Good morning,
Ottawa released Budget 2026, titled “Masters of our destiny,” on Thursday. Among its measures are a new Canada Growth Incentive meant to direct more Canadian capital to Canadian companies, a Productivity Mega Deduction, and funding for a Canada Electricity Strategy to double grid capacity by 2050. The government has also announced its intention to merge BDC and EDC into a single development bank.
BC Tech graded the budget an A-. It highlighted the proposed capital gains exemption of up to $15 million on qualifying shares and the extension of SR&ED to commercialization expenses, and noted that flow-through shares were not expanded to tech.
Below, we’ve rounded up the budget, BC Tech’s grade, and reactions from business leaders.
The rest of the week’s news follows.
—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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Budget 2026 & Reactions
The federal government has released Budget 2026, which proposes a new Canada Growth Incentive to mobilize more Canadian capital behind domestic companies, a Productivity Mega Deduction, and a Canada Electricity Strategy to double grid capacity by 2050. Read more →
BC Tech graded the federal budget an A-, pointing to a proposed capital gains exemption of up to $15 million on qualifying shares and an extension of SR&ED to commercialization costs, while noting that flow-through shares were not expanded to tech. Read more →
The federal government plans to merge BDC and EDC into a single development bank, which BDC says it welcomes as a way to simplify access to financing and support for entrepreneurs. Read more →
Business leaders have also been weighing in on the budget on LinkedIn. NorthX Climate Tech CEO Sarah Goodman welcomed the electrification investments and the capital gains exemption but said the BDC-EDC merger shouldn’t distract from supporting companies, while Treewalk CEO Alex McAulay highlighted the Canada Growth Incentive and the Productivity Mega Deduction. Financial advisor Brandon Chapman and public affairs professional Nicole Brassard shared their own takes on what the budget means for founders and B.C.
Funding, Deals, and More
Vancouver’s Intern Insider and Halifax’s ImmigrateAI Global have launched PRJOBS, a job board that highlights roles carrying extra weight under Canada’s new Express Entry rules for permanent residency. Read more →
Unbounce has launched an AI-powered landing page builder that draws on the company’s dataset of 2.5 billion conversions and lets marketers prompt, use a template or build from scratch. Read more →
Miru has signed an agreement with Tier 1 automotive glass manufacturer Carlex to bring its dimmable glass technology to Carlex’s manufacturing facility in Nashville, starting with automotive roof systems. Read more →
Seventeen UBC ventures, including Dream Photonics, Narval Energy, CheckMark and Chondros Bio, will pitch at Innovation UBC’s 2026 Venture Showcase on December 1 at UBC Robson Square. Read more →
Thinkific has appointed Amanda Malko as president and chief revenue officer, while Richmond-based Ideon Technologies has named Jeremy Fitzgerald as its new CFO. Read more →
In Other News
The 2026 Foresight 50 list of Canada’s most investible cleantech companies has been announced, with honourees including Carbonyx, Wafr Technologies, Lite-1 and Green Manganese Technologies, and more than $3.2 billion raised collectively. Read more →
ShopVision CEO and Elastic Path co-founder Harry Chemko reflects on bootstrapping Elastic Path for more than a decade and argues founders should seek outside help sooner than feels comfortable. Read more →
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