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Canadian Tech in 100 Words

Forest Guardian Maps Woodlands Tree by Tree

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Kamloops-based Innovatree Carbon Group has won the AI Innovation Award in the Telus #StandWithOwners program for Forest Guardian, a platform that uses LiDAR sensing and machine learning to map woodland tree by tree.

The system automates timber planning and calculates carbon sequestration baselines for forest managers, turning raw LiDAR data into a planning tool. Telus has invested $7 million in the program since 2020, and this year’s three grand prize winners each receive $125,000 worth of support. Innovatree was the technology winner among them.

Want to know more? Check out the source code on Techcouver.

Carrot Ventures Puts $150,000 Behind Food and AgTech Ideas

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Calgary venture studio Carrot Ventures has launched a Food and AgTech Innovation Challenge offering a $150,000 prize, run with the XPRIZE Canada Hub. Selected ideas are also eligible for up to $1.5 million in follow-on investment.

The challenge has two tracks: Food Innovation, covering preservation, packaging, safety and waste, and Produce More with Less, focused on farm productivity, robotics and resource efficiency. Applications are open globally until December 31, 2026, with winners announced in January 2027. Carrot is operated by Verdex Capital.

Want to know more? Check out the source code on Calgary.tech.

TrueDoc Builds a Lie Detector for Financial Documents

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Toronto-based TrueDoc is building a document-forensics platform that hunts for signs of manipulation in bank statements, pay stubs, tax records, invoices and identity documents submitted with financial applications.

Founder Andrii Patiutka says generative AI has made convincing forgeries fast and cheap to produce. Bootstrapped since October 2025, TrueDoc has grown to 40 paying customers and 1,500 free users. The platform is designed to complement, not replace, the identity-verification and KYC systems lenders already use to approve applicants. Thirty-two of its paying customers joined in July alone.

Want to know more? Check out the source code on Fintech.ca.

Ndax Auto Earn Puts Crypto Staking on Autopilot

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Canadian crypto platform Ndax has launched Auto Earn, a feature that automatically enrols supported holdings in staking and pays rewards every week. The service covers 17 digital assets, including Ethereum, Solana and Cardano, offers annual yields of up to 7.5 per cent, and imposes no fixed lock-up period.

Ndax is waiving its standard 20 per cent commission on Auto Earn rewards through October 2026. Its staking service, running since 2022, now holds more than $44.2 million in staked assets and has distributed over $5.4 million in rewards. An Ontario Securities Commission survey found 25 per cent of Canadians now own crypto.

Want to know more? Check out the source code on Fintech.ca.

Uber Adds More Family Ride Controls

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Uber is rolling out three new ride features in Canada aimed at women, seniors, teens, and families. Women Driver Preferences will let women and non-binary riders request a woman driver, while expanded senior accounts add simpler navigation, pickup preferences, and optional family support. Teen livestreaming will allow linked parents and guardians to view eligible rides through a driver’s smartphone camera, with encryption and notifications for both the teen and driver.

Uber says the updates are designed to give riders more choice, independence, and reassurance while extending existing safety and accessibility features across its Canadian ride platform for everyday travel.

Want to know more? Check out the source code here.

Canadians Trust AI, But Not With Wallets

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AI is becoming a meaningful part of Canadian holiday shopping, but consumers remain cautious about letting agents spend for them. Salesforce found 16 percent of shoppers start with AI, while 75 percent trust its recommendations. Nearly one-third have tried a personal AI agent, yet only 5 percent have allowed one to make a purchase.

Privacy and accidental charges remain major concerns, and 53 percent are not interested in agent-led buying. Retailer agents perform better: one-third of shoppers have used one, 83 percent reported a good experience, and 63 percent said it increased brand loyalty afterward.

Want to know more? Check out the source code here.

Climate Institute Launches Tracker for Canada’s Energy Transition

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The Canadian Climate Institute has launched a Climate Progress Tracker to measure how Canada’s clean energy transition is actually going. Built by its 440 Megatonnes project, the tool tracks several dozen indicators in near real time.

Early signals are mixed: electric vehicles reached 13% market share, up from 7% in early 2025; wind and solar capacity has grown 40% since 2020; and battery storage is up sixfold to 900 megawatts. Emissions, however, remain far off the net zero path.

Want to know more? Check out the source code on CleanEnergy.ca.

LexisNexis Canada Maps Where Lawyer Oversight of AI Begins

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Oversight of agentic AI in a law firm begins before the software runs, LexisNexis Canada argues: it starts with the instructions a lawyer gives the assignment. Clear jurisdiction, facts, and questions set the guardrails.

The checks continue after: read the passages the tool relied on, confirm decisions are current, and weigh contrary cases. Cost, timing, or a client relationship can still outweigh a winning motion. Firms should also spell out which tools can touch client information and who hears about errors.

Want to know more? Check out the source code on LegalTech.ca.

One in Four Canadians Would Let AI Buy Their Holiday Gifts

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One in four Canadians would let an AI agent buy every holiday gift on their list, according to Mastercard’s 2026 Holiday Shopper Snapshot. Millennials were keener still, at 43%, ahead of Gen Z at 38%.

Shoppers still want guardrails: 67% want approval before an agent spends loyalty points or benefits, and three-quarters would accept extra security checks at checkout. Mastercard has already demoed the idea, testing Agent Pay with Flybits and Rogers Bank in September. The Harris Poll survey covered 1,005 Canadians.

Want to know more? Check out the source code on Fintech.ca.

Thomson Reuters Adds CUBE’s Regulatory Intelligence to CoCounsel

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Thomson Reuters has added CUBE’s regulatory intelligence to CoCounsel Legal, its AI platform for lawyers. The integration lets CoCounsel’s agents pull in rules, codes, and supervisory guidance alongside Westlaw and Practical Law content.

CUBE tracks more than 12,000 issuing bodies across 750 jurisdictions, with 250 subject-matter experts reviewing material. The point is context: regulators’ guidance often decides how a rule applies in practice. Canada is an early market for CoCounsel’s multinational tools, which compare requirements across more than 100 countries.

Want to know more? Check out the source code on LegalTech.ca.