{"id":270017,"date":"2022-01-26T11:30:07","date_gmt":"2022-01-26T16:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/issues\/canadian-tech-needs-a-deeper-more-connected-ecosystem-for-support\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T23:48:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T03:48:24","slug":"canadian-tech-needs-a-deeper-more-connected-ecosystem-for-support","status":"publish","type":"issues","link":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2022\/01\/canadian-tech-needs-a-deeper-more-connected-ecosystem-for-support\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian tech needs a deeper, more connected ecosystem for support"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Canadians, we wait for our homegrown actors and musicians to make it big south of the border before we treat them like big shots. We expect that our start-up tech companies will be sold to international competitors before we see them as big enough. It\u2019s just how life works for a nation of little guys living next door to the world\u2019s largest, richest market.<\/p>\n

We shouldn\u2019t be so fatalistic, though, because Canadians do just fine working within Canada and on the bigger international stage when we work together to create the conditions for success \u2013 and those successes benefit us all. Just as Canadian content needs a supportive ecosystem, so does Canadian innovation. Our most promising tech companies will sink deeper roots when we build ecosystems to help them grow and flourish.<\/p>\n

That can only happen if Canadians keep working together to build it, because in an ecosystem, one shallow root strand is never enough. Startup companies don\u2019t exist in vacuums of their own genius. They need deep, intertwined networks of customers, suppliers, investors, relationships and talent to grow \u2013 a reality<\/a> famously documented and popularized by Harvard professor Michael Porter in the late 1990s. These clusters leverage local competitive advantages to enhance productivity, stimulate innovation and create new business opportunities, both locally as well as internationally. Think Silicon Valley, Hollywood, the Detroit auto industry, the City district in London.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s investments in innovation need to be bolder<\/a><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s build an innovation ecosystem that includes women, too<\/a><\/p>\n

A chance to rethink our approach to innovation and inclusive growth<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A well-developed cluster can sustain and grow young ventures to a size where they are less in danger of foreign competitors. That\u2019s important because small start-ups are vulnerable to acquisition and relocation. B.C. Tech Association research<\/a> has suggested that companies reaching 100 employees are more likely to stick around. Even if they get bought out or internationalized through investment, they are more <\/a>likely<\/a> to retain meaningful economic ties (like headquarters or research divisions) in Canada. Some of them keep right on growing here.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m thinking of companies like Wattpad<\/a>, the Toronto-based story platform that was bought out by a South Korean company early in 2021. It would be great if all our companies could remain in Canadian hands, but Wattpad is not a Canadian failure \u2013 it\u2019s a success. It\u2019s still here and the new buyer is pouring money in to help it grow. It\u2019s planning to hire<\/a> nearly 100 people this year. Its founders are still here, reinvesting their money<\/a>. That\u2019s because it grew large enough to have choices in how it shapes its future.<\/p>\n

Canada needs more companies like that. But we can\u2019t simply cross our fingers and wait for them to appear. We need to keep building out the innovation ecosystem, so these start-ups have access to more networks, more investment, more talent, more partnerships and more collaboration to sustain their growth. We need to support their global export potential by providing a strong start at home.<\/p>\n

How does all that happen for Canada?<\/p>\n