Who Stands to Win in Poilievre’s Canada: The Tech Industry
In 2017, the relatively new Liberal government asked Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke, and other tech leaders, to help develop recommendations about how Canada could prosper in a knowledge-based economy. Among their insights: Canada lags behind other countries when it comes to commercializing innovative technologies; Canadian businesses adopt new tech too little and too slowly; and the country’s tech-savvy workforce is too small, while its competition is fierce and global.
At the time, there was great optimism that the new government was serious about tackling these problems. They named a Minister of Innovation and engaged tech CEOs publicly and behind the scenes. Former BlackBerry co-CEO Jim Balsillie said around this time that he was encouraged by the government’s intentions and open-mindedness. But he cautioned that Canada was already falling behind. As to the Liberals’ likelihood of success, he said: “I think the jury’s out.”
In 2025, the jury has returned its verdict: we’re really, really behind now. The Trudeau Liberals’ tenure has been a deep disappointment to the tech sector. Despite unmatched talent and research strength, Canada has produced only a handful of high-growth technology companies over the past decade.
The last straw for many tech entrepreneurs was the Liberals’ proposed increase in capital gains taxes—profit derived from the sale of investments, real estate and companies. Tech founders vehemently opposed the increase, which would eat into revenue from the sales of startup companies, reducing capital available for reinvestment.
That’s why many are throwing their support behind Poilievre, who has actively courted the sector, saying all the right things about the support it needs—and acknowledging how Canada’s lack of competitiveness in the sector has resulted in a brain drain, especially to the U.S. Last year, he said that engineering grads from the University of Waterloo—long seen as the gold standard of Canadian tech talent—are “our biggest export right now.”
Sensing an opportunity for change, the tech sector is again trying to influence government policy. This spring, a group of tech founders launched a site called Build Canada, where they published a series of policy white papers. Their prescriptions are so fundamentally basic it’s surprising they haven’t been implemented already: modernizing government services with AI, implementing open banking, retooling the country’s immigration strategy to better attract top talent.
There are signs that both parties are listening. Prime Minister Carney has dropped the Trudeau government’s plan to increase the capital gains tax. That alone makes a Carney-led government much more palatable to many in the industry. But Poilievre has spent two years meeting with tech-
industry lobbyists disenchanted with the Liberals. Reporting in the Globe and Mail indicates that Lütke and Balsillie have been working with Poilievre on ideas for growing the tech sector, should he become prime minister. For now, the industry has shifted allegiances. Then again, they’ve heard sweet nothings before.
