Key Points:

1. Cohere and Shopify's leaders are calling on Canadian tech talent to stay and build domestically, framing it as a strategic imperative rather than a sentimental one

   
   

2. The future of Canadian AI won’t hinge on billion-dollar exits, but on whether small- and mid-sized businesses adopt, invest in, and champion local AI tools

   
   

3. Business owners hold more power than they realize to shape Canada’s AI ecosystem—through the partners they choose, the tools they deploy, and the future that they help fund

It’s not often that a co-founder of one of the world’s most advanced AI companies shares the stage with the president of Canada’s most iconic tech firm and calls on the next generation to build in Canada. But that’s exactly what happened last week in Toronto.

At a fireside chat during Tech Week, Cohere’s Aidan Gomez and Shopify’s Harley Finkelstein made a public plea. They urged Canadian tech talent to stay and build at home, rather than taking their talent beyond Canada’s borders.

For Canadian business owners, whether you’re running a startup or scaling a service firm, this message isn’t someone else’s rallying cry. It’s a turning point that could change how, and where, AI is built, accessed, and governed.

It matters because the AI ecosystem that emerges in Canada over the next two years could determine Canada’s short to medium-term economic outlook, not to mention the future of AI industry in Canada.

A Geography of AI Influence

For those who are unfamiliar, Cohere is not a modest startup. It’s one of the leading global competitors to OpenAI that buildspowerful large language models (LLMs) that power tools like conversational AI, search, and workflow automation. Headquartered in Toronto, Cohere has emerged as one of the most serious Canadian contenders in the AI space. Gomez, its co-founder, was one of the authors of the famous 2017 “Attention Is All You Need” paper that launched the transformer revolution—a milestone in AI history.

Despite its Canadian roots, Cohere has faced a dilemma common to many domestic tech firms: when foreign capital arrives and acquisition offers roll in, what should a Canadian founder do?

For Gomez, the answer is to build in Canada. This is not a matter of sentimentality. Rather, it is one about fueling the domestic tech ecosystem so that local companies are able to leverage AI and launch into international business. Finkelstein, whose company built a successful platform out of Ottawa, echoed this belief at the fire side chat in Toronto.

AI is Finding a Canadian Home

AI infrastructure (also known as an AI stack, is a term that refers to the hardware and software needed to create and deploy AI-powered applications and solutions) or its ecosystem (such as compute access, data centres, model training, model governance, and so on) is not evenly distributed. It’s consolidated in the hands of a few powerful firms around the globe. This means that Canadian businesses are increasingly dependent on foreign service providers and AI marketplaces when it comes to scaling with AI.

This is why Gomez and Finkelstein feel strongly about AI remaining in Canada. They are calling for domestic alternatives. The core components of their vision involve having Canadian-built AI firms, to be eventually governed by Canadian law and accountable to Canadian regulators whilst designed with Canadian values in mind.. Because companies like Cohere remain here, for example, their infrastructure, their partnerships, and their hiring practices influence the domestic AI marketplace.

To these founders, keeping AI local means having better alignment on privacy and compliance. It also means easier hiring and upskilling, accelerated domestic collaboration, and earlier access to tools. This is what I mean by a geography of AI influence—AI in Canada for Canadians.

The Capital Problem

And yet, their vision is about more than location. At the heart of Gomez and Finkelstein’s appeal was a deep criticism of Canadian venture capital. As Gomez put it, too many Canadian investors are conservative. While they are quick to fund proven models, they are slow and hesitant to hedge their bets in a Canadian tech future. While their economic conservatism may be rational in a small Canadian market, it can be entirely detrimental to the growth of Canadian AI. Model training requires investment and infrastructure to scale.

This is why you as a Canadian business owner need to pay attention. The future of Canadian AI will not be determined by billion-dollar IPOs. That is not a reality in Canada. Rather, it will be shaped by how many small- and mid-sized businesses choose to adopt local AI tools, contract with domestic firms, or participate in Canadian pilot programs.

If businesses choose only the cheapest or most convenient global option, Canadian AI startups will face the same fate as so many before them: early acquisition, talent drain, and missed opportunity.

A Quiet Call to Action

If there’s one thing that should stick with Canadian business owners from this story, it’s this: you have more influence over the future of AI in this country than you think.

By supporting local AI vendors, engaging with domestic AI development and research, and giving Canadian partners a chance, you have the ability to shape a burgeoning ecosystem. And as the stakes around AI governance, data privacy, and strategy rise, that ecosystem may be one of the most valuable assets Canadian businesses will have.