Organization: Bank of Canada

What will it take for Canada to modernize its financial ecosystem?

Canada is taking several steps to modernize the country’s financial ecosystem, including payment systems. But such initiatives will need continued industry pressure to get them implemented quickly, Nick Catino, Global Head of Policy and Campaigns at Wise, a U.K.-headquartered financial technology services company, says in an op-ed.

The Short Report – Feb 17, 2021: NSERC supports Huawei research collaboration, ALS research gets a boost, Ottawa invests in SMEs transitioning to clean tech, and more.

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council collaborates with the Canadian arm of Huawei Technologies, Canadian and international teams receive funding to accelerate ALS research, SDTC supports SMEs across Canada in their adoption of clean technology, an unexpected donation spurs Northern Ontario School of Medicine to address health inequities in marginalized populations, and more.

The Short Report – July 8, 2020: A new innovation hub for Toronto, National Bank doubles down on Nest Wealth, and more

The Bank of Canada is partnering with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) to launch a BIS Innovation Hub in Toronto; National Bank of Canada’s venture-capital arm NAventures announced it will make an additional minority investment of up to $50-million in Toronto-based robo-advisor Nest Wealth; the federal government will invest $40 million over three years in the Union Training and Innovation Program; and more.

The Short Report, June 24, 2020: Canada’s pandemic recovery, investments in sustainability, and more

ECONOMIC RECOVERY The economic recovery from the pandemic presents a unique opportunity to break Canada’s weak track record on innovation through inclusive growth. Canada performs poorly on business investment in R&D, technology adoption, productivity and patent generation and protection, and our record on inclusion and equity is poor, write Dan Breznitz and Daniel Munro. But we…

Canada Pension Plan must divest from fossil fuels, new report argues

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which manages the CPP’s $420-billion portfolio, should immediately divest from all fossil fuel holdings in response to the climate emergency and to reduce financial risk for current and future CPP recipients, says the lead author of a Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives report.

The Short Report, February 12, 2020: Canada takes a step toward joining Horizon Europe; NSERC funding for basic research takes a dive; Google pursues rapid Canadian expansion

Microsoft is partnering with Invest Ottawa and the Bayview Yards business accelerator to offer technical and business resources to entrepreneurs. Called Microsoft for Startups, the program gives innovative Ottawa companies access to its cloud services, enterprise sales team and partner ecosystem. – Ottawa Matters Canada Infrastructure Bank CEO Pierre Lavallée signalled the bank is considering an investment…

Bank of Canada teams up with CDL on new tech for financial services

The Bank of Canada will team up with the Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) to learn more about emerging technologies and their applications in financial services. In line with its 2019–2021 Medium-Term Plan, the Bank forged the partnership to keep abreast of developments in artificial intelligence, machine learning, crypto currencies and quantum computing. The partnership with…