The Short Report: November 6, 2024

GOVERNMENT FUNDING 

Investissement Québec intends to spend $4.5 billion by 2027 to accelerate business innovation and increase the province’s level of productivity which, despite recent advances, continues to lag behind that of Ontario. The provincial government agency’s new campaign, dubbed Grand V, is aimed at stimulating investment by local companies in technology. The initiative focuses on the acquisition, implementation and development of innovative technology, including automation and robotization. As the financial arm of the provincial government, Investissement Québec is offering term loans of $250,000, with a moratorium on repayment of capital of up to 48 months depending on the nature of the project. Financing can also be made available in the form of investment in equity capital. Investissement Québec will also offer support services and webinars to companies trying to get their projects up and running. The Grand V initiative replaces the Productivité innovation and Compétivert programs launched a few years earlier. The two programs provided nearly $5 billion to 2,000 projects. Montreal Gazette

Women and Gender Equality Canada announced up to $100 million for 163 projects to improve economic and leadership opportunities for women across Canada. This funding will address systemic barriers to women’s economic participation and success, including harassment, discrimination, limited access to mentors and networks, and lack of flexible work arrangements. The projects will advance gender equality through one or more of the following ways:

• Changing gender norms and attitudes by working to change beliefs, assumptions and stereotypes based on gender and other identity factors.
• Supporting changes to authority, voices at the table, and decision-making power by working to address power imbalances to ensure women are part of the dialogue and solution.
• Increasing networks and collaboration by building and strengthening partnerships to work across sectors and break down silos.
• Encouraging more effective and equitable sharing of resources by sharing, mobilizing and redistributing resources to support equality. 
• Changing policies and practices by creating, changing or removing policies and practices to address sexism and other barriers to gender equality.

When it comes to the work still required to achieve gender equality, the federal government noted:

• In 2023, women in Canada earned 88 cents for every dollar earned by men, suggesting a gap of 12 percent. The pay gap is wider for racialized, Indigenous and immigrant women.
• Women occupy only 30 percent of senior management positions and just 35 percent of other management positions.
• Women were majority owners of just 17 percent of small and medium-sized businesses in 2020.
• Women’s labour force participation reached a record high of 85.7 percent in July 2023; however, women are concentrated in low-wage occupations – 28.2 percent of women work in the five lowest-paid occupations.

Ottawa said this funding supports Women and Gender Equality Canada’s continued work to advance equality with respect to sex, sexual orientation and gender identity or expression through the inclusion of people of all genders, including women, in Canada’s economic, social and political life. Women and Gender Equality Canada

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) announced a federal investment of nearly $20 million to the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) in Ontario from the Green Industrial Facilities and Manufacturing Program to support the extension of the IESO’s Strategic Energy Management Program. NRCan has invested in this initiative to help the IESO support industrial facilities across four areas:

• Energy practitioners 
• Energy managers 
• Energy management systems 
• Strategic energy management.

“As demand for electricity grows in the industrial sector, this funding from Natural Resources Canada will enable the IESO to expand and enhance our energy management solutions. These programs help ensure that Ontario’s industrial facilities remain efficient and competitive while keeping our system affordable and reliable,” Lesley Gallinger, the IESO’s president and CEO, said in a statement. NRCan

Natural Resources Canada announced a federal contribution of more than $8 million to Kruger Wayagamack Pulp and Paper Mill for its Decarbonization of Kruger Wayagamack Mill Using an Innovative Molten Borates Technology project. With this funding, Kruger Wayagamack Mill will install the world’s first demonstration-scale carbon capture system in a pulp and paper industrial setting at their facility in Trois-Rivières. This innovative system will allow the company to recover heat to produce steam and capture carbon dioxide produced by the paper production process and utilize it in its paper mill. This project will reduce energy losses, lower operating costs and aim to reduce CO₂ emissions by 1,800 tonnes per year in the Wayagamack Mill. It will also serve as a model for carbon removal that can be replicated throughout the pulp and paper industry, NRCan said. Funding for this initiative is provided through NRCan’s Investment in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) program. IFIT aims to improve the environmental performance of the forestry sector by facilitating the adoption of transformative technologies that contribute to the decarbonization of industrial processes. The program’s goal is to create a more competitive, resilient and environmentally sustainable sector with a focus on innovative, low-carbon projects that result in new or diversified revenue streams. NRCan

Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) announced a federal investment of more than $3.7 million over five years in EntrepreNorth’s Northern Indigenous Entrepreneur Growth and Ecosystem Development Project. Over the next five years, this investment will support EntrepreNorth – which has headquarters in Yellowknife and Whitehorse –  in expanding its program offerings, providing training and certification to new facilitators and launching an online marketplace for Indigenous goods and services. The project will also help further develop EntrepreNorth’s Business App, a web-based tool that connects entrepreneurs to their support networks across the North. The government said by investing in this project, it is supporting initiatives that build capacity, strengthen small business networks in rural areas, and promote economic diversification across the North. CanNor

Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan) announced $2.7 million in PacifiCan support to Small Business BC. Small Business BC plays a critical role in providing the tools and guidance that small businesses need to reach their full potential. Small Business BC offers free resources including business advisory services, workshops, networking opportunities and mentorship. Ottawa said this funding represents a continuation of the longstanding partnership between PacifiCan and Small Business BC to support small businesses as they create local jobs, vibrant communities and inclusive opportunities in British Columbia. PacifiCan

Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada announced the launch of the annual call for proposals for research and monitoring projects on contaminants originating from other parts of the world. These contaminants are transported through air and sea currents to the North and Arctic. As part of the federal department’s Northern Contaminants Program, beginning in 2025-2026, close to $1 million will be available for projects for up to three consecutive years. This investment will support new projects related to human health, environmental and community-based monitoring and research, and associated public outreach initiatives. In the 2024-2025 project year, 66 projects were selected for funding from the Northern Contaminants Program. Community members, Indigenous and territorial organizations, and governments are encouraged to work in partnership with university and federal government scientists to submit a proposal. Applicants have until January 20, 2025, to submit their proposals. Projects selected for funding will be announced in the summer of 2025. Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

The Canadian Technology Accelerator (CTA) announced the opening of recruitment for the next CTA program. The CTA is a program managed by Global Affairs Canada's Trade Commissioner Service, designed to empower Canadian high-potential, high-growth tech companies to explore global opportunities. This new CTA program is targeting eight to 10 innovative Canadian companies offering artificial intelligence solutions for the manufacturing industry. The program's first phase includes virtual masterclasses focused on the U.K. and German AI markets, along with personalized coaching and mentoring for each participant. The second phase takes place in-market, where participants will attend detailed overview sessions about the U.K. and German markets and participate in tailored business-to-business meetings with potential clients. In 2021, the manufacturing sector accounted for 26.6 percent of Germany's gross value-added. A recent Bitkom survey revealed that 78 percent of German industrial companies see AI as crucial for future competitiveness. The German government is set to invest over €1.6 billion in AI research, development and application during this legislative period. In the U.K., the  manufacturing sector represents nearly 70 percent of all business research and development funding, primarily aimed to grow manufacturing output and scale through digital technology adoption, innovation and skills. In 2023, the U.K. government announced a Cdn$7.7 billion commitment to the industry. This CTA program will help selected participants navigate these markets and connect them to relevant stakeholders to achieve their goals in Germany and the U.K. Technologies the program is looking for include: 

• computer vision
• machine learning
• natural language processing
• artificial intelligence robotics
• autonomous and sensor technology
• generative AI market

The application deadline is November 13, 2024. Global Affairs Canada

Invest Nova Scotia has recovered almost all the $573,000 stolen from it in a phishing scam this past spring. In July, the economic development agency said an imposter posing as a venture capital executive stole the money, which was intended for the Halifax-based investment group Sandpiper Ventures. The theft was the work of a hacker using a Russian VPN. Shawn Hirtle, Invest Nova Scotia’s director of strategic communications, said $551,000 of the stolen money ended up in an RBC bank account. The agency worked with the provincial Department of Justice to launch a court action to get that money back and was successful in August. There is another $20,000 in a BMO account that the province is now working to get back, and Hirtle said it expects to be successful. Assuming Invest Nova Scotia recovers this second tranche of money, the agency will be down about $2,500 because of the scam. Hirtle said the Halifax Police Department has begun a criminal investigation into the incident, which is ongoing. Entrevestor

A group of experts tasked with advising the European Commission on the next Framework Programme for research and innovation is recommending a major overhaul of EU funding instruments. Their report urges the creation of an independent Industrial Competitiveness and Technology Council and a European Societal Challenges Council to steer collaborative research. That would mean the vast majority of the next program, provisionally called Framework Programme 10, or FP10, would be managed outside of the European Commission. The group is also urging the overall research and innovation budget increase to €220 billion from the current €93.5 billion in a major effort to regain lost European competitiveness. The group also wants “dual-use” military-civilian innovations included, greater cooperation globally (including with China), an overhaul of how the Commission handles its grant paperwork, and much greater independence from Commission bureaucracy for its fundamental research and small-company innovation agencies. While all of this is by no means certain of adoption, the report appears in the midst of debates that could lead to the biggest overhaul of EU R&D funding since the Framework Programme began in 1984. The group’s recommendations are expected to be influential in shaping the Commission’s proposal for FP10, to be presented in mid-2025. Science|Business

RESEARCH, TECH NEWS & COLLABORATION

 British Columbia’s Centre for Innovation & Clean Energy (CICE) issued a call for proposals from women in clean tech, with up to $3 million available to climate tech and clean energy ventures led by women. CICE will award up to $3 million in non-dilutive funding. These investments can maximize impact by:  

• Providing project funding to early-stage startups led by founders and co-founders in B.C. who identify as women.  
• Providing flexible support options, including up to 25 percent upfront project capital, to accelerate solutions to their next stage of development. 
• Directly investing in hard tech decarbonization and/or soft tech enabling decarbonization solutions development to drive innovation in climate tech solutions in B.C. 
• Equipping founders with mentorship from program partners to help scale and commercialize their innovations.  

Empowering founders who identify as women can unlock the potential for groundbreaking technologies, drive decarbonization efforts, and generate significant economic value, CICE said. Expressions of interest are due by December 3, 2024. CICE

Seattle-headquartered Ultra Safe Nuclear, the company that would have built a small nuclear reactor at the Global First Power project in Chalk River, Ont., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a Delaware court. The company said it approached lenders but failed to negotiate sufficient funding, and plans to sell all its  assets through bankruptcy. The Chalk River project, a partnership between Global First Power and Ontario Power Generation, was meant to demonstrate Ultra Safe Nuclear’s micro-reactor (typically one to 20 megawatts) modular reactor technology. However, the project met with regulatory delays, and Ultra Safe Nuclear’s bankruptcy raises doubts about whether the project will proceed. Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation

The Pathways Alliance oilsands group and the Canada Growth Fund (CGF) are back at the discussion table, after the CGF put forward a specific proposal to financially support the Alliance’s $16.5-billion carbon capture and storage network, The Globe and Mail reported. The resumption of talks and tabling of the new proposal took place after the CGF separately reached a deal in July to partner with Strathcona Resources Ltd., the fifth-largest oilsands producer in Alberta but not part of Pathways. The CGF is citing that partnership – which involves the agency putting up to $1 billion toward the capital costs of Strathcona’s $2-billion carbon capture and storage investment – as proof of its ability to get deals done with the industry and as a model for the Pathways proposal. The renewed engagement between the CGF and Pathways could mark long-awaited progress toward the $16.5-billion shared investment in carbon capture, which Pathways – whose members include Cenovus Energy Inc., Suncor Energy Inc., Imperial Oil Ltd., Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., MEG Energy Corp., and ConocoPhillips Canada – has long touted as the centrepiece of its plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from oilsands production. The group collectively represents approximately 95 percent of oilsands production. The CGF is a $15-billion entity created last year by Ottawa to support carbon capture, storage and utilization (CCUS), along with other forms of clean technology. The federal government also is providing other support for CCUS, most notably a new tax credit covering up to 50 percent of carbon capture, storage and utilization investment costs. The Alberta government is offering an additional 12 percent in similar backing. Meanwhile, the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) said it will not require an environmental impact assessment (EIA) of Pathways’ massive project, according to story in the National Post. In May, the  Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and lawyers with Ecojustice asked for an assessment of the Pathways carbon capture storage hub, which would link more than 20 oilsands facilities through a 400-kilometre pipeline to an underground sequestration space in the Cold Lake region of Alberta. An EIA is not mandatory for this type of project under Alberta’s Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, though the AER has the discretion to decide whether further assessment or an EIA report is required based on a number of considerations, including public concerns. The Globe and Mail

Montreal-based eStruxture Data Centers, the largest data centre provider in Canada, plans to build a new $750-million facility, located five kilometres north of Calgary in Rocky View County. The development, designed to deliver 90 megawatts of power contracted from the Alberta electricity grid, is the company’s third such centre in the Calgary area. It will also be the largest of eStruxture’s 16 facilities across Canada – and is billed as the largest in the province. With the sudden growth of AI and continued expansion in cloud computing, the company’s CEO believes Alberta is well positioned to become home to more centres in the coming years due, in part, to available land and electricity, skilled workers and the province’s interest in hosting such facilities. “We see Calgary as absolutely one of the key linchpins to Canada’s foray in driving AI demand north of the border. We believe that the ultimate ecosystem of AI is going to find its way into Alberta in a rather significant way,” Todd Coleman, founder and CEO of eStruxture, told the Calgary Herald. Construction of the new data centre will start immediately and the facility is expected to be operating by the end of 2026. There are more than 5,000 megawatts of proposed data centres in the Alberta Electricity System Operator’s application lineup. In October, the Canada Energy Regulator reported 239 data centres are operating in the country, including nine around Edmonton and 12 in Calgary. This includes Amazon Web Services, which announced in 2021 that it would establish a new cloud computing hub in the region. eStrxcture Data Centers

New York-headquartered KKR, a leading global investment firm, and New Jersey-headquartered Energy Capital Partners (ECP), the largest private owner of power generation and renewables in the U.S., announced a $50-billion strategic partnership. The collaboration aims to accelerate the development of data centre and power generation and transmission infrastructure for the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence and cloud computing globally. This strategic partnership combines KKR’s expertise in digital infrastructure, power and the energy value chain with ECP’s energy transition platform in electrification, power and renewable generation. A single planned data centre campus regularly exceeds one gigawatt of power demand and requires an investment of $15 billion or more across data centre and power equipment. KKR projects that global data centre power demand will grow by 160 percent by 2032. Energy Capital Partners

Soaring demand for data centres to support artificial intelligence and cloud computing will boost global spending in the sector to US$250 billion a year, according to New York-headquartered investment firm KKR. The U.S. is the biggest developer of data centres. This infrastructure consumes about 16 to 18 gigawatts of power, compared with about six gigawatts in Europe and the same in Asia, Waldemar Szlezak, KKR’s global head of digital infrastructure, said in an interview. For comparison, one gigawatt is enough to supply more than 850,000 average U.S. households. “Over the next three to four years, the 18 gigawatts [in the U.S.] will likely double, if not triple,” he said. KKR announced in late October it had entered into a US$50 billion partnership with Energy Capital Partners to accelerate the development of AI infrastructure, including data centres.  Earlier this year, Toronto-headquartered Brookfield Asset Management said in an investor presentation that it has more than 140 data centres, putting it at the “forefront of the AI revolution.” New York-headquartered BlackRock said in September that it’s teaming up with Microsoft to raise US$30 billion to build out data centres necessary to power advances in AI. The Business Times

Kapoose Creek Bio, a B.C.-based biotech company that specializes in discovering new drugs from nature using artificial intelligence, announced an exclusive licensing and asset acquisition agreement with Adapsyn Bioscience, a Hamilton-based chemical bioinformatics company. As part of the agreement, Kapoose Creek will gain access to Adapsyn’s cutting-edge AI technology and natural products database to advance its drug discovery and development activities. Four of Adapsyn’s top scientists, with expertise in chemistry, microbiology and computation, will join Kapoose Creek, which will also acquire Adapsyn’s core chemistry laboratory at McMaster Innovation Park – expanding Kapoose Creek’s operations to Ontario. Both companies already have close connections to McMaster University: Adapsyn was spun out of McMaster professor Nathan Magarvey’s lab at the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research in 2016, and Kapoose Creek is headed by McMaster professor Eric Brown. Kapoose is also supported by Global Nexus, a health innovation accelerator based at McMaster. McMaster University

The Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI) announced a strategic partnership with the University of Ottawa and IBM under Ontario’s Critical Industrial Technologies Program. The partnership establishes the uOttawa-IBM Cyber Range as a Technology Development Site to support Ontario-based small and medium-sized enterprises to adopt, test, integrate and demonstrate cybersecurity capabilities into their technologies across four key sectors. The uOttawa-IBM Cyber Range offers highly realistic cyber response training exercises to help businesses and government organizations across the country better prepare for and strengthen defences against real-world cyber threats, including how to plan, respond, manage, contain and remediate cyberattacks. Launched last fall, the uOttawa-IBM Cyber Range is IBM’s first Cyber Range partnership on a Canadian university campus. University of Ottawa

Discontinuing sales of internal combustion engine vehicles in the U.S. could save up to $188 billion in health care costs, according to an international study led by Jean Schmitt, professor in the Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering at the University of Toronto. Reducing sales and usage of combustion vehicles would have direct impacts on public health, reducing pollution-related illness, she and co-authors said in a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Their study found between $84 billion and $188 billion could be saved in public health expenditures between 2022 and 2050 by prohibiting the sale of new combustion-powered vehicles. However, these impacts can only be fully realized if electricity is powered by low-emitting sources, such as renewable energy, hydrogen and nuclear power. In this scenario, all regions of the U.S. would see increased per-capita health benefits. However, if the electricity grid is not decarbonized, the car industry's electrification would increase public health expenditures by between $32 and $71 billion by 2050. In this scenario, urban centres would see benefits while suburban and rural areas, particularly those near coal and natural gas plants, would face heightened costs. Information Technology & Innovation Foundation

Toronto-headquartered Brookfield Management is investing US$2.27 billion to buy minority stakes in four U.K. offshore wind farms owned by Orsted in Denmark. The Danish renewable energy company said Brookfield, affiliate Brookfield Renewable, and institutional partners would acquire 12.45-percent stakes in the Hornsea 1 and 2 wind farms in the North Sea and the Walney Extension and Burbo Bank Extension wind farms in the Irish Sea. The four sites have a combined capacity of around 3.5 gigawatts. The deal, which is expected to close by the end of this year, is part of Orsted's farm-down program that the company outlined in February. Last year, Orsted hit major headwinds as it pushed aggressively to expand into new markets, especially the U.S. Through cost cutting, divestments and halted shareholder payouts, the company is working to right itself and bolster its balance sheet. MarketScreener

VC, PRIVATE INVESTMENT & ACQUISITIONS

Saudi Arabia’s Hassana Investment Company and Toronto-headquartered Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding through which Hassana is exploring becoming an anchor investor in Brookfield’s new regional private equity fund, Brookfield Middle East Partners. Brookfield intends to raise at least US$2 billion, with Hassana to allocate up to US$500 million in the fund in addition to Brookfield’s own US$500-million commitment. The new fund will target buyouts, structured solutions and other investment opportunities across a range of sectors including industrials, consumer and business services, technology and health care. Zawya

Toronto-based Bridgehouse Asset Managers and London, U.K.-headquartered global asset manager Ninety One announced the launch of the Ninety One Emerging Markets Equity Fund for Canadian institutional investors, with $350 million in seed capital from an unnamed large Canadian corporate pension plan. Ninety One North America, Inc. will provide advice on the portfolio and Bridgehouse will provide fund management, administration and operational services. The Ninety One Emerging Markets Equity Strategy, launched in 2011, aims to achieve consistent long-term capital growth by actively investing in a diversified portfolio. Bridgehouse Asset Managers

CIBC Innovation Banking provided US$20 million in growth capital to Procurify, a Vancouver-based spend management and procurement software startup. This funding will support Procurify’s continued development of innovative procurement technologies and its mission to enhance organizational spend transparency and efficiency, CIBC Innovation Banking said. Procurify’s suite of proactive spend management solutions includes the recent launch of an all-new accounts payable automation solution. Procurify’s solution combines purchasing, accounts payable automation and data analytics into a single platform. Business Wire

Toronto-based Reactiv Technologies raised US$5 million in seed funding led by Bonfire Ventures, with participation from Foxe Capital, Anthemis, Daher Capital, Alumni Ventures, and private investors. Jennifer Richard, principal of Bonfire Ventures, has joined Reactiv’s two founders on the board of directors. Founded by two Shopify alums, Zack Elias and Ross Correia, Reactiv is an AI-powered platform that helps brands quickly launch mobile apps. Private Capital Journal

 Revyl, a Canadian-founded startup based in San Francisco, raised $1.5 million in a pre-seed funding round. The round was led by Panache Ventures, with contributions from Feld Ventures, Y Combinator, and angel investors from Uber and Facebook. Revyl said the funding will support its mission to help companies detect software bugs faster and more efficiently. The startup is developing an AI-driven platform intended to reduce the time and resources spent on finding and fixing bugs in software. Co-founders Anam Hira and Landseer Enga designed Revyl’s platform to address common challenges in software testing, particularly in complex, large-scale environments. AllAboutAI.com

London, U.K.-based private equity firm BC Partners has agreed to sell its controlling stake in Montreal-headquartered GardaWorld in a deal that values the Canadian security services company at $13.5 billion. GardaWorld founder and CEO Stephan Cretier and some management executives will buy a 70-percent stake, the companies said. Private credit firm HPS Investment Partners, leading a group of minority investors, will hold the remaining equity interest. BC Partners will also continue to hold a minority stake in GardaWorld. The transaction is expected to close by February 28, 2025, according to GardaWorld, which provides security services to clients in sectors including manufacturing and real estate. Reuters

REPORTS & POLICIES

Canada’s manufacturing productivity “middling, at best” over the past 25 years: NGen report

Manufacturing productivity growth slightly outperformed the overall economy over the past 25 years but has slowed especially during the past decade, according to a new report by Next Generation Manufacturing Canada (NGen).

“This report examines productivity in Canada’s manufacturing sector over the past 25 years. It finds that, for the most part, manufacturing productivity growth in Canada has been middling, at best,” says the report by the federally funded, Ontario-based global innovation cluster.

Productivity – the value of output per hour worked per employee – has stagnated or decreased in several important manufacturing industries since the late 1990s.

However, productivity has increased substantially during the same timeframe in some manufacturing industries, such as life sciences, electronics (+56 percent), wood products (+112.5 percent), pharmaceutical products (+45.2 percent), non-metallic mineral products (e.g. concrete, glass – +42.7 percent) and in some parts of Canada.

Petroleum product manufacturing has about four times greater productivity than the manufacturing industry as a whole. Tobacco manufacturing is more than twice as productive compared with the entire manufacturing industry.

Across Canada, productivity growth in the pharmaceutical product manufacturing industry has been consistently higher than that of the broader manufacturing sector and the overall economy. The pharmaceutical product manufacturing industry also has performed well in terms of GDP growth and workforce diversity.

Large factories tend to be more productive than small factories, the report notes. Large factories are generally better able to integrate new production technologies and achieve economies of scale.

“Unfortunately, a greater proportion of Canadian manufacturing takes place in small factories when compared to the United States or other affluent industrialized countries. Productivity suffers as a result.”

For example, productivity has declined in Canada’s beverage manufacturing industry, where hundreds of smaller breweries, wineries and distilleries have emerged while several large production facilities have closed since the late 1990s.

Commodity price fluctuations can lead to significant year-over-year increases or decreases in productivity. This is prevalent in industries that rely on commodity inputs or whose outputs are themselves commodities (e.g. petroleum, primary metals, meat, poultry).

Because productivity is measured in output per hour, commodity price fluctuations can cause productivity in certain industries to change significantly with very little change to the quantity or volume of the product manufactured in any given year.

Capacity utilization also is an important determinant of productivity. In Canada, low levels of capacity utilization by select transportation equipment manufacturers over the past decade have led to decreases in productivity.

Canada’s motor vehicle industry productivity, which increased slightly in 2023 after nearly a decade of decline, is likely to decline in 2024 and 2025, according to the report. “This is the result of several assembly plants undergoing extensive retooling or operating well below capacity.”

Productivity in motor vehicle manufacturing actually increased between the late 1990s and early 2010s, but has fallen considerably since. Motor vehicle parts manufacturing productivity growth outperformed the overall manufacturing sector since 1998, but decreased over the past decade. The aerospace industry is more productive than it was a year ago, but less productive than it was five, 10 or 25 years ago.

In food manufacturing – the largest manufacturing industry in Canada in terms of employment – productivity growth has not kept pace with the overall manufacturing sector.

“The fact that productivity in these industries is middling at best must be addressed if Canada’s manufacturing sector is to remain competitive among its trading partners,” the report says.

When looking at regions, Atlantic Canada is home to the smallest manufacturing sector compared with other more populous regions.

It is the only region in Canada where manufacturing productivity is lower than the overall economy, and the only region where manufacturing productivity increases were lower than the average for the overall economy since 1998.

In Quebec, manufacturing productivity growth has outperformed the broader economy at most intervals since 1998.

Wood product, primary metal, non-metallic mineral product, plastics and rubber product, and machinery manufacturing productivity growth outpaced the average for manufacturing in Quebec since the late 1990s.

The chemical and pharmaceutical product manufacturing industries experienced strong productivity growth more recently.

In Ontario, manufacturing productivity grew faster than that of the broader Ontario economy since 1998 but has underperformed over the past decade.

The top performers since the late 1990s include the pharmaceutical product, electronics, machinery and non-metallic mineral product manufacturing industries.

The paper, motor vehicle and aerospace manufacturing industries underperformed the manufacturing average and the average for the overall provincial economy.

Western Canada has the highest levels of manufacturing productivity, and of productivity generally, when compared with other Canadian regions.

The manufacturing sector in Western Canada is less diversified than that of Ontario or Quebec. Western Canada’s manufacturing sector is focused more on the processing of certain commodities, including oil and agricultural products, than on manufacturing finished value-added goods.

For these reasons, the manufacturing sector in Western Canada is more susceptible to commodity price fluctuations than the manufacturing sector in other regions of Canada.

Western Canada’s electronics, wood product and pharmaceutical product manufacturing industries experienced the greatest productivity gains since 1998.

The report identifies four structural factors that are important determinants of productivity for manufacturing industries. These factors, while important, are seldom mentioned in the recent discourse related to Canada’s productivity problem, the report says.

They include industry-specific dynamics, factory size, commodity price fluctuations and capacity utilization.

“These factors are not the only variables that influence productivity, although they are often less well understood. While they have different effects on productivity in different industries, they ultimately play an important role in determining to what extent productivity will improve.”

The report concludes by identifying a number of themes related to productivity that warrant further analysis. These themes include how productivity is calculated, how Canada’s productivity record compares to other countries, and the role of exchange rates.

For example, an international comparison of productivity growth in specific industries where inputs and outputs are similar, or where production processes are ubiquitous, may help to determine the extent that slow productivity growth is a Canadian-specific problem or a more systemic problem.
“The relatively low rates of productivity growth in Canada’s manufacturing sector are a cause for concern,” the report says. “They are in some ways specific to manufacturing. They are also part of the challenges facing Canada’s broader economy.” NGen

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What “productivity crisis?” Canada is doing just fine, thank you very much: economist Brian Lewis

Using real GDP per capita as a measure of Canada’s productivity is flawed, Canada’s “productivity crisis” is a myth, and the country is better off than critics suggest, argues economist Brian Lewis.

“Our economy has its challenges, but the idea that we’re in a crisis – based solely on GDP comparisons with the U.S. – is simply a myth,” Lewis, senior fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy at the University of Toronto, writes in an article in Maclean’s magazine. He was Ontario’s chief economist from 2015 to 2021.

According to the World Bank, he says, real GDP per capita increased in the U.S. by 60 percent between 1990 and 2022. In Canada, that growth was only 43 percent. 

“The resulting image is almost self-deprecating: we’re painted as a nation of overly polite, underachieving dullards, failing to keep pace with the flashy, ever-rising American standard of living.”

Lewis points out that Russian economist and statistician Simon Kuznets, the pioneer behind the real GDP per capita measure, cautioned the U.S. Congress in 1934 that “the welfare of a nation can scarcely be inferred from a measure of national income.”

GDP is an imperfect measure of productivity, despite its ubiquity in economic conversations, Lewis says, arguing that the measure especially falls short when comparing two nations with different structures and economic priorities.

While GDP measures output, it misses many factors that contribute to quality of life, he argues. “It turns out that when we look at other measures such as incomes, health, fairness and happiness, Canadians are doing pretty well compared to other countries.”

For example, Canada ranks second among G7 nations in income equality, Lewis notes. “Meanwhile, the U.S. might top the GDP charts, but its income inequality is the worst among G7 nations.”

The U.S. spends 16.5 percent of its larger per-capita GDP on health care, compared with Canada, which spends 11.2 percent.

GDP data would suggest that Americans receive significantly better health care, but this isn’t true, Lewis says.

The number of doctors and nurses per capita is comparable between the two countries. The U.S.’s greater reliance on private health care inflates its GDP figures compared to Canada, he says. “And when we look at outcomes like life expectancy and infant mortality, Canada comes out far ahead – despite our overburdened and under-resourced system.”

Also, the growing value of Canada’s international exports isn't factored into real GDP measures, Lewis points out.

Based on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development data, Canada’s trade has improved significantly over time, rising by 30.7 percent between 1995 and 2022.

Higher prices for Canada’s natural resource exports like oil mean that our incomes are outpacing GDP growth because we’re trading on increasingly favourable terms. “When you factor this in, Canada’s income growth is keeping pace [with] that of the United States.”

Research by McMaster University economists Oliver Loertscher and Pau Pujolas shows that if you remove the oil and gas sector from the equation, Canada’s total factor productivity has increased at a comparable pace to U.S., Lewis says. The sector's high input use of equipment and machinery needed in the oilsands slows labour productivity.

“In other words, the supposed ‘productivity gap’ might be more about how we measure than any actual underperformance on our part.”

Those who contend Canada has a productivity crisis also argue that increased productivity will translate into higher wages for the average Canadian worker. But it hasn’t worked that way, Lewis maintains.

For example, in the two decades leading up to the COVID pandemic, labour productivity across Canada grew by 19.4 percent, but real average weekly earnings climbed only 12.5 percent, and median household income by 11.2 percent.

This gap is even starker in Ontario, where wages rose by a modest 7.5 percent, while labour productivity jumped by 17.5 percent. 

The reason is that corporate profits and the highest-income earners have been taking an ever-larger slice of the economic pie, Lewis says. Today, corporate profits make up about 20 percent of Canada’s GDP, nearly double their share between 1960 to 2000.

While the inflation-adjusted income of the top 10 percent of income earners jumped 28 percent between 1982 and 2022, this number is just 15 percent for everyone else, he adds. “The result is that many ordinary Canadians feel left out of the prosperity they’re told is coming from rising productivity.”

Canada might not match the U.S. in sheer economic output, but the country outperforms the U.S. when we turn our attention to a broad range of measures of things that truly matter to everyday Canadians, Lewis concludes.

“Public policy should focus on measures that truly reflect our well-being, like real median income, fairness and quality of life. It’s not that GDP is irrelevant, but it shouldn’t be the only yardstick.” Maclean’s

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Canada faces growing and more complex cyber threats from state and non-state actors: Canadian Centre for Cyber Security report

Canada is confronting an expanding and complex cyber threat landscape with a growing cast of malicious and unpredictable state and non-state cyber threat actors, from cybercriminals to “hacktivists,” according to a report by the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre).

State-sponsored and financially motivated cyber threats are increasingly likely to affect Canadians, and foreign threat actors are moving beyond espionage to conduct more disruptive activities, says the Cyber Centre's National Cyber Threat Assessment 2025-2026, the fourth such report.

“Since our first report, the threats have remained constant – cybercrime, ransomware, state-sponsored attacks and disruptions continue,” Rajiv Gupta, head of the Cyber Centre, said in a statement.

“The key changes over the years have been the methods and severity of these tactics. Tools that make our digital lives easier also make it easier for cyber criminals to disrupt them. The platforms we rely on to connect with family and friends get used by our adversaries to promote division,” he said.

The report shows that cybercrime remains a persistent, widespread and disruptive threat to individuals, organizations and all levels of government across Canada, and that ransomware is the top cybercrime threat facing Canada’s critical infrastructure.

The “Cybercrime-as-a-Service” (CaaS) business model is almost certainly contributing to the continued resilience of cybercrime in Canada and around the world, the report says.

The CaaS ecosystem is underpinned by flourishing online marketplaces where specialized cyber threat actors sell stolen and leaked data and ready-to-use malicious tools to other cybercriminals, according to the report.

State-sponsored cyber threat actors are becoming more aggressive and are almost certainly combining disruptive computer network attacks with online information campaigns to intimidate and shape public opinion, the report says.

“Well-known state adversaries continue to support sophisticated, active programs against Canada and our allies to serve their own political, economic or military objectives.”

The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) expansive and aggressive cyber program presents the most sophisticated and active state cyber threat to Canada today, according to the report. “The PRC cyber program’s scale, tradecraft and ambitions in cyberspace are second to none.”

Russia’s cyber program furthers Moscow’s ambitions to confront and destabilize Canada and its allies, the report says.

Canada is very likely a valuable espionage target for Russian state-sponsored cyber threat actors, including through supply chain compromises, given Canada’s membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, support for Ukraine against Russian aggression, and presence in the Arctic, the report notes.

Iran uses its cyber program to coerce, harass and repress its opponents while managing the risks of political instability. 

Given current tensions between Canada and India over allegations of Indian government involvement in targeting Sikh activists in Canada, the report notes that Indian state-sponsored cyber threat actors likely conduct cyber threat activity against Government of Canada networks for the purpose of espionage.

“We judge that official bilateral relations between Canada and India will very likely drive Indian state-sponsored cyber threat activity against Canada.”

The report also highlights key trends that will shape the cyber threat environment from now until 2026, like the impact of AI in amplifying threats and how geopolitical tensions are inspiring cyber threat activity from non-state groups.

Federal Budget 2024 proposed $917.4 million over five years to enhance intelligence and cyber operations programs to respond to these evolving threats.

Canada’s defence policy update, Our North, Strong and Free, also announced the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Cyber Command, a joint Canadian cyber operations capability between Canada's Communications Security Establishment and the CAF that will play a pivotal role in maintaining Canada’s cyber security, the government said.

The report encourages Canadians to consult the Cyber Centre’s cyber security guidance for more information on the cyber threats outlined in the assessment and how to protect against them. Organizations can also consult the Cyber Centre’s Cross-Sector Cyber Security Readiness Goals Toolkit to learn how to increase their cyber security posture.

On October 29, the Cyber Centre also published a suite of voluntary guidelines for small and medium-sized organizations designed to further protect essential services for people in Canada and enhance cyber security resilience overall.

Called the Cyber Security Readiness Goals (CRGs), this new resource offers a toolkit with 36 cross-sector cyber security practices that build on available advice and guidance. The CRGs list important steps organizations can take toward goals that will improve their cyber security posture in the face of increasingly complex cyber security threats. Canadian Centre for Cyber Security

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Canada needs to continue to educate, attract and retain top-tier AI talent to remain globally competitive in global AI

Demand for workers with core AI skills increased 37 percent from 2018 to 2023, but the demand for peripheral AI skills dropped by 46.4 percent during the same period, according to a report released by the Vector Institute.

The report, Artificial Intelligence Talent in Canada: Emerging AI Skills and Future Workforce, was done in partnership with  The Conference Board of Canada and the Future Skills Centre.

The growing demand for workers with core AI skills is driven by rising needs in knowledge areas like machine learning, deep learning, and AI ethics and governance, which are directly related to AI development and application.

Technical talent, usually at the PhD or MA level, is considered “table stakes” for businesses to be competitive in the AI market, the report says.

Organizations need talent that has a deep technical background either in AI or hard sciences, and businesses highly value non-technical skills such as creativity, curiosity, problem-solving, communication, an engineering mindset and business acumen.

The declining demand for peripheral AI skills – those supporting AI use but applicable in other contexts such as skills like software development and design or cloud computing – suggests that automation tools and programs are increasingly augmenting these skills, the report says.

The report highlights three critical findings: a significant increase in demand for AI skills, the fundamental importance of deep technical expertise for employers, and the abundance of these skills in Canada’s workforce, said Melissa Judd, vice-president of research operations & academic partnerships at the Vector Institute.

“Early national investment in AI talent development has positioned Canada as a leader in this field. We must now focus on cultivating translational skills that bridge technical expertise with business and domain-specific applications, and increase capacity in AI governance to capitalize on this leadership,” Judd said in a statement.

Other findings from the report include:

• Skills related to running AI systems and managing machine learning projects experienced the largest growth with job postings in Canada, increasing by 48 percent and 60 percent, respectively, since the lifting of COVID pandemic restrictions. 
• Canadian startups and scale-ups still face challenges in hiring senior, specialized employees, often losing candidates to competitors in Canada and the U.S.
• Larger Canadian organizations in AI-adjacent sectors such as health, retail and transportation each report challenges in AI adoption, including cost concerns and a lack of AI literacy among decision-makers.
• While the U.S. leads in AI adoption and research investment, it faces a significant talent shortage, particularly in advanced AI skills. In contrast, Canada boasts a robust AI talent pool but must focus on leveraging this pool to boost industry adoption and investment.

“Achieving this leverage is key to attracting and retaining top AI talent and researchers and ensuring Canada remains at the forefront of AI innovation,” the report says.

The report’s researchers heard that companies are seeking talent in tech-oriented universities in Canada such as the University of Toronto and the University of Waterloo. Several organizations said having a prominent AI specialist who is well-known in the field has helped them attract additional AI talent to their organization.

Partnerships with AI-focused institutions like MILA – Quebec’s AI Institute, the Vector Institute in Toronto, and Edmonton-based Amii (Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute), along with talent programs such as MITACS and leading post-secondary institutions, are providing access to specialized talent pools.

Beyond academic partnerships, companies are leveraging Canada’s Global Talent Stream through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to quickly access highly skilled foreign workers in technology fields.

Organizations are also turning to specialty IT recruitment firms and agencies that focus specifically on contracting AI talent.

To maintain Canada’s AI talent edge, the report's key recommendations include:

• Strengthening AI education: Continue producing top-tier AI specialists through advanced research programs at Canadian post-secondary institutions, leveraging Canada’s existing global AI advantage, and expanding programs that foster cross-disciplinary expertise in AI and domains such as health and finance. Canada also needs to support high-quality training for people to integrate AI tools into their existing roles and become more resilient during future labour market changes.
• Boosting business R&D: Encourage Canadian companies to increase investment in AI R&D, creating opportunities for top talent to innovate domestically and drive economic growth.
• Bridging academia and industry: Expand work-integrated learning programs, such as internships and co-ops, to connect students with real-world data and AI applications and to help businesses access a skilled AI workforce. Cross-disciplinary programs in AI need to be expanded, and AI should be integrated as a core subject across all disciplines.
• Empowering C-suite leadership: Educate executives on AI’s potential, the technology's ethical implications and responsible use to help drive informed decision-making on AI adoption.
• Implementing AI governance: To overcome C-suite resistance and customer concerns and advance AI adoption, companies need to establish AI governance structures that address ethics, security and privacy concerns.
• Quicker adoption and testing of AI models:  AI talent would benefit from greater access to affordable AI infrastructure to help develop, refine and tune more advanced models. Promote the use of industry tools, particularly open source, in AI educational programs so that students are able to keep pace with the latest AI technology.

“While Canada excels at developing technical talent, a lack of capital investment in research and development as well as slow adoption of emerging technologies threatens to erode this competitive advantage,” said Alain Francq, director, innovation and technology at The Conference Board of Canada.

“Continuing to cultivate top-tier AI talent and retaining these professionals will be crucial if Canada is to remain competitive in the global AI landscape.” Vector Institute

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Six in 10 Canadian organizations have adopted generative AI but mandatory training in GenAI is too low: KPMG survey

Six in 10 Canadian organizations have adopted generative artificial intelligence to improve productivity and gain a competitive edge, according to a survey by KMPG.

In a survey of 872 Canadian organizations, 61 percent of respondents said they have implemented generative AI, and nearly nine in 10 (89 percent) described the technology as extremely or very important to their competitive advantage, the survey found.

Of those that have not yet adopted generative AI, nearly eight in 10 (78 percent) plan to implement it within the next 12 months.

"Investing in generative AI is critical to addressing the country's productivity gap,” Stephanie Terrill, Canadian managing partner of digital and transformation at KPMG in Canada, said in a statement.

“We're at a critical point in the evolution of Canadian business innovation, where organizations of all sizes will need to decide whether – and how – they will contribute to a more productive, competitive and prosperous Canada. Generative AI will be key to that decision," Terrill said.

Close to half (44 percent) of respondents are using a combination of publicly available and privately built generative AI tools, while 27 percent are using private tools exclusively and 19 percent are relying solely on publicly available tools, according to the survey.

While uptake of generative AI has accelerated quickly among Canadian companies since it was introduced to the public less than two years ago, many organizations are still figuring out how to leverage the technology.

Only 36 percent of respondents strongly agreed that their organization has fully integrated generative AI across core operations and workflows, while 47 percent agreed somewhat and 17 percent disagreed.

Roughly one quarter (26 percent) agreed strongly that their organization has a clear understanding of the value that generative AI will bring to their business, and they know how to realize that value – while 51 percent agreed somewhat and 22 percent disagreed.

Three-quarters of respondents said that despite ongoing economic uncertainty, generative AI is a top investment priority for their organization, with nearly half (45 percent) focusing their current generative AI investments in data and analytics capabilities.

Among respondents who haven't and don't plan to adopt generative AI, 34 percent cited data privacy as a top reason, while 32 percent said inadequate cybersecurity defences and 30 percent cited insufficient technology infrastructure.

Looking ahead three to five years, more than half (55 percent) of respondents are planning to focus their generative AI investments in the information technology function. That area of focus was followed by research and development (44 percent) and finance and accounting (35 percent).

Two-thirds of respondents said they expect to see a return on their generative AI investments within the next three years – with 51 percent measuring their ROI by improved productivity, and 47 percent citing increased profitability as their preferred measure.

However, fewer than four in 10 (37 percent) strongly agreed that their organization is equipped to upskill their employees to fully leverage the benefits of generative AI, while 51 percent agreed somewhat.

Just over one quarter (27 percent) of respondents strongly agreed that their employees have the right skills to fully leverage the benefits of generative AI. Forty-nine percent agreed somewhat, and 27 percent strongly agreed that their organization provides mandatory generative AI skills training for leaders and employees, while 47 percent somewhat agreed.

Walter Pela, KPMG Canada's AI client and market development leader, said the number of organizations with mandatory generative AI training is too low and concerning, especially since seven in 10 (71 percent) of respondents said they are very or extremely concerned about employees putting sensitive data into public generative AI tools.

"If business leaders are concerned about what their employees are putting into generative AI platforms, that tells me they should be strengthening – or perhaps even redesigning – their employee training and upskilling programs, and implementing stronger guardrails with clearly defined 'do's' and 'don'ts' to prevent employee misuse," Pela said.

Nearly nine in 10 (88 percent) of respondents said the integration of generative AI has made them rethink how they train and develop their employees. Seventy-three percent said their organization plans to redesign or restructure jobs, roles and activities to realize the value of generative AI. KPMG

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Ottawa introduces draft regulations for oil and gas industry emissions cap, rejected by the Alberta government

The Government of Canada introduced draft regulations to put a clear limit on greenhouse gas pollution from oil and gas production.

The proposed regulations work by setting a cap on greenhouse gas pollution within the sector, equivalent to 35 percent below 2019 levels.

The regulations also would create a cap-and-trade system designed to recognize better-performing companies and incentivize those that with higher pollution levels to invest in making their production processes cleaner.

“Every sector of the economy in Canada should be doing its fair share when it comes to limiting our country’s greenhouse gas pollution, and that includes the oil and gas sector, said Steven Guilbeault, minister of Environment and Climate Change.

“We are asking oil and gas companies who have made record profits in recent years to reinvest some of that money into technology that will reduce pollution in the oil and gas sector and create jobs for Canadian workers and businesses,” he said.

The proposed regulations put a limit on pollution [emissions], not on production, and have been informed by extensive engagement with industry, Indigenous groups, provinces and territories, and other stakeholders, Ottawa said.

According to the most recent National Inventory Report, Canada’s oil and gas sector accounted for 31 percent of national emissions in 2022, making it the largest contributor to Canada’s emissions.

The oil and gas sector is experiencing record profits within Canada, the government noted. Coming out of the pandemic, operating profits in the sector increased tenfold from $6.6 billion in 2019 to $66.6 billion in 2022.

“Despite that, there has been limited and declining overall investment in the sector in Canada over the last several years,” Ottawa said.

The proposed regulations are carefully designed around what is technically achievable within the sector, while allowing continued production growth, the government said.

“As the world moves toward a low-carbon future, the cap will ensure the long-term economic competitiveness of a sector that employs hundreds of thousands of Canadians and drives significant wealth by ensuring Canada will supply products that offer a low-carbon footprint,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, minister of Energy and Natural Resources. 

The federal government will continue to consult to inform the final regulations, which it plans to publish next year. Written comments in response to the proposed regulations can be submitted during the formal consultation period from November 9, 2024, to January 8, 2025.  

The oil and gas greenhouse gas pollution cap would regulate upstream oil and gas facilities, including offshore facilities, and would also apply to liquefied natural gas production facilities. 

The cap is part of a suite of measures to cut pollution and support carbon-reduction technologies in Canada, including:

• $319 million over seven years for RD&D to advance the commercial viability of emerging carbon management technologies.
• Refundable CCUS Investment Tax Credit, expected to provide $12.5 billion between 2022-2023 and 2034-2035, for eligible projects that enable permanent CO₂   storage.
• The Canada Growth Fund, totalling $15 billion, which offers investment tools such as contracts for differences designed to address risk and accelerate private sector investment to grow Canada’s clean economy, including in the carbon management sector.
• The Strategic Innovation Fund, with $8 billion in funding to help companies reduce emissions and grow their business sustainably.
• The Canada Infrastructure Bank, which invests in CCUS projects, including through its Project Acceleration funding for front-end engineering and design capital expenditures.

The Alberta government was quick with a response, saying in a statement issued by Premier Danielle Smith, Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz and Energy Minister Brian Jean: “This production cap will hurt families, hurt businesses and hurt Canada’s economy. We will defend our province, our country and our constitutional rights.”

The cap violates Canada’s Constitution, they said. Section 92A clearly gives provinces exclusive jurisdiction over non-renewable natural resource development, yet this cap will require a one-million-barrel-a-day production cut by 2030, which independent firms have determined will cost $28 billion a year in lost GDP and up to 150,000 lost jobs, the province said.

“Ultimately, this cap will lead Alberta and our country into economic and societal decline,” the Alberta government said. “Tweaks won’t work. This cap must be scrapped.”

Alberta’s government is actively exploring the use of every legal option, including a constitutional challenge and the use of the province's Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act, the government said. “We will not stand idly by while the federal government sacrifices our prosperity, our Constitution and our quality of life for its extreme agenda.” Environment and Climate Change Canada, Backgrounder

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Government of Alberta files lawsuit against Ottawa’s carbon tax exemption on home heating oil

The Government of Alberta is suing the Government of Canada over Ottawa’s carbon tax exception on home heating oil, claiming the exemption is a “double standard” that disadvantages Albertans.

Last fall, after years of insisting that the carbon tax is applied equally across Canada, the federal government exempted the carbon tax for heating oils, which are used predominantly in Atlantic Canada and Quebec.

Over the last year, Ottawa has refused multiple requests to grant a similar carve-out on other heating methods from Alberta and other provinces where Canadians are also facing rising costs of living, the Alberta government said.

Alberta filed an application with the Federal Court of Canada on October 29, seeking a judicial review of the exemption and asking the court to declare that the exemption is both unconstitutional and unlawful.

The application argues that Ottawa’s carbon tax exemption for heating oil is unconstitutional and inconsistent with the Government of Canada’s stated purpose for enacting the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act.

Alberta, Saskatchewan and other provinces that heat their homes with natural gas have been deliberately excluded from these savings, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said in a statement. “Albertans simply cannot stand by for another winter while the federal government picks and chooses who their carbon tax applies to. Since they won’t play fair, we’re going to take the federal government back to court.”

While the Supreme Court of Canada previously found the federal Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act was constitutional, it found that Canada’s jurisdiction to regulate greenhouse gas emissions was limited to the ability to create minimum national standards for carbon pricing for the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the Alberta government argues.

By 2030, the federal carbon tax will cost Canadians $25 billion every year, in addition to lowering the Gross Domestic Product by $9 billion, the Alberta government maintains.

In a joint statement, the offices of federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault and Justice Minister Arif Virani said they remain “fully confident” in the legality of the carbon pricing system.

The carve-out was provided to give heating oil users time to switch to cheaper, greener forms of energy, including through Ottawa’s Oil to Heat Pump program, according to their statement. Govt. of Alberta

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Green bonds comprise the large majority of Canada’s sustainable bond market: report

Green bonds make up the large majority of Canada’s sustainable bond market and most of that goes to financing conventional green infrastructure projects like clean transportation and clean energy, according to a report by the Institute for Sustainable Finance.

The Queen’s University-based Institute’s inaugural Canadian sustainable bond market report examines a decade (2014 to 2023) of issuances by Canadian corporate and government entities of some of the most important instruments for financing positive environmental and social outcomes.

Overall, the report provides a comprehensive analysis of Canada's Green, Social, Sustainability, and Sustainability-Linked (GSS+) bond landscape, including market trends, issuer profiles, and allocation of proceeds.

It also examines the challenges of greenwashing/transition-washing and proposes policy recommendations to catalyze further market development.

Use of proceeds from GSS+ bonds supports everything from clean energy and green buildings, to women’s empowerment and Ukraine's sovereignty.

Clean transportation (US$23 billion), clean energy (US$22.7 billion), and green buildings (US$ 13.4 billion) are the top three categories with the most proceeds allocated, according to the report.

The story of the GSS+ bond market in Canada is one of dramatic growth followed by a marked slowdown, the report notes.

The year 2021 saw a market boom, reaching US$21.3 billion in issuance volume. The GSS+ bond market remained robust in 2022 (US$20.3 billion), but experienced a slowdown in 2023 (US$14.8 billion).

The inaugural bond deal counts in 2023 dropped to six, less than half the number in the previous two years. 

Over the last decade, 193 Canadian issuers have tapped into the GSS+ bond market, totalling US$88.7 billion in cumulative issuances, about 88 percent of which are currently outstanding. This represents 1.6 percent of the global GSS+ market as of the end of 2023.

The high-interest rate environment in Canada, along with broader economic uncertainty in North America, may have constrained Canadian GSS+ bond issuance, the report says.

While this market faced reduced activity, the overall Canadian debt market remained robust, growing by 4.36 percent year-over-year in 2023.

The biggest issuers of GSS+ bonds are regional governments (US$21.4 billion), corporate financial organizations (US$16.8 billion) and pensions (US$13.2 billion), which together represent over half of the cumulative issuance volume.

The report notes several policy priorities that have the potential to stimulate the market for GSS+ bonds:

• The federal government’s forthcoming green and transition taxonomy launch in Canada is expected to foster market confidence and encourage new growth around GSS+ labelled instruments. A comparable and interoperable Canadian taxonomy can provide a standardized approach for classifying GSS+ financial instruments and attract institutional investors in Canada and abroad.
• Federal, regional and local governments act as powerful catalysts by issuing government GSS+ bonds. Government issuances can have a “halo effect” on the market. Governments should continue to take the lead on GSS+ labelled bonds and potentially the first clearly labelled transition bond in Canada.
• Mandatory sustainability disclosure requirements and clearer guidance can mitigate greenwashing/transition-washing risks. Lawmakers and regulators should provide clear guidance, with reference to best practices, for public companies in the context of GSS+ bond issuance and overall sustainability claims.
• Tax incentives and direct subsidies for issuers and investors can accelerate the development of the GSS+ bond market in Canada. Governments can offer tax incentives to bondholders, either in the form of tax credits or interest income tax exemption, or subsidize a portion of the interest payments, lowering issuers’ overall borrowing costs.
• Encourage financial institutions to calculate and disclose taxonomy-aligned asset ratios. This provides a starting point to understand Canadian banks’ capital alignment with Canada’s low-carbon and sustainable commitments. Indirectly, it can also drive investments in the GSS+ labelled bond market.

“Overall, the GSS+ bond market has exploded over the last decade. In Canada, a wide range of private and public entities have entered the market, accessing domestic and international capital,” the report concludes. Institute for Sustainable Finance

THE GRAPEVINE – News about people, institutions and communities

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) announced the recipients of national prizes in six categories:

Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering

• Kerry Rowe; Civil Engineering; Queen’s University – Rowe’s pioneering work on landfill barrier systems and more recently on mine waste is having a profound effect in ensuring long-term protection of water and land resources worldwide. His four decades of research have encompassed a comprehensive understanding of landfill barriers' intricate workings, including leachate collection layers, plastic liners (geomembranes), and clay liners.

NSERC John C. Polanyi Award

• Milica Radisic; Institute of Biomedical Engineering; University of Toronto – Radisic, a professor in biomedical engineering and Canada Research Chair in Organ-on-a-Chip Engineering at the University of Toronto, is pioneering groundbreaking advances in organ-on-a-chip technology. Her research aims to revolutionize drug testing and tissue engineering by creating lifelike human tissues outside the body.

NSERC Donna Strickland Prize for Societal Impact of Natural Sciences and Engineering Research

• John Smol; Biology; Queen’s University – Smol’s pioneering work in paleolimnology – a field he helped develop – has been instrumental in tracking climate change across the Arctic and beyond. By analyzing sediment cores, Smol and his team revealed dramatic shifts in water quality and biodiversity linked to climate warming.

Brockhouse Canada Prize for Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Engineering

• Machine Learning for Metabolomics team (David Wishart and Russell Greiner, recipients); Biological Sciences, Computer Science; University of Alberta. Wishart, a distinguished researcher specializing in structural biology and metabolomics, collaborates with Greiner, a CIFAR AI Chair who is an expert in machine learning and artificial intelligence. Together, these University of Alberta researchers and their labs have revolutionized the natural sciences and engineering by integrating these very different disciplines into cutting-edge research. One of their most notable achievements is the development of CFM-ID, a breakthrough algorithm that predicts mass spectrometry spectra of small molecules with unprecedented accuracy. This has not only enhanced metabolite identification but also paved the way for new discoveries in natural product research.

Synergy Award for Innovation

• Christopher Clarkson (and 16 partners); University Partnerships category; University of Calgary – Clarkson, director of the Tight Oil Consortium at the University of Calgary, leads an innovative effort to enhance the extraction efficiency of Canada's unconventional hydrocarbon resources.
• Jianhong Wu, Sergey Krylov, Derek Wilson; University Partnerships; York University – They have created a research and development ecosystem at the forefront of efforts to revolutionize drug and vaccine development and distribution.
• Tiago Falk and Sébastien Tremblay (and six partners); University Partnerships; Institut national de la recherche scientifique and Université Laval – Falk specializes in signal processing and machine learning, aiming to revolutionize real-time monitoring of cognitive states through wearable technology. He collaborates with industry partner the Thales company and cognitive psychologist professor Tremblay from Université Laval to tackle challenges like sensor noise and individual variability to develop robust cognitive AI models.
• Mehdi Sheikhzadeh (and partner Origin Materials); College Partnerships category; Lambton College of Applied Arts and Technology – Sheikhzadeh and his team focus on optimizing Origin’s oxidation pilot plant. The pilot facility, a $6-million investment, played a pivotal role in the refinement of Origin’s technology for extracting carbon from non-food biomass, such as sustainable wood residues.

Arthur B. McDonald Fellowships

• Isabel Desgagné-Penix; Chemistry, biochemistry and physics; Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières – A leading researcher in plant-specialized metabolisms whose work aims to uncover the mysteries of alkaloid biosynthesis from medicinal plants.
• Natalya Gomez; Earth and Planetary Sciences; McGill University – She specializes in climate, ice and sea-level change research, aiming to unravel the complexities of global warming's impact on polar ice sheets and sea levels.
• Daryl Haggard; Physics; McGill University – Her research, aimed at unraveling the mysteries of black holes and neutron stars, expands our understanding of the universe and charts new frontiers for astrophysics.
• Kayla King; Zoology and Microbiology & Immunology; University of British Columbia – She specializes in understanding the intricate dynamics of host-pathogen interactions to forecast patterns of infectious disease and animal health.
• Alison McGuigan; Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, and Institute of Biomedical Engineering; University of Toronto – Her team's innovative approach harnesses advanced materials and engineering techniques to create artificial tissues that mimic human biology.
• Rita Orji; Computer Science; Dalhousie University – Her groundbreaking research focuses on personalizing persuasive technologies – like mobile apps and interactive games – to motivate positive behaviors such as mental health management, healthy eating and environmental conservation. NSERC

Wes Hall was inducted as the University of Toronto’ 35^th chancellor. He is the first Black chancellor in U of T’s almost 200-year history and succeeds Rose Patten in the role. From humble beginnings in rural Jamaica, Hall rose to become one of Canada’s most influential business leaders as the founder of Kingsdale Advisors and WeShall Investments. He is a highly recognizable TV personality as a “dragon” investor on CBC’s Dragon’s Den, and an ardent philanthropist and anti-racism advocate as founder of the BlackNorth Initiative non-profit. In 2021, he partnered with the Rotman School of Management to introduce the first Black entrepreneurship and leadership course in Canada. University of Toronto

Marcela Carena was appointed new executive director of Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics at Waterloo, Ont. Carena succeeds Robert Myers, who recently completed his five-year term. Carena, head of the theory division at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and a physics professor at the University of Chicago, is one of the world’s most renowned experts in particle physics. Her research explores the possible connections between the Higgs boson, dark matter and the origin of matter in the universe. She is a Distinguished Visiting Research Chair at Perimeter and has served as the chair of Perimeter’s Scientific Advisory Committee since 2022. Carena is the first woman to lead Perimeter Institute. Myers remains at Perimeter as a faculty member and BMO Financial Group Isaac Newton Chair in Theoretical Physics. Perimeter Institute

 Chris Albinson will step down at the end of this year as CEO of Communitech, after 3 ½ years at the helm of the Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont.-based innovation hub. Under Albinson, Communitech launched the True North Strategy, through which the innovation hub has sought to help 14 founders reach $1 billion in annual revenue by 2030. A key component of this strategy was the creation of a new, $200-million, sector-agnostic, pan-Canadian growth-stage-focused VC fund called the True North Fund to focus on the country’s top-performing tech companies. Albison will continue with some of the work he laid, as managing partner of the True North Fund, an independent organization that has a partnership agreement with Communitech. on a full-time basis starting on December 21. True North Fund recently completed the second close of its first fund from undisclosed limited partners with $100 million in total commitments towards its $200-million target, which it had initially hoped to reach in 2022. Jennifer Gruber, chief financial officer, at Communitech, will step in as interim CEO. Gruber joined Communitech in 2016 and has more than 15 years of experience in strategic planning and financial management. Communitech, BetaKit

Guy Levesque is the new executive director at the Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking in the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary, starting November 25. Levesque has over two decades of experience in the innovation sector, first in public sector leadership roles at the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Canada Foundation for Innovation, followed by post-secondary leadership positions at the University of Manitoba and University of Ottawa. Most recently, he instituted strategic partnerships and change as uOttawa’s inaugural associate vice-president, innovation, partnerships and entrepreneurship. University of Calgary

Mitacs appointed four new directors to its board of directors. They are:

• Bing Cao, founder and CEO of Edmonton-based Nanode Battery Technologies Ltd. in Edmonton, which specializes in the development of advanced battery materials for electric vehicles, energy storage systems and electronics.
• Nabila Mohammed, CFO of Cystic Fibrosis Canada and a financial executive with extensive expertise in finance, operations, and technology.
• Karen Shaw, legal counsel at Montreal-headquartered Fairstone Financial and an experienced corporate and commercial lawyer.
• Paul Smith, COO of the Waterloo-based Perimeter Institute and former chair of the Chemical Institute of Canada. Mitacs

The Venture Capital Association of Alberta (VCAA) announced that George Damian has become its executive director. The transition, which took place on October 25, saw Damian take over from Omi Velasco, who has served as executive director of VCAA since 2022. Velasco, who has also worked as a principal at early-stage venture firm Graphite Ventures since 2022, will support the transition over the next few months. Established in 2000, the VCAA is a non-profit, member-driven industry association for venture capital, private equity, and early-stage angel investors. Under Velasco, the VCAA expanded the number of its initiatives from three to more than 30 and doubled membership to 67 firms. BetaKit

Dan Breznitz, co-director of the Innovation Policy Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy at the University of Toronto, recently wrote four essays for The Globe and Mail’s series, “Prosperity’s Path.” Successive governments have been warning about Canada’s slowing productivity for more than three decades. Now, as the cost of living rises and per-capita economic output shrinks, this problem has reached an inflexion point. Breznitz lays out how we got into this productivity crisis, and how we can get out. The essays are:

• To fix Canada’s economic problems we need real strategy
• We don’t need no education: How Canada’s broken university system holds us back
• How not to run a country: Government ineptitude and Canada’s economic malaise
• How Canada’s middle class got shafted Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. announced it relocated its head office from Toronto to New York to gain access to a larger pool of equity-index investors. The move simplifies the corporate structure of the asset management business, making it easier for investors to understand, the company said. Parent company Brookfield Corp. currently owns 73 per cent of the asset management arm’s shares. Under the new arrangement, the parent will buy back public shares to maintain an equivalent stake. The arrangement will give Brookfield Asset Management a market capitalization of about US$85 billion, up from about US$23 billion, and make it easier to qualify for U.S. stock indexes. Brookfield, which said it manages about US$1 trillion in assets, will remain incorporated in Canada. It said the move won’t change its operations or strategic plans, nor its tax treatment. Brookfield Asset Management

San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken laid off 15 percent of its staff and appointed new co-CEO Arjun Sethi, a longtime Silicon Valley executive. The cuts amounted to about 400 of the company’s roughly 2,600 employees, two people with knowledge of the company said. They included two members of the leadership team: the chief operating officer, Gilles BianRosa, and the chief technology officer, Vishnu Patankar. Kraken declined to comment on whether any Canadian employees, totalling about 250 in the spring of 2023, will lose their jobs. The New York Times

Western University launched its Canadian Severe Storms Laboratory (CSSL), supported by a $20-million investment from long-established partner ImpactWX. The funding will advance the study of atmospheric science – including thunderstorms, hail, and flash floods – with the goal of mitigating damage and improving the safety and wellbeing of all Canadians. “The CSSL will greatly improve severe and extreme weather detection and documentation across the country while mitigating harm to Canadians and their properties,” said Western CSSL founding director Greg Kopp. Under the umbrella of the CSSL, Western engineering researchers will continue the successful national tornado and hail investigative initiatives of the Northern Tornadoes Project and the Northern Hail Project. CSSL has a number of other key initiatives planned for the next 10 years, including the launch of a new flash flood program. Western University

Yukon University officially joined Universities Canada, becoming the 97^th member of the national association. Universities Canada states that membership requires universities to meet rigorous criteria and uphold principles of institutional quality assurance, which must be reaffirmed every five years. Located in Whitehorse, Yukon University, which has an additional 12 campuses throughout the Yukon territory, serves as the only university in Canada’s North and plays a critical role in the Yukon’s education, research and community development. With about 1300 students and 741 employees, including 97 faculty, the university offers a mix of trades, college-level programs and university degrees designed to meet the unique needs of northern communities. “Joining Universities Canada will allow us to be a part of transforming postsecondary education across Canada by ensuring education reflects the diversity of voices from the North and upholds a commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous people,” Lesley Brown, president of Yukon University, said in a statement. Universities Canada

Toronto Metropolitan University’s (TMU) School of Medicine became Canada’s 18^th medical school with the accreditation of 16 new residency programs. TMU says that this is the first time that a Canadian medical school has achieved simultaneous accreditation for this many programs. The programs include a family medicine program, nine generalist specialty and subspecialty programs, and six programs offering enhanced training for family physicians. These programs received accreditation through the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the College of Family Physicians of Canada. Along with the recent accreditation of the undergraduate medical program, the accreditation announcement establishes TMU as Canada's 18^th medical school. TMU’s first cohort of residents will begin training in July 2025. The new medical school’s primary goal is to train doctors who will remain in the region, thereby strengthening health care infrastructure in Brampton, Ont., and beyond. The school hopes to address the critical shortage of family physicians through targeted residency selection processes and integration of students into the local health system. TMU

Researchers from the Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary have developed an innovative process to transform waste materials from oilsands production into high-value carbon fibres with applications across numerous industries. Four years ago, with funding from Alberta Innovates, Dr. Md Kibria, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, began investigating the potential of asphaltenes, a byproduct of the oilsands industry, as a source of value. His team’s research successfully demonstrated the proof of concept, enabling the team to advance to the second phase of the Alberta Innovates Carbon Fibre Grand Challenge. With additional funding, they scaled up production to generate 10 to 15 grams of carbon fibre per day. In 2022, Shabab Saad, a former research associate of Kibria's, leveraged fellowship support from UCalgary’s Global Research Initiative to launch the startup CarboMat to advance this technology. CarboMat’s process involves a multi-step approach. The waste material is first melted and spun into green fibres, which are thin filaments that are three to five times thinner than human hair. These green fibres are then subjected to a thermal treatment, involving both low and high temperatures, to convert them into carbon fibres. CarboMat’s process is energy efficient and environmentally friendly, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent compared with the majority of commercially available carbon fibres. The company's sustainable production method also costs 60 percent less than traditional carbon fibre manufacturing. The company plans to construct a pilot facility in 2025 with a combined support of $4.1 million from the Government of Alberta through Alberta Innovates and Emissions Reduction Alberta, as well as private corporations. University of Calgary

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