BDC Extends Isabelle Hudon’s Mandate as CEO Through 2030
The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) has extended CEO Isabelle Hudon's mandate through 2030, citing the need for steady leadership amid geopolitical uncertainty. Under Hudon since August 2021, BDC has grown its client base by nearly 50%, remained consistently profitable, and paid roughly $1.0 billion USD in dividends to the federal government. The bank also launched a $4.4 billion USD Defence Sector Platform and over $1.1 billion USD in venture‑fund initiatives, positioning itself as Canada’s leading corporate‑venture investor. The extension comes as BDC prepares its next five‑year strategy while navigating criticism over its direct‑investment model.
Canada’s Bill C-22 Creates a Blueprint for Surveillance
Canada’s Bill C-22 proposes mandatory technical capabilities and one‑year metadata retention for any electronic service provider operating in the country. The bill’s broad definition would pull in everything from large telecoms to small e‑commerce sites, forcing them to store user...
How Toronto Pearson Is Turning Canada’s Busiest Airport Into a Proving Ground for Innovation
Toronto Pearson International Airport, which handled nearly 48 million passengers last year, is leveraging its scale to become a testbed for cutting‑edge aviation technology. The multi‑billion‑dollar Pearson LIFT modernization program will revamp terminals, baggage systems and airfield operations over the next...
Why Regulatory Rigour Is Becoming a Competitive Edge in Clinical AI
Heidi Health, a Melbourne‑based health‑tech firm, is turning regulatory rigor into a market advantage as it expands across Canada. By embedding legal, compliance and former clinicians into its core product team, the startup secured placement on Ontario’s AI Scribe Vendor...
Quantum Chemistry for Drug Discovery Still Hasn’t Had Its “ChatGPT Moment,” Biotech Founder Says
At Toronto Tech Week’s Creative Destruction Lab session, ProteinQure co‑founder Mark Fingerhuth warned that quantum chemistry has yet to experience a “ChatGPT moment” in drug discovery. While Xanadu’s CEO touted quantum chemistry as low‑hanging fruit, Fingerhuth argued that the real...
Wealthsimple to Offer Early Access to IPO Trading
Wealthsimple announced that its platform will now allow retail investors to request shares of selected U.S. and Canadian IPOs at the initial offering price, a privilege traditionally reserved for institutions and accredited investors. The service operates through allocations from investment...
Saris Raises $28.8-million USD Series A to Automate Banks’ Back Offices
Saris AI, a Montreal‑San Francisco startup, closed a $28.8 million USD Series A led by 8VC, with participation from Audacious Ventures, Homebrew, Btech Consortium and Service Ventures. The funding will accelerate its AI‑agent platform that automates back‑office functions for banks and credit unions,...
Investor Burn Books and FaceTiming Serena Williams: Three Founder Fundraising Stories From Homecoming
Toronto Tech Week’s Homecoming highlighted three Canadian founders who turned fundraising challenges into wins. Rebel’s CEO Emly Hosie recounted a surprise FaceTime from Serena Williams, which generated FOMO and helped close the Series A round. Float’s Rob Khazzam described how early investor...
Cohere’s Nick Frosst Thinks Canadian Energy Can Be “100 Percent” Renewables
Cohere co‑founder Nick Frosset urged Canada to add more nuclear capacity during a Toronto Tech Week panel, arguing that expanded nuclear – especially small modular reactors – could push the nation to 100 percent renewable electricity. He noted the current grid...
“Not a Blip”: AI Was Canada’s Venture Market Mover in 2025
Canada’s venture capital market saw AI become the dominant sector in 2025, accounting for 54 cents of every dollar invested and 23 percent of all financing rounds. Osler’s Deal Points Report, based on 140 deals worth $6.3 billion CAD (≈$4.66 billion USD), shows AI deal sizes grew...
Uber’s President Doesn’t Know What the Company’s 10.5 Million Drivers Will Be Doing in 15 Years
Uber President and COO Andrew Macdonald told Toronto Tech Week that he cannot predict the future occupations of the company’s 10.5 million drivers and couriers as autonomous vehicles mature. He said the gig‑labor market will grow in the short term but...
Databricks and Ada Execs on What’s Fuelling the Gen Z AI Backlash
Databricks co‑founder Reynold Xin and Ada CEO Mike Murchison, both University of Toronto alums, addressed a growing Gen Z backlash against AI at their alma mater’s convocation. They acknowledged student anxiety over AI‑driven job displacement while urging graduates to leverage the...
Sentinel Inks Partnership to Supply Drones to Ukraine
Sentinel R&D, a Canadian drone maker, has formed a joint venture with Ukraine’s Airlogix to manufacture modular unmanned aerial vehicles in Canada for the Ukrainian war effort. The Canadian Commercial Corporation will purchase the drones and donate them to Kyiv,...
The Next-Generation Software Powering GM’s Vehicles Is Being Built in the GTA
General Motors is building its next‑generation, software‑defined vehicle platform in the Greater Toronto Area, consolidating dozens of electronic control units into a single NVIDIA‑powered central compute unit. The GTA’s Markham and Oshawa technical centres now employ over 1,100 engineers, making...
Peripheral Establishes First Biomechanics Basketball Shooting Lab in Toronto
Peripheral Labs has teamed with the Quantum Sports and Learning Association to launch North America’s first arena‑scale biomechanics basketball shooting lab in Toronto. The facility houses 36 off‑the‑shelf cameras and an AI‑driven large reconstruction model that converts 2D footage into...