Canadian Tech in 100 Words
Toronto Tech Week will return in 2026 with its flagship Homecoming event on May 27 at History. Organizers expect more than 15,000 attendees across 300 citywide events.
Speakers include Tobi Lütke of Shopify, Andrew Macdonald of Uber, Nick Frosst of Cohere, and Andrew Chau of Neo Financial. Additional speakers include Jim Balsillie and Raquel Urtasun. More than 150 partner events are planned.
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Montréal venture firm Boreal Ventures has launched a $60-million early-stage investment vehicle aimed at helping Canadian technology companies scale globally.
Boreal Ventures II has secured a $43-million first close and will target capital-efficient B2B startups across sectors including SaaS, artificial intelligence, fintech, digital health, and industrial technology. Former Lightspeed Commerce executive JD Saint‑Martin joins as co-managing partner alongside founder David Charbonneau. Backers include Investissement Québec and BDC Capital. The fund focuses on commercialization support.
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Bell Canada and the Government of Saskatchewan will build a 300-megawatt artificial intelligence data centre near Regina in the Rural Municipality of Sherwood. The facility, part of Bell AI Fabric, is expected to become Canada’s largest purpose-built AI data centre.
Construction begins this spring with initial operations targeted for 2027. Tenants include Cerebras Systems and CoreWeave. Bell will connect the site through its fibre network in partnership with SaskTel. Officials estimate up to $12 billion in provincial economic benefits.
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Canada will invest nearly $225 million to strengthen domestic rocket launch capability, including a $200 million lease for a launch pad at Maritime Launch Services’ spaceport near Canso, Nova Scotia. Defence Minister David McGuinty said the project supports national security and space sovereignty under Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy.
Additional grants of $8.3 million each will support Canada Rocket Company, NordSpace, and Reaction Dynamics to advance launch technologies. Canada also joined NATO’s Starlift initiative, enabling allied launches across participating spaceports.
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Calgary developers Florencia Chomski and Ahmad Jamal have launched budgeting startup Waypoint after confronting their own financial challenges. Built nights and weekends, the platform now counts more than 1,000 users, including roughly 150 paying customers.
Designed specifically for Canadians, Waypoint incorporates accounts such as TFSAs and RRSPs often overlooked by U.S.-focused tools. The founders say future improvements depend on Canada’s open banking rollout, which would enable smoother bank integrations. The startup has also applied to the Alberta Digital Traction Program to accelerate growth.
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Canada’s Transport Canada has committed $6.4 million through the Green Shipping Corridor Program to modernize operations at R.W. Tomlinson’s Ontario Trap Rock facility in Bruce Mines. Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said the project will electrify an extended ship loading system replacing diesel haul trucks moving aggregates 2.7 kilometres to the dock.
Chief executive Ron Tomlinson said the upgrade will improve efficiency and reduce emissions while supporting Great Lakes construction supply chains. The initiative advances Canada’s push toward cleaner marine transport infrastructure.
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The Bank of Canada has warned fintech companies not to promote their registration under the country’s new payments oversight regime as an endorsement. In guidance issued through a newsletter, the bank said suggesting approval or backing by the central bank is “strictly prohibited.” Firms may only reference their status by directing users to the official registry.
Spokesperson Akim Thibouthot did not confirm whether promotional announcements violate the directive. Since September, non-bank payments providers must register and follow safeguards designed to protect users from failures, cyberattacks and operational risks.
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Canada’s development lender Business Development Bank of Canada has expanded its defence and security financing program to $6 billion, adding $2 billion amid rising demand from technology firms. The initiative, launched in December, has already provided nearly $92 million to 16 companies through loans, equity investments and advisory services.
BDC said the additional capital will support startups, universities, incubators and accelerators developing defence technologies for Canada and allied markets. The move aligns with Ottawa’s broader effort to strengthen the domestic defence innovation ecosystem and accelerate commercialization of emerging technologies.
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Toronto quantum computing developer Xanadu is negotiating up to US$390 million in public financing from the federal and Ontario governments to support domestic manufacturing expansion. The funding would help build capacity to test, prepare, and assemble quantum hardware for a planned Toronto data centre targeted before 2030.
Xanadu already opened a $10-million chip packaging line last year and previously secured $40 million through Ottawa’s Strategic Innovation Fund. Governments are still conducting due diligence before any agreements are finalized. The investment aims to strengthen Canada’s position in the global quantum computing race.
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San Francisco-based startup Gumloop has raised US$50 million in Series B financing led by Benchmark, with participation from Shopify’s venture arm, First Round Capital, and Y Combinator.
Founded in Vancouver by McGill engineering graduates including CEO Max Brodeur-Urbas, the company develops tools that allow non-technical staff to build AI agents for tasks such as research and analysis. Customers include firms like Ramp. Gumloop relocated to Silicon Valley in 2024 while expanding hiring in Vancouver.
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