Oh, Canada! Six visionaries on the country’s greatest past — and future — discoveries

Our past is illustrious and our future is just as bright with new and exciting inventions like self-driving trucks from Waabi, ForceN’s robotic surgery tools and energy-saving tech from Peak Power.

To celebrate Canada Day and our country’s tech community, we asked six innovators to reflect on which important developments they’d like to see come out of Canada, how we can help scale up innovationson home turf and what they believe is the most significant Canadian invention of all time.

Jeff Ward

Ward is the founder and CEO of Animikii, an Indigenous technology company based in Victoria B.C. that works with communities and organizations to help them implement technology and lower technological barriers.

What would you choose as the most significant Canadian innovation of all time?  

“One of the most globally significant innovations — domesticated corn — involved the co-operation of Indigenous Peoples from all over Turtle Island, or North America. Indigenous innovations in botany and agriculture, combined with trading, led to more than 250 varieties of edible corn.”

Tamar Huggins

Huggins is the CEO of TechSpark, a Toronto-based company that develops tech and design curricula for racialized children, women and teachers. 

What world-changing innovation would you like to see come out of Canada?

“I envision an innovation that transforms our global approach to social justice and human rights education. Canada, with its rich multicultural heritage, is well-positioned to develop an AI-powered global education platform. This platform would connect students from diverse backgrounds around the world, allowing them to share their histories, cultures and perspectives in a collaborative and immersive virtual environment. This could leverage advanced AI to translate languages, contextualize cultural nuances and create an interactive learning experience that promotes understanding and solidarity among young people globally. It would be a tool for dismantling prejudices, combating xenophobia and fostering a new generation of global citizens committed to equity and justice.”

Lesley Gouldie

Gouldie is the president and CEO of Thornhill Medical, a healthtech company creating mobile health equipment that helps deliver critical care in combat, emergency and humanitarian situations.

 What would help Canadian innovators scale their ideas here at home?

“Right off the top, partnering and buying locally would go a long way in creating and sustaining growth. Fostering the growth of Canadian businesses creates jobs and fuels innovation. Commercial support for innovators should be a priority of governments at all levels, and this needs to happen before the scaleup stage. If entrepreneurs have access to sustained support early on, they’ll be better positioned to unlock success here at home and globally. Having more collaboration among industry, government and research centres while also having better access to flexible investment and financing models would be game changers for Canadian innovators.”

Dr. Julio Montaner

Montaner is one of the world’s foremost HIV/AIDs researchers whose development of HAART (Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy) prevents the progression of AIDS and HIV transmission. 

What is the most significant Canadian innovation of all time?

“Canada is playing a key role in the effort to end the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) pandemic by 2030. After a decade and a half of intense clinical research efforts, at the International AIDS Conference in Vancouver in 1996, combination antiretroviral therapy (also known as highly active antiretroviral therapy or HAART) became the new standard of care. In 2004, we also discovered that HAART also prevents HIV transmission — patients on HAART have a near normal AIDS-free longevity and are non-infectious. And yet, HIV transmission and AIDS-related morbidity and mortality remain a significant concern across the country. The picture is even more concerning at the global level. Lack of political will and commitment has allowed the epidemic to continue to evolve with devastating consequences, so it is imperative Canada corrects this domestically.”

Shaina Raiza

Raiza is an applied machine learning scientist in responsible AI at the Vector Institute.

What world-changing innovation would you like to see come out of Canada?

“Canada has the opportunity to lead in the field of AI safety. With AI and large language models evolving rapidly, ensuring AI’s safe and ethical use is becoming increasingly important. Potential innovations in AI safety could involve developing comprehensive frameworks, algorithms and governance structures that emphasize ethical considerations, reduce biases, maintain transparency, and improve the overall reliability and trustworthiness of AI systems. Given Canada’s robust tradition in AI research and its dedication to ethical technology development, the country is in a prime position to influence global standards and practices for the safe implementation of AI across various industries.”

Allan Lau

Lau is the founder of Wattpad and co-founder and operating partner at Two Small Fish Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm.

What would help founders scale their ideas here at home?

“Our country is pretty awesome at research but not so great at commercializing those innovations. But bragging rights are simply not enough. We need to create an environment where Canadian entrepreneurs can raise significant domestic capital so that the ownership of their intellectual property and industry-disrupting technologies remain in Canada.”

Rebecca Gao writes about technology for MaRS. Torstar, the parent company of the Toronto Star, has partnered with MaRS to highlight innovation in Canadian companies.