.

Across the board, the health sector now accounts of nearly 20 percent of investment under the Tibi Initiative.

But for Canada, “if the lion’s share of economic benefit continues to flow outside of Canada, we will never break the cycle, and both meaningful industry growth and the creation of Canadian therapeutics anchor companies will remain elusive,” the report says.

With its strong intellectual property generation and robust returns, Canada’s life sciences sector offers a compelling opportunity to drive domestic productivity and economic growth, especially in an era of global economic uncertainty.

Increased domestic investment, particularly from institutional investors such as pension funds, presents an opportunity to change this trajectory and these outcomes, the report says.

These investors are well-positioned to provide the kind of long-term, stable capital required to scale therapeutic innovations and develop globally competitive companies that remain rooted in Canada.

The absence of most domestic pension funds from this sector represents genuine concerns that can be readily addressed by well-intentioned and objective actors, the report says.

“Convening Canada’s institutional investors, starting with domestic pension funds, to co-create capital solutions that fill critical gaps in the Canadian venture capital ecosystem could help foster anchor companies and ensure that the benefits of Canadian life sciences innovation are realized at home.” adMare Institute

See also: Canada’s life sciences industry needs anchor firms to create world-class clusters: report

 The hard pivot: anchoring a world-leading Canadian life sciences industry

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Canadian businesses lag global peers in AI maturity, with access to technical talent the top barrier to AI deployment

Only seven percent of surveyed Canadian executives classify their organizations as advanced or "runners" in artificial intelligence maturity – less than half the 17-percent rate reported by global peers, according to a report by Georgian.

While 69 percent of Canadian companies remain in early "crawl and walk" phases of AI development, 31 percent cite creating competitive advantage as their primary AI motivation – a rate higher than the 26-percent global average, says the report, AI, Applied – Canada Benchmarks, published in collaboration with NewtonX.

This suggests Canadian organizations recognize AI's strategic importance but potentially struggle to translate ambition into advanced implementations, according to the report.

Canadian respondents also are less likely to cite an increase in team productivity as their main motivation for applying AI than their global peers.

"Canadian innovators appear to believe that AI has the potential to assist them in growing their business and report active AI experimentation, but systemic challenges around talent and scaling may be preventing many from reaching the level of maturity that is likely to drive competitive advantage," said James Lamberti, head of go-to-market at Georgian.

The most substantial gaps appear in high-value research activities, where Canadian go-to-market respondents are 19 points behind their global peers (55 percent vs. 76 percent), and lead scoring and segmentation where there is an 11-point difference (39 percent vs. 50 percent).

Canadian go-to-market respondents report a more cautious approach to implementation, with higher representation in planning or piloting (55 percent vs. 48 percent) and lower representation in using AI on a limited basis or broadly across the go-to-market area (33 percent vs. 40 percent).

“This pattern suggests Canadian go-to-market respondents may be adopting AI more cautiously or facing different barriers to implementation compared to their global counterparts,” the report says.

The Canadian Benchmarks Report, released in partnership with Vector Institute and the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii), is part of Georgian's AI applied benchmark research, which surveyed executives globally across 10 countries and 15 industry verticals.

For this wave, Georgian partnered with nine international organizations including AI Marketers Guild, FirstMark, GTM Partners, Untapped Ventures, Startup Nation Central, Herzog and Grove Ventures, in addition to Vector and Amii, to create global benchmarks of business-to-business AI adoption.

According to the report, Canadian respondents lag behind global peers in advanced AI implementation across multiple dimensions:

The maturity gap:

  • Only 41 percent of Canadian respondents report advanced or fundamental use of a range of AI techniques versus 54 percent globally.

  • 37 percent of Canadian respondents report advanced large language model implementation compared to 45 percent globally.

  • Canadian go-to-market respondents average 54 percent AI adoption across nine functions versus 61 percent globally, with a 19-point gap in research activities and an 11-point gap in lead scoring.

  • Canadian R&D respondents are significantly less likely to use AI in production for customer support and chatbots.

Cost management preferences:

  • Canadian R&D respondents are more likely than their global peers to purchase third-party solutions and to restrict AI work to top-priority initiatives, but they are less likely to choose lower-cost foundation models.

  • Canadian R&D respondents are more likely to follow a hybrid approach of building new product capabilities and enhancing existing products, while they are less likely to be building entirely new product capabilities. “The data suggests Canadian organizations may be taking a more incremental, enhancement-focused approach to AI integration rather than pursuing new product development.”

The talent bottleneck:

  • 48 percent of surveyed Canadian R&D leaders cite an absence of technical talent as their top barrier to production deployment – four points higher than their global counterparts. The talent bottleneck in Canada reflects a broader global trend as technical talent has now replaced cost as the primary scaling challenge worldwide.

Privacy-first approach: Canadian organizations disclose heightened concerns around privacy that may slow but strengthen long-term adoption:

  • 79 percent of surveyed Canadian R&D respondents rank sensitive information disclosure among their top three cybersecurity concerns – 14 points above global peers.

  • 53 percent of surveyed R&D teams prioritize data security and privacy as their primary AI concern.

Experimental pipeline shows promise: Despite production gaps, surveyed Canadian R&D teams report robust experimental activity:

  • 47 percent are testing or piloting automated coding tools versus 38 percent globally.

  • 42 percent are testing or piloting data analytics applications compared to 32 percent internationally.

  • Overall testing and piloting activity in Canada, averaged across 12 use cases, runs three percentage points higher than global averages.

Despite relatively lower levels of AI adoption, Canadian R&D respondents report higher positive impacts on several R&D-related metrics than their global peers.

However, Canadian respondents are seeing lower impact of AI on their business metrics than their global peers.

"The report validates our observations: we must understand the gaps between piloting advanced AI applications and scaling efforts to deliver clear economic value to address these challenges,” said Marlene McNaughton, chief revenue officer at Amii.

"This research showcases a fundamental shift – the number one barrier for companies looking to scale AI is no longer cost but the absence of technical talent," says Glenda Crisp, CEO and president of the Vector Institute.

"Canada is already a world leader in AI research excellence, and Ontario produces more AI talent than anywhere else in the country. Scaling these successes is key to translating these advantages into long-term gains in productivity, competitiveness, and growth,” Crisp said. Georgian  

Editor’s Note: These results from the Georgian report echo other studies and surveys that have found Canadian businesses are comparatively slow in adoption AI. See also:

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Developing beneficial quantum innovations will depend on government-steered strategic innovation

Developing quantum innovations and quantum applications will depend on strategic innovation, government leadership, and the industrial organization of this very early-stage sector, according to an article from the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI),

Strategic innovation in quantum technology rests on three core pillars: a capable public research ecosystem, an enabling open market, and appropriate regulation, says the article, by Tracey Forrest, research director of transformation technologies at CIGI, and Nikolas Guggenberger, assistant professor of law at the University of Houston Law Centre.

The first pillar involves the basic ingredients of breakthrough research: public funding and risk taking, functioning institutions and supply chains, and open knowledge ecosystems.

Governmental capacity and security are essential underpinnings, the authors say. “Reduced public investment and institutional erosion would derail progress, undermine national security and ultimately prove very expensive in the long run.”

This is especially critical in the context of heightening global competition. While the U.S. continues to lead in global quantum market capture, its investment into quantum science and technology is dwarfed by China, which is signalling its desire to be a formidable challenger in this space.

If the U.S. wants to maintain its dominance in this area, public investment is not just desirable — it is a strategic imperative, the authors argue.

Quantum is most suitable for a government-led framework for strategic innovation at this nascent stage, they say.

World-leading research is clustered at a few universities and public research institutes using costly equipment, and the first downstream applications are military-, security- and health-related.

“Given the nature of the ‘quantum race,’ coordination with allied nations is essential to resolve key technical hurdles in the public research sphere, particularly those that address mutual defence, navigation and surveillance objectives,” the authors say.

“At the same time, working with trusted partners would speed up the time to market for beneficial civilian applications.”

However, there has been a recent shift in major technological advances originating in industry labs, rather than academia, Forrest and Guggenberger note.

Today, the private sector accounts for roughly 80 percent of quantum investments, driving a burgeoning global market valued at $1.45 billion.

“The nature of industrial competition means that quantum advancements are now increasingly locked up in trade secrets,” the authors say.

A thriving industrial ecosystem is generally seen as a positive advance; however, early private sector dominance risks steering innovation toward short-term profitable applications and away from basic research with the highest social returns on investment, they say.

This highlights an increasingly urgent gap for public funding to fill, especially considering China’s recent multi-billion-dollar quantum commitments.

Second, quantum innovation thrives in open markets, Forrest and Guggenberger say.

This will require rigorous antitrust enforcement, pro-competitive regulation and mission-oriented government procurement, they say.

Tighter merger control plays a vital role in preventing hostile acquisitions and re-establishing initial public offerings as more attractive exit strategies. Restricting unilateral abuses of control over technological bottlenecks can open access to foreclosed markets and market segments.

Policymakers should proactively prevent existing tech incumbents from entrenching themselves in emerging quantum, similarly to existing calls for pro-competitive AI regulation, the authors say.

Governments can leverage their significant procurement power to test, validate and scale quantum technologies in concert with small and medium-sized enterprises, serving as early adopters and first customers.

Third, effective regulation should strike a balance: mitigating technological risk without stifling innovation, Forrest and Guggenberger say.

Focusing on end use is generally preferable over attempts to broadly regulate technologies themselves. The quantum-specific risks of novel secure technology (crime and terrorism, for example) are too different from those related to increased computational capacity (surveillance and cyberattacks, for instance) to be regulated uniformly, the authors maintain.

Nor are their technical specifications necessarily congruent. Security measures must serve to enhance the collective commercial interests of a technology alliance, including agreement on technical specifications relating to export restrictions, to counter threats posed by foreign adversaries.

Currently, large companies – including Google, IBM and Microsoft – are among the biggest players in the emerging quantum sector, with incumbents such as IBM reporting $1 billion in cumulative revenue from quantum technology sales alone.

Smaller, specialized players, such as D-Wave and Quantinuum, count big tech founders and other large corporations among their leading investors.

However, incumbents’ extending their reach into this technological frontier, leveraging their vast financial resources and infrastructural control, impede and distort innovation, Forrest and Guggenberger argue. “To harness quantum’s full potential, governments should create a market environment conducive to strategic innovation.”

Strategic innovation begins with sustained public investment and institutional capacity, the authors say. It accounts for legitimate security interests and democratic values. It is conscious of the technology’s dual-use capabilities and cognizant of the great-power realpolitik at the global level.

Strategic innovation ultimately envisions an active and creative public sector that fosters basic research and sets the foundation for vibrant market growth and progress toward societally beneficial goals.

Quantum technology is quintessentially dual use, the authors say. Quantum’s code-cracking potential, on the one hand, and the capability to enable truly secure communication, on the other, have been of great interest to intelligence agencies and militaries.

To propel strategic innovation forward, a clear definition of “dual-use quantum technology” and related policy measures that strike an appropriate balance of economic, security, and social-benefit considerations are essential, the authors say.

Quantum technology’s promise to support much more complex simulations, enable reliable navigation, and enhance detection of stealth objects may render strategic advantages, from arms development to battlefield planning.

“In short, quantum technologies – alongside artificial intelligence – bear some of the greatest technological promise to any country eyeing an edge in the emerging great-power competition.”

However, a technology’s strategic relevance is not limited to direct adversarial deployment, Geostrategic and, ultimately, military power largely hinges on industrial capacity and innovation, Forrest and Guggenberger point out.

“And here arguably lies the greatest potential of quantum technologies. Especially when paired with other revolutionary technologies like AI, quantum may unleash a new cycle of innovation and economic growth built on information-processing efficiency, leading to new opportunities.”

These breakthroughs can stimulate entirely new industries – from drug and materials development to environmental monitoring and imaging diagnostics. “Strategic innovation will offer countries not only economic advantages, but also geostrategic leverage,” the authors say.

While quantum technologies exhibit much promise, both significant foundational and practical challenges remain, they add. “And absent significant technical breakthroughs, many envisioned applications will never see the light of day.”

“Against this backdrop of enormous – yet uncertain – potential, a positive vision for innovation is imperative. Harnessing today’s generation of science and engineering prowess for strategic innovation will profoundly impact tomorrow’s economy, society and geostrategy.” Centre for International Governance Innovation

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Europe is much more fragmented in research and innovation than the U.S.: European Commission analysis

Europe remains riven by division when it comes to research and particularly innovation, according to a new European Commission analysis that attempts to put a number on how Europe compares to the U.S.

“The European research and innovation system is significantly more fragmented compared to the U.S., with major European hubs showing notably weaker interconnectivity,” says the analysis, Divided We Fall Behind.

European policymakers have long fretted that national rules and systems, plus language and cultural barriers, stop researchers and innovators from collaborating and scaling up new companies.

The response has been a decades-long – and incomplete – push for an integrated European Research Area (ERA), which is now getting a renewed push in the form of a binding ERA Act. 

This new analysis, authored by senior officials, analysts and Commission advisors, looked at the number of joint research papers and patents between different innovation hubs in Europe (meaning EU states, the U.K., Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) and comparing this to the U.S. 

The analysis calculates how strong these bonds would be between, say, Munich and Paris, or Boston and San Franscisco, in a hypothetical perfectly integrated system, and then measures this against the reality, scoring on a 0 to 1 scale of integration. 

When it comes to patents, Europe scores far lower than the U.S., measuring 0.4 versus 0.68.

However, Europe is nearly as integrated as the U.S. when looking at joint research papers, scoring 0.76 against 0.81. This “suggests that academic research in Europe has achieved greater cross-border integration than industrial R&D activities,” the report says.

This difference in integration levels between research and patenting has several likely causes. Cross-border research, which is generally open as a rule, is relatively frictionless compared to joint innovation, which can be stymied by national regulations, taxation and intellectual property rules.

Europe is more fragmented despite having the potential, at least geographically, to be more unified than the U.S. Innovation hubs are “spatially closer in Europe than in the U.S.” the report notes, with most of Europe’s major innovation centres a short flight apart, compared to the much longer distances between the U.S.’s eastern and western coastal cities. 

The report also stresses that European fragmentation is a growing liability. 

As more is known, research and innovation projects have to knit together ever more expertise from different fields to create new ideas and inventions, meaning it’s getting harder to find people with all this knowledge in just one place. 

This is particularly true for the most complex technologies, “whose development strongly hinges on the availability of multidisciplinary expertise that cannot easily be found in a single location,” the report says. 

Indeed, the report finds that patenting networks in the most complex technological areas, such as semiconductors or biotechnology, show denser connections between hubs, indicating that innovators need to link up more to make progress on the cutting edge. 

The analysis also finds that, for many of these complex technologies, the U.S. is doing a better job at linking up its innovation hubs to work on joint patents than Europe. 

The findings bolster the European Commission’s own agenda to press ahead with a new ERA Act, which for the first time would introduce a legislative stick to compel member states to harmonise their research and innovation systems. Martin Greenacre in Science|Business

THE GRAPEVINE – News about people, institutions and communities

Dr. Francesco Bellini, PhD, a pioneer scientist-entrepreneur and one of Canada’s most successful biotechnology entrepreneurs, died in Calgary on July 10 at age 77 after a cardiac arrest earlier in the week. Bellini came to Canada as an Italian immigrant in 1967. He settled in Quebec where he co-founded BioChem Pharma Inc. There, he would go on to raise Canada’s presence in biopharmaceutical research on the global stage through the development and commercialization of the 3TC molecule, which remains a critical ingredient in the drug used to treat HIV/AIDS. He authored or co-authored more than 245 patents over his 20-year career as a research scientist. In 2001, Bellini sold BioChem for $5.9-billion in a transaction that set the bar for the industry and it remains highly regarded to this day as an “Everest of achievement.”  The Globe and Mail

Alexandra Gillespie’s appointment as University of Toronto vice-president and principal of U of T Mississauga was extended by two years. The extension, approved by the university’s agenda committee and governing council, means Gillespie’s term now runs until Dec. 31, 2027. Gillespie began her current five-year term on July 1, 2020, bringing leadership rooted in place-based strength, excellence and civic engagement, the U of T said. Under Gillespie’s leadership, U of T Mississauga has consistently delivered five-year balanced budgets while strengthening investment in its academic mission. U of T Mississauga has also seen improved student outcomes, with the five-year graduation rate increasing by nine percentage points. U of T

The Ottawa-based Institute on Governance announced the appointment of Allen Sutherland as its new president and CEO, effective June 23, 2025. Sutherland brings over 25 years of senior experience in Canada’s federal public service, with a distinguished record in public policy, democratic governance and institutional reform. Most recently, he served as assistant secretary to the federal Cabinet at the Privy Council Office, where he also held responsibility for democratic institutions. In that role, he advised the prime minister on the structure and functioning of Cabinet, constitutional conventions, the responsibilities of ministers, relations with the Crown, and measures to safeguard democracy from mis- and disinformation. Institute on Governance

Lieutenant-General Jamie Speiser-Blanchet assumed command of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) from Lieutenant-General Eric Kenny, during a change of command ceremony held at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa. Speiser-Blanchet is the 22nd commander of the RCAF, as well as the first woman to be the commander. She has served in many roles throughout her career, including as a CH-146 Griffon tactical helicopter pilot, and numerous staff and command roles, and she deployed in support of United Nations and North Atlantic Treaty Organization operations. She most recently served as the Deputy Commander of the RCAF. Kenny served as commander of the RCAF since 2022, and will retire from the Canadian Armed Forces after 36 years of distinguished service. National Defence

The Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) announced the promotion of Linda Halley to chief risk officer. Halley has been with HOOPP for 24 years, holding progressively senior roles on the finance team, including in operational planning, financial reporting and accounting. In her new role, Halley will oversee enterprise, operational and investment risk, as well as corporate strategy. Former chief operating officer Tim Shortill has left HOOPP after six years at the fund, along with ex-chief risk officer Saskia Goedhart. The pension fund, which manages $123 billion in assets, also announced changes to three other senior staff positions. HOOPP

Toronto-based Kensington Capital Partners Limited announced the appointment of George Hoyem to the investment committee of its ONE9 defence and security venture capital platform. Kensington said this strategic move further strengthens ONE9’s position as the Canadian market leader for investments in national security technologies, including cybersecurity, dual-use technologies and advanced defence innovations. Hoyem will also serve as special advisor to Kensington in this sector, assisting with the strategic growth and development of the ONE9 venture capital platform, which Kensington acquired in March 2025. He was previously executive vice-president of investments at In-Q-Tel, retiring last month. In-Q-Tel, which the Central Intelligence Agency launched in 1999, now invests on behalf of several U.S. government agencies. Kensington Capital Partners Limited

Equitable Bank (EQB) announced that Chadwick Westlake will be appointed president and CEO of EQB, effective August 25, 2025 to succeed Andrew Moor who died unexpectedly last month. Westlake will also serve on the board of directors. Westlake had left EQB in March to become CFO of Waterloo, Ont.-based OpenText. Marlene Lenarduzzi will remain interim president and CEO of EQB until Westlake joins the company. EQB said as the former chief financial officer of EQB, Westlake’s leadership and action helped drive the acquisition and integration of Concentra Bank, the addition of alternative asset manager ACM Advisors and the significant expansion of Equitable Bank's capital markets capabilities and platform. EQB

Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) announced that Justin Lord will be its new chief investment officer, effective immediately. Lord, who joined AIMCo in 2012, was promoted to the chief investment officer role. Prior to this appointment, he held several key roles at AIMCo, including senior executive managing director, global head of public markets, overseeing AIMCo's public equities and fixed income teams. The pension fund is rebuilding its leadership team after resignations and a board ouster last year. AIMCo

Linda Yaccarino stepped down as chief executive of Elon Musk’s X social media site, just months after the platform was acquired by the billionaire’s AI startup, xAI. Yaccarino said in a post on X that  X was “entering a new chapter” as she quit the job shortly after Musk’s Grok chatbot referred to itself as “MechaHitler” and called for a new Holocaust in a series of posts. Known in the industry as the “Velvet Hammer,” Yaccarino joined X in 2023 and boosted X’s video features, digital wallet service, and many advertising partnerships. In her X post, Yaccarino said she’s “incredibly proud of the X team – the historic business turn around we have accomplished together has been nothing short of remarkable.” Independent

Apple announced that Jeff Williams will transition his role as chief operating officer this month to Sabih Khan, Apple’s senior vice-president of operations, as part of a long-planned succession. Williams will continue reporting to Apple CEO Tim Cook and overseeing Apple’s world-class design team and Apple Watch alongside the company’s health initiatives. Apple’s design team will then transition to reporting directly to Cook after Williams retires later in the year. Khan has been at Apple for 30 years and joined the executive team as senior vice-president of operations in 2019. He has been in charge of Apple’s global supply chain for the past six years, ensuring product quality and overseeing planning, procurement, manufacturing, logistics and product fulfillment functions. Apple

LaSalle College in Montreal was fined $30 million by the Government of Québec for allegedly contravening the Coalition Avenir Québec’s French language laws. CTV News reported that the college was fined for taking more students into its English-speaking programs over the last two years than is permitted under an amendment to the charter. In a letter, Quebec’s Ministry of Higher Education stated that it “must recover the amount of subsidies paid in excess and collect the adjustment.” Claude Marchand, president of LaSalle College, said the penalty threatens the college’s survival, stating that it will “inevitably lead to our insolvency and a default on our obligations.” The college said it is contesting the fine in the Quebec Superior Court. CTV News

Western University more than doubled support for postdoctoral scholars and expanded funding for doctoral students, including dedicated awards to attract PhD students connected to top U.S. universities. Western will offer 25 PhD students connected with select U.S. institutions a scholarship of $160,000 each for up to four years of study, an expedited admissions process, and support securing a thesis supervisor. Western has also expanded its postdoctoral fellowship program from 19 to 40 awards. The program offers a $70,000 annual stipend for two years plus benefits and a small research allowance, and a $15,000 top-up for postdoctoral scholars holding federal awards. There are currently over 2,500 doctoral students at Western and more than 300 postdoctoral scholars. Forbes reported that the move comes at a time when U.S. universities are cutting back PhD admissions and financial support, while facing challenges around academic freedom. Western

Athabasca University announced a new interdisciplinary Master of Science in Earth System Science for students who want a high-quality, flexible and online program. Earth system science is a field of study examining relationships between Earth’s main spheres, such as the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, geosphere and biosphere, to address various environmental and Earth-science challenges. Students will be able to specialize in one of six focus areas: Bioinformatics, Climate Change, Environmental Analytics, Environmental Science, Environmental Space Science, and Quaternary Earth Systems. The program will include hands-on learning and collaboration opportunities. Applications are now open for students who want to start on September 1, 2025.

The University of Waterloo’s Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science announced that its courses are now accredited by the Statistical Society of Canada for the purposes of AStat Accreditation. Accreditation enhances the professional practice of statistics, facilitates professional development, and provides mentorship for new graduates through work with Accredited Professional Statisticians. The approved course list removes barriers for both undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in applying for an AStat Accreditation and helps to streamline the process. UWaterloo

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) said the Ontario public college system will have faced as many as 10,000 job losses and more than 600 program cancellations and suspensions by the end of the year. JP Hornick, president of OPSEU, pointed to factors such as chronic provincial underfunding as contributing to this situation and emphasized the fact that the programs impacted include those with relevance to in-demand labour market areas like nursing, child and youth care, and engineering and manufacturing. The College Employer Council and Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities challenged OPSEU’s claims, with Ontario Ministry spokesperson Bianca Giacoboni calling OPSEU’s underfunding claims “baseless.” OPSEU

Nova Scotia’s universities are facing historic financial trouble, with nearly every institution planning for a deficit budget in 2025-26. CBC reported that years of stagnant provincial funding, capped tuition for local students, and a steep drop in international enrolment have left many institutions struggling. Peter Halpin, executive director of the Association of Atlantic Universities, said institutions in the region are feeling the impact more acutely because they rely on international students for 30 percent of enrolment – far above the national average of 20 percent. Halpin said Nova Scotia universities overall lost more than 14 percent, or over 2,000 international students last year alone. Universities are working to stabilize their finances and safeguard their role in Nova Scotia’s economic and social fabric through the implementation of program reviews, hiring pauses, tapping into reserves and retirement incentives. CBC

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New radiotracer developed at the University of Alberta could make medical imaging of breast cancer tumours quicker and more accurate

A new radiotracer developed at the University of Alberta and soon to be tested in human clinical trials in Europe could make medical imaging of breast cancer tumours quicker and more accurate, and could one day lead to better treatments. 

“Our work so far shows that it is far better for early detection and for detecting metastasis, so it could be a superior way to diagnose and stage breast cancer,” said Frederick West, professor of chemistry and Allard Research Chair in Oncology, with appointments in U of A’s Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. 

“It’s going to make it much less inconvenient for patients to get these images, and we’re going to get higher-quality images in the process, so from a patient outcome standpoint, the benefit is clear,” West said.

West first began working on the new radiotracer in 2009, and was then joined in the work by Frank Wuest, professor and department chair of oncology and Dianne and Irving Kipnes Chair in Radiopharmaceutical Sciences, who did a comprehensive study of the radiotracer’s behaviour with breast cancer models in mice in 2011.

The current standard molecule for cancer imaging using positron emission tomography is based on glucose. That’s because cancer tumours grow so rapidly that they have a huge need for fuel, and as a result they have an unusual number of glucose transporter proteins to bring glucose into their cells.

A radioactive isotope is added to the glucose-based tracer and when it is injected into the body, it is taken up more rapidly by the cancer cells than healthy cells. The tracer’s positrons interact with the body’s electrons, producing gamma rays that can then be detected by the PET scan. 

The newly developed radiotracer, known as [18F]6-fluoro-6-deoxyfructose, mimics the structure of the natural sugar fructose instead, replacing a hydroxyl group with a radioactive fluorine isotope.

The technology takes advantage of an unusual feature of breast cancer: A significant number of breast cancer cells take up fructose, thanks to a fructose transporter protein called GLUT5 that doesn’t occur in normal breast tissue cells.

When the new fructose-based radiotracer is injected into the body, it is taken up by the GLUT5 in the cancer cells. The resulting gamma rays are then produced only in the cancer-affected locations, providing a very clear image. 

“That’s the perfect scenario,” West said. “You want your image to light up like a bright light bulb and you want everything else in the background to be black. The problem with the glucose radiotracer is that every cell in our body uses glucose, so there’s always going to be a background of gamma rays throughout the body because every cell is taking up the tracer molecule.”

Another advantage of the fructose-based radiotracer is the time it takes to get an image. The glucose-based tracer takes up to two hours to accumulate in the tumour enough to be detected. In contrast, the fructose-based tracer lights up the tumour within 15 minutes, then is rapidly cleared from the body.

West and Wuest have so far tested their new radiotracer using animal models, but it will soon be tested in European patients. 

“Our collaborators in Germany are motivated to test our compound in a small number of patients this year,” West said. “If the results of these preliminary studies show promise, we would be able to fast-track clinical evaluation at the University of Alberta.”

The next step, says West, is to consider whether the fructose transporter protein can be used in treatment as well as imaging. 

“If we can selectively transport fructose into cancer cells and not into normal cells, the question we ask ourselves is, ‘Can we hijack that fructose transporter machinery to actually deliver cancer drugs?’” he said. “That’s our dream, to go beyond imaging to therapy.”

West and Wuest’s research has been funded by the Alberta Cancer Foundation, the Allard Foundation, the Dianne and Irving Kipnes Foundation, the Canadian Glycomics Network, the Alberta Spine Foundation and the Canadian Cancer Society. University of Alberta

R$


Other stories mentioning these organizations, people and topics
Organizations:
adMare Institute, AI Marketers Guild, Airalo, Alberta Electric System Operator, Alberta Energy Regulator, Alberta Investment Management Corporation, Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute, Alberta Spine Foundation, Allard Foundation, AMD, Aqua-Guard Spill Response Inc., Artificial Agency, Association of Atlantic Universities, Athabasca University, Atrum Coal Ltd., BC Centre for Disease Control, BC Energy Regulator, Blood Tribe, Blue Cheetah Analog Design, Brain Canada, Breakthrough Discoveries for thriving with Bipolar Disorder, Brookfield Asset Management, Business Council of Canada, CACI, Inc. - FEDERAL, Canada Infrastructure Bank, Canadian Armed Forces, Canadian Automobile Dealers Association, Canadian Cancer Society, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Canadian Glycomics Network, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Canadian Space Agency, Canadyne Technologies, Canflex, Cascade Aerospace, CelluloTech, CentML, Centre for International Governance Innovation, CN Rail, Cobionix, College Employer Council, Competition Bureau, Conference Board of Canada, Coveo, Creative Energy, D-Wave, David Suzuki Foundation, Department of Government Efficiency, Department of Health and Human Services, Dianne and Irving Kipnes Foundation, Dorsay Development Corp, Dunsky Energy and Climate, Equitable Bank, Ermineskin Cree, European Commission, Evolve Power Ltd., FirstMark, Genesis Financial Asset Management, Georgian, Google, Government of Alberta, Government of Canada, GreenSky Ventures, Grove Ventures, GTM Partners, HATCH, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan, Herzog, Hydro-Québec, IBM, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Innu Nation, Institute on Governance, Investigative Journalism Foundation, Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust, Kensington Capital Partners Limited, LandSure Systems Ltd., LaSalle College, Leger, Louis Dreyfus Company, Meliorate Partners, Microsoft, Moonvalley, National Cancer Institute, National Health Service, National Institutes of Health, Natural Resources Canada, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Neglected Climate Opportunities, Net Zero Now Ltd., NewtonX, NOAH, Nova Scotia Power Inc., NVIDIA, Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, Office of the Procurement Ombud, Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities, Ontario Public Service Employees Union, Opennote, OpenText, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Oxford Properties, Pacific Economic Development Canada, Photonis, Proactive Environmental, Protein Industries Canada, Quantinuum, R-Labs, Rivr, Royal Canadian Air Force, Saint John Energy Inc., Saskatchewan Health Authority, Saskatchewan Research Council, SCALE AI, Seven Oaks Hospital Chronic Disease Innovation Centre, Siksika Nation, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Startup Nation Central, Statistical Society of Canada, Staynor Response Services, Tenstorrent, Thompson Rivers University, TitletownTech, Toronto Metropolitan University, Treasury Board, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Centre, U15 Canada, University of Alberta, University of Calgary, University of Houston Law Centre, University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, Untapped Ventures, Untether AI, Vector Institute, VIATEC, Western Canada Marine Response Corporation, Western University, Whitefish Lake, X, X-Energy Reactor Co., and Y Combinator
People:
Abraham Burak, Alejandro Adem, Alexandra Gillespie, Allen Sutherland, Andrew Enns, Andrew Moor, Andrew Nikiforuk, Bahir Manios, Bianca Giacoboni, Chadwick Westlake, Chantelle de Jonge, Claude Marchand, Clay Sell, Danielle Smith, David Levenson, Deena Hinshaw, Elon Musk, Eric Kenny, Evan Solomon, Francesco Bellini, Frank Wuest, Frederick West, George Hoyem, James Talbot, Jamie Speiser-Blanchet, Jeff Williams, John Van Leeuwen, JP Hornick, Justin Lord, Linda Halley, Linda Yaccarino, Mark Carney, Marlene Lenarduzzi, Nikolas Guggenberger, Nima Zamani, Peter Halpin, Sabih Khan, Saskia Goedhart, Shafqat Ali, Tim Cook, Tim Lasswell, Tim Shortill, and Tracey Forrest
Topics:
AI, cancer, Climate Change, critical minerals, Electric vehicles, energy, funding, health, innovation, Quantum, regulations, Research, talent, tariffs, and trade

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