Good morning,
British Columbians elected a new provincial government this weekend, with the BC Conservatives winning a majority. There’ll be plenty of coverage and commentary in the days ahead on what it means for the tech sector.
In the meantime, BC Tech published a platform scorecard before the vote, grading each party against its June research report and 11 policy recommendations. The Conservatives received an A-. BC Tech pointed to their commitment to a Premier’s Technology Council, a provincial tax incentive for B.C.-developed intellectual property, and a three-year PST exemption on business software, machinery and equipment. The NDP received an F, with BC Tech noting that the only technology policies in its platform were caps and restrictions on AI data centres.
Maybe unsurprisingly, data centres were one of the more contested topics of the campaign. CBC broke down where each party stood. Conservative Leader Lorne Doerkson called data centres important but said B.C. has significant water challenges, and the Greens called for a moratorium on new construction until stronger regulation is in place.
The rest of the week’s news is below.
—Emily
P.S. Have a tip or a story you think we should cover? Reach out to me at [email protected] — always happy to hear from you.
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Funding, Deals, and More
The federal government is investing $880 million in health research and training, including more than $400 million for 439 CIHR-funded projects, one of which is a Vancouver team working on services for young people affected by the overdose crisis. Read more →
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