Building a Prosperous Future for Toronto's Tech Sector with Toronto Inc.

Toronto Inc., the Toronto branch of the Innovator Network of Canada (Inc.), hosted its inaugural networking event and panel conversation on June 4, 2024, titled Building a Prosperous Future for Toronto’s Tech Sector.

This community-led initiative brought together entrepreneurs, tech professionals, business leaders, and concerned Canadians for a discussion on developing new strategies to enable long-term economic prosperity in Canada.

The expert panel featured different leaders and voices of Toronto’s tech community, including:

• Allen Lau, Co-Founder & Operating Partner of Two Small Fish Ventures
• Susy Martins, CEO of Advise2Rise
• Tehmina Chaudhry, President of the Canada Startup Association
• Benjamin Bergen, President of the Council of Canadian Innovators
• Bianca Bharti, Journalist at BetaKit

The expert panel discussed the current health of the Canadian economy and how the federal government's current policy decisions are currently holding back the Canadian innovation and technology sector.

Allen Lau said that Canada needs to shift its mindset to be more than just a resource extraction economy.

“It doesn’t matter how our policy changes, or our attitude changes, we need to accept the fact that we need to transition our economy now into the modern age, and create policy that will help us compete in the global market.”

Susy Martins shared the need for Canada to be globally competitive and hold onto its best and brightest talent.

“I work with people that do want to stay in Canada, but they get better offers to start their business in the United States. On average the salaries and capital raised is higher, and the best degrees we have in Canada are leaving to go where the best companies and compensation are. We need our A-players to stay in Canada and build an ecosystem that keeps our best players here, because we all want to play for a winning team”

Tehmina Chaudhry spoke on what Canadians need to consider to address the challenges that are facing their economy.

“There are two important things to consider: One is understanding the challenges Canada faces — where we are now, and where we want to go. The other is proposing solutions—what can we do better? Everyone trying to make a difference should focus on how we can improve things. The world needs Canada's contributions, but what type of Canada? As individuals, we need to consider how we can make it happen. We should not only criticize current events but also address the challenges we face as a nation and how we can make things better, individually or collectively."

‍Benjamin Bergen spoke on the misconception that Canadians do not have what it takes to compete within a global economy.

“The important thing is structure and policy. Too often we see people blaming our economic performance on culture — this idea that Canadians aren’t entrepreneurial enough, don’t have a gold-medal attitude. The truth is that it’s about structure, not culture. We need to put the frameworks in place to win, and then our entrepreneurs will take care of the rest.”

Special thanks to the venue hosts, OneEleven, and to the event volunteers from TiE Toronto.

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About the Innovator Network of Canada (Inc.)

The Innovator Network of Canada (Inc.) is a new a collaborative platform dedicated to fostering innovation, economic growth, and community development across the country. Inc. is proud to partner with local organizations to support grassroots initiatives and hope to see you at a future event. Inc. is powered by the Council of Canadian Innovators, with regional chapters run locally by business leaders and economic organizations committed to the future prosperity of their regions. To receive updates about future Inc. events in your region, sign-up to the Inc. newsletter here.