Innovation news

Budget 2025 signals an important shift for Canada’s earliest research and development teams. By raising the enhanced expenditure limit under the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) program to roughly six million dollars and widening eligibility to more public firms, Ottawa has given early-stage ventures a larger window to access refundable tax credits. For many founders, that could mean a longer runway between prototype and proof of concept—critical month

Canada’s 2025 AI Compute Access Fund marks a timely shift in how early-stage artificial intelligence projects get off the ground. By offering subsidized GPU capacity, the program aims to help small and medium-sized enterprises handle the steep compute costs that often block research-to-market progress. Access to reliable infrastructure has become a decisive factor in whether an idea remains a prototype or becomes a functional system. The fund aligns with Canada’s broader effo

Canada’s research community is entering 2025 with a new layer of responsibility. The federal Sensitive Technology List, released in February, broadens what counts as controlled or high‑risk knowledge. Fields such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and precision manufacturing now fall under closer scrutiny when research involves international partners or data sharing. The update aims to guard Canadian discoveries from misuse while maintaining the country’s open‑collabo

Canada’s consumer-directed banking framework, set to begin rolling out in 2025, signals a major redesign of how financial data will move across the economy. For years, fintech apps have relied on “screen-scraping” methods that copy customer credentials to access information. The upcoming model will replace that practice with secure, standardized APIs. These will operate under clear accreditation and liability rules, defining who may handle data, how consent is tracked, and wh

Canada’s emerging framework for consumer‑driven banking could mark a turning point in the country’s financial innovation story. Set to take effect in 2025, the rules will compel major banks to participate in a regulated system governed by a single API standard and supervised by the Bank of Canada. The goal is to replace the fragile practice of screen‑scraping with verified, privacy‑protected data sharing. Behind the policy sits a broader question: how can Canada translate its

Canada’s financial sector is preparing for a major shift as consumer-driven banking, often called open banking, moves from policy drafting to technical rollout. By 2025, a single national framework will guide how consumers share their financial data securely with service providers of their choice. For businesses, it replaces a patchwork of data handling rules with a standard that clarifies consent, liability, and security practices. For consumers, it promises more transparenc

Canada’s semiconductor ambitions are gaining sharper focus in 2025, as new investments in prototyping, advanced packaging and national training networks begin to reshape the pathways available to early-stage chip ventures. What was once a space dominated by multinational firms is gradually opening to founder-led teams working on photonics, micro‑electromechanical systems and compound semiconductors. Activity in regions such as Bromont, long known for assembly expertise, point

Canada’s research and development landscape is entering a new phase of adjustment. As federal plans shift toward a business‑led R&D model, the anticipated arrival of the Canada Innovation Corporation in 2026–27 signals a structural change in how early‑stage science connects with market application. This delay has left research teams and founders re‑examining their roadmaps, seeking clarity on which public programs or private pathways best fit their work while the policy frame

The expansion of NATO’s innovation initiative to Halifax signals more than just a regional milestone. It marks a growing recognition that Canadian researchers and emerging companies have a distinct role in designing technologies suited for both civilian and defence applications. Dual‑use innovation—where a single development can serve humanitarian, commercial, and security goals—is moving from niche research groups to centre stage within the national innovation economy. For m

Canada’s network of university-based entrepreneurship programs is entering a new stage as the Lab2Market initiative expands into a coordinated national framework. By 2025, the network will reach more than fifty postsecondary institutions across every region, creating shared pathways for researchers who want to test the commercial and social value of their discoveries. Each hub will connect academic teams with mentors, regional investors, and early customers, forming a more co

Canada’s renewed focus on critical minerals is beginning to reshape the country’s innovation map. With updated policies expected in 2025—including a two‑year extension of the mineral exploration tax credit to 2027 and a new call under the Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund—the government is sending a clear signal that strategic resources will anchor the next stage of industrial growth. Yet the opportunity extends beyond extraction. As global supply chains reorganize to mee

Ottawa’s March 21 decision to cancel the planned hike in the capital gains inclusion rate quickly changed the tone in Canada’s startup and investment circles. Keeping the rate at one half preserves familiar ground for founders who have faced rising uncertainty about how their eventual exits might be taxed. Timing matters: with valuations compressed and seed funding more conservative than in past years, predictability gives space to plan rather than rush deals under shifting f

Canada’s planned overhaul of the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) program in 2025 marks one of the most significant updates to federal R&D support in years. By lifting the enhanced refundable credit ceiling to roughly six million dollars for qualifying firms, Ottawa signals a renewed intent to back early-stage growth. The reinstatement of capital expenditure eligibility for assets acquired after mid‑December 2024 may also change how young companies bud

Across Canada, a quiet shift is reshaping how future founders gain real-world experience. Ottawa’s 2025 effort to expand work‑integrated learning is increasing the number of co‑op terms, applied research projects, and entrepreneurship placements in postsecondary programs. For students and recent graduates, the chance to build early‑stage ventures through these placements offers more than professional training—it connects classroom ideas to commercial and community outcomes. U

Across Canada, a new generation of artificial intelligence ventures is reshaping how technology aligns with public values. Startups emerging from university labs and community innovation hubs are building tools designed not only for performance but also for fairness. Transparent algorithms, explainable models, and open data commitments are becoming central features, reflecting a shift from rapid development to responsible creation. This direction signals that Canada’s AI sect

Artificial intelligence is becoming an essential instrument in Canada’s response to the climate crisis. Across research labs, startups, and policy circles, data scientists are applying machine learning to understand complex systems such as wildfire behaviour, Arctic ice melt, and extreme weather patterns. The goal is to turn vast and often fragmented climate data into actionable insights that can guide everything from community planning to resource management. Canadian resea

Canada’s founder community is heading into 2025 facing a reset in how growth and exits are taxed. The federal adjustments to the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) program are prompting early-stage companies to revisit their R&D budgets, particularly the thresholds that determine refundable credits. For many science-based ventures, the change will alter the timing of experiments, hiring, and equipment spending. At the same time, the new Canadian Entrepre

Across Canada’s farm regions, a quiet technological shift is transforming how food is grown and delivered. Economic pressures, climate variability, and global supply fluctuations have created an urgent need for methods that use fewer resources while maintaining high yields. In response, a new generation of Canadian agritech entrepreneurs is building businesses that turn data into decisions — using digital monitoring, soil analytics, and automation to improve efficiency from s

Across Canada, a quiet transformation is taking shape in fields and greenhouses alike. Entrepreneurs and researchers are using digital tools such as artificial intelligence, drones and smart sensors to monitor soil health, predict yields and fine-tune irrigation. These technologies are turning agriculture into a data-driven enterprise — one that reduces waste, conserves water and responds to the realities of a changing climate. What once relied mainly on experience and intuit

Across Canada, the momentum behind digital health is accelerating as artificial intelligence and data-driven systems move from pilot studies to real hospital corridors and home-based care. Research teams are designing diagnostic software able to detect conditions within seconds, while entrepreneurs are testing devices that monitor chronic illnesses from hundreds of kilometres away. This dual advance—faster insight and broader reach—is reshaping how Canadians experience medica