News That Matters To You

By Peter Josty
Traditional distinctions between the manufacturing sector and the services sector are blurring due to factoryless production and subscription models, says Peter Josty. This shift, enabled by information technology, risks undercounting manufacturing's economic impact and resulting in negative impacts such as "enshittification," highlighting the need for better data to help with increasing productivity and economic growth.

By Peter Josty
Economic corridors in Canada can boost productivity by attracting investments, driving development and promoting industrialization, says Peter Josty at The Centre for Innovation Studies. With internal trade barriers costing Canada billions annually, these corridors represent a crucial opportunity to enhance economic economic growth and competitiveness, he says.

By Nazil Bostandoust
Canada's AI breakthroughs risk being undermined by a lack of domestic compute capacity, writes Nazli Bostandoust (MaRS Discovery District). To ensure digital sovereignty, Canada needs to strengthen its AI supply chain and support small and medium-sized enterprises, not just focus on building data centres.

By Ron Freedman
The federal government largely operates without formal policies or national strategies, relying instead on numerous programs across government departments, says Ron Freedman, CEO of Research Infosource Inc. He suggests reforming and consolidating existing programs rather than creating new ones to address gaps and program effectiveness, as programs are rarely retired due to vested interests and political reluctance.

By Geoff Foulds
Norway spurred maritime innovation by using performance-based procurements for electric ferries, leading to reduced costs and emissions. Geoff Foulds argues this approach offers valuable lessons for Canada, including streamlined innovation funding and multi-stage procurements to capitalize on startup and scale-up strengths.

By Peter Josty
Manufacturing comprises nearly half of Canada's exports, yet Peter Josty of The Centre for Innovation Studies notes that the sector's jobs aren't necessarily "better" than service jobs. Boosting productivity in the country's existing manufacturing sector offers a more strategic path forward than trying to lure back offshore manufacturing.

By Roseann O'Reilly Runte
Universities aggressively recruit entire research teams, not just individual star researchers, which suggests that Canada needs to create incentives. Roseann O'Reilly Runte from Runte and Associates says Canada should focus on attracting research with industrial support in priority areas, alongside researchers and their students, to boost both scientific advancement and economic growth.

By Paul Dufour
Canada lacks a national science, technology and innovation (STI) strategy despite its importance to the economy. Paul Dufour from the University of Ottawa's Institute for Science, Society and Policy, highlights past efforts, like the 1987 National Science and Technology Policy, and suggest that renewed federal-provincial-territorial cooperation to design and implement a pan-Canadian STI strategy could boost Canada's global competitiveness.

By Danielle Burns
Consumer neurotech products are being sold and tested in Canada without having a specific regulatory framework to manage neurotechnology or the neural data it generates, says Nova Scotia writer Danielle Burns. To avoid undermining trust and privacy, she argues that Canada must act now and move forward with policy and governance to ensure that neurotechnology benefits the public.