The federal government is injecting $900 million into the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) to jumpstart a drone innovation hub and launch a defence-focused stream under its Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP). Industry minister Mélanie Joly and defence minister David McGuinty announced the commitment, which is part of the recently unveiled $6.6-billion Defence Industrial…
Toronto-based Staircase Ventures has closed its second fund at $50 million CAD. The early-stage venture capital (VC) firm announced Monday morning that it had surpassed its initial target of $40 million. This comes despite a tough market, as a recent RBCx report found 2025 was one of the worst years for Canadian VC fundraising in nearly…
Seventy-eight cents isn’t a lot in this economy. But that’s how much women tech workers make on the dollar compared to their male counterparts, according to newly released data from executive recruiter Artemis Canada. That’s a median base salary of $152,000 for women, compared to $194,500 for men. Men are more likely to earn bonuses,…
Episode Description: This episode is dedicated to Badan Kanwar. In the early 1990s, a woman named Badan Kanwar was widowed in Rajasthan, India. Her world shrank the way it does for widows there — she lost status, voice, and belonging. Her son, Govind Singh Rathore, watched. Years later, he founded Sambhali Trust in Jodhpur: an…
Dominion Dynamics says it will invest $50 million CAD to build Canada’s very own “autonomous wingman” to fly alongside crewed air fighters. “Canada shouldn’t just buy that future from others. We should build it, and we will build it.” Eliot Pence,Dominion Dynamics The Ottawa-based startup, which is looking to become an explicitly Canadian competitor to…
In early 2023, a Québec City-based company chose to do what most others avoid: it shrank. “Engineers love writing code. They didn’t become CPAs for a reason.” For years, internet service provider (ISP) Oxio served roughly 40,000 subscribers and generated tens of millions in annual revenue. While running that business, the team built its own…
Last-mile logistics tech startup UniUni has secured $85-million USD in equity financing and credit facilities to continue its North American expansion efforts. UniUni offers a gig worker-powered e-commerce logistics platform and last-mile delivery service that uses passenger vehicles to deliver goods to consumers. The Richmond, BC-based company announced the fundraising on Tuesday. UniUni said that…
When Alberta technology and innovation minister Nate Glubish attended a conference in California two years ago featuring some of the world’s top AI leaders, the topic of conversation wasn’t familiar to him: the coming boom in data centre construction over the next decade. “It’s not, ‘we’re going to build it Canadian for the sake of,’…
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Every spring, clocks jump forward by an hour and parents everywhere brace for impact. Daylight saving time has a special talent for disrupting even the most carefully built sleep routines, especially when babies and toddlers are involved. The challenge isn’t just losing an hour. Young children run on internal…
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM International Women’s Day arrives each year with a familiar mix of brightness and gravity. On March 8, communities around the world celebrate women’s achievements: the breakthroughs, the leadership, the care work, the creativity, and the stamina it takes to keep showing up. At the same time, the day gently…
