Federal Spring Economic Update: Canada Strong For All

Canada’s new National AI Strategy signals a government that sees AI as an economic opportunity to lead, not just a technology to regulate.

The commitment to scaling Canadian AI companies, through growth capital and government as an anchor customer, is exactly what the startups and scale-ups we work with at MaRS need to grow here and stay here. We have world-class founders building in health, climate, and enterprise AI. What they’ve consistently told us they need isn’t just funding; it’s access to customers, and government as a serious buyer changes that equation.

A new SME procurement program that delivers on its intent could open a door that has historically been very hard for early-stage companies to open. Ottawa’s previous attempts at startup procurement have had mixed results. The ambition here is right. Execution will be everything.

Canada has the talent and the companies. What we’ve needed is the policy alignment to let them scale. Yesterday’s Spring Economic Update is a step in that direction.

— Grace Lee Reynolds, CEO, MaRS Discovery District