Canada’s AI Strategy and Missed Commercial Opportunities - Part 5

The Scaling Deficit: "Small Is Not Beautiful"

Talent Attraction vs. Retention: Canada successfully attracts and educates elite talent (e.g., Xanadu in quantum computing, founded by an Australian postdoc from U of T; Kepler Communications in satellite communications from the UTIAS aerospace program).

The Complacency Trap: Canada suffers from confusing aspiration with accomplishment. Startups are plentiful, but founders routinely exit early to foreign buyers because Canada lacks the venture scaling mechanisms and domestic corporate ambition to support global expansion. We stress that Canada must abandon the mindset that "small is beautiful" because in the modern digital economy, scale and ownership dictate power.

* Footnotes & Citations & Sources provided only upon request to aiTO.