Build Canada

TKP is not a political podcast—and won't become one. I've invited both major party leaders to share their visions because I'm deeply concerned about how public discourse has degraded into angry soundbites. We've lost the ability to explore complex issues with patience and good faith. This conversation is my small effort to show what better political dialogue might look like. Listen and learn: https://lnkd.in/ecS4687X

AI is already disrupting the creative industry globally and the pace is accelerating. Google's announcements at Cloud Next this week, OpenAI's image gen, etc. are just a continuation of what is already in flight. 🇨🇦 will need to lean in, adapt policy, and empower creators for the AI era. Great points below 👇 #AI #CdnTech #CreativeCanada #ChallengeOpportunity Aidan Tracey Build Canada

Canada has such an incredible and deep pool of creative talent. We need to defend and build on that in this emerging age of AI. Happy to be working with the team at Build Canada to layout some thoughts on how we might build a content production pipeline that is ready for the changes AI will bring.

Gen AI is going to irrevocably transform the creative industry. AI can already write scripts, compose music, design game levels, and create videos. And the tech is only getting better. Canada has a long-standing foothold in the creative industry, giving us the name "Hollywood North". These industries representing $55B (~2.5%) of our GDP and 100s of thousands of jobs. If do nothing, we risk losing these industries altogether. We spend 100s of millions on agencies like Telefilm and the Canada Media Fund, plus substantial tax credits. But they were not designed for this AI-driven reality. We cannot keep funding traditional labour models, while global competitors push ahead with their own AI strategies. But there's an immense opportunity. Harnessed effectively, AI boosts productivity, empowers independent creators, enables personalized content experiences, and offers a unique opportunity to share more Canadian stories. We have all the capabilities to be leaders here – world-leading AI research hubs, a deep pool of adaptable creative talent ,and clean energy to power necessary computing infrastructure. Let's proactively forge Canada's creative future: - Modernize laws to provide clarity that fosters innovation and attracts investment - Strategically redirect existing public investments towards equipping our workforce with cutting-edge AI skills - Support the development of Canadian AI creative tools and datasets Whether or not we do this, the tech will not wait. But with decisive action, Canada could be a leader in an AI-transformed creative industry. Read more: https://lnkd.in/grTgv5nt

Introducing a real-time Platform Tracker 🔎 - Track policies from major parties as they're announced - Compare promises by category - All cited back to the original source Check it out and let us know what you think 👉 2025.buildcanada.com

History demonstrates a clear pattern: transformative economic progress follows leaps in available energy. Coal and steam powered the Industrial Revolution; electrification reshaped manufacturing in the 20th century. Energy abundance is needed for a prosperous future. Canada's electricity demand is projected to at least double, and potentially triple, by 2050. Despite this urgency, Canada’s current regulatory environment makes it difficult to deliver the electricity infrastructure we need. Over the past decade, dozens of major projects have been delayed or cancelled. For example, efforts to build interprovincial transmission like the "Atlantic Loop" have been repeatedly stalled in multi-year reviews. There are many existing and new technologies that show promise in helping to meet Canada's needs – nuclear, geothermal, fusion. Nuclear SMRs are a good example. These reactors offer remarkable energy density (requiring potentially hundreds of times less land than wind or solar for the same output). But one analysis showed that indirect costs and regulatory overhead extended project timelines from 5 to 12 years and increased costs by 6x. Canada should be the world's leader in rapidly and efficiently deploying new generation technologies. We have the natural resources and skilled workforce to be it. To achieve this, Canada needs to dismantle the barriers that currently inflate costs and delay deployment. Lengthy, uncertain regulatory reviews, fragmented permitting across jurisdictions, grid interconnection queues, supply chain bottlenecks all hinder our ability. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gWVzqEzk

Canada's current innovation strategy has failed. We pay for promises, not results. The Scientific Research & Experimental Development Tax Credit (SR&ED) spends over $4 billion in tax credits per year to encourage businesses to innovate in Canada. The Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) spends $400 million towards small and medium sized businesses to do the same. Despite this massive investment, outcomes have been disappointing. Canada produces only 0.81 startups with a $1 billion enterprise valuation per million people. The US generates 1.8 per million; Israel 5.6 per million. The truth is that SR&ED, IRAP and related programs aren't just ineffective – they're actively wasteful. The application process for SR&ED is so complex that many companies hire specialized consultants who can take 20-30% of the funds. Companies focus on meeting bureaucratic eligibility criteria rather than pursuing genuine innovation. What's more, many of these benefits flow to large corporations with teams able to to maximize government benefits, rather than to the emerging companies that could become tomorrow's economic champions. We need a fundamentally different approach. Programs like SR&ED and IRAP should be abolished immediately. Instead, Canada should create a program that matches private investments. When a company successfully raises private capital, the government should provide matching funds as non-dilutive capital in the form of debt. This debt would carry no votes, no board seats, and no security interests, preserving founder control and company autonomy. Repayment would only be triggered upon a sale of the company, an IPO, or if the company or its IP is moved outside Canada. By providing matching government funds to companies that have secured private capital, we can amplify market signals rather than trying to outsmart them. Read the full memo: https://lnkd.in/g2epTEKR

Borderlines Podcast #155 - ApplyBoard co-founder and former Martin Basiri on why Canada needs to take politics out of economic immigration, and focus on attracting talent. In a recent article for Build Canada, Martin proposed a comprehensive set of reforms to modernize Canada’s immigration system, with the overall goal to make the primary mandate for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to attract, recruit, integrate and retain the best possible talent focussed on building up the Canadian economy while maximizing the income of newcomers. His article can be found here. https://lnkd.in/gJBaVFWM

Canada needs a more productive government. We have done this before. We can do it again.

Today, Build Canada released its 23rd memo and it is a big one. Titled "Create A More Productive Government" and written by Lucy Hargreaves, it contains the results of a Program Review conducted by Lucy and a small team of experts. The Program Review follows the principles of the Chretien / Martin Program Review from 1995 and uses as much government spending data as the team could find. The point of this memo is to start the discussion about a government efficiency initiative to reduce costs and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government. You don't have to agree with it all, but it is a starting point. In my opinion, all taxpayers should demand that we have a continuous government review process that is always looking for efficiencies. To think otherwise would be very odd to me. I have been building businesses for 30 years and the market demands efficiency in business and we should expect something similar in government. In the first comment below, I include links to other Build Canada memos that discuss government efficiency as well as two papers that discuss past Program Reviews (Canada and other countries). It is important for all taxpayers to have some context for this and to voice their views to MPs and candidates about the need for government efficiency.