Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Enterprise, Scaleup
Trump’s April 2025 Tariffs and What They Mean for Canada
Tariffs | April 3, 2025
Image: Freepik AI
Trump's Tariffs Shake Global Trade — Canada Exempt But Still at Risk
On April 2 2025, President Trump announced a massive shift in U.S. trade policy with a litany of universal and country specific tariffs that will affect global trade flows. He declared a 'national emergency' over the U.S. trade deficit, and said that it was a threat to America's national security. The U.S. will now apply tariffs (essentially a tax) on all imports entering the country. While Canada and Mexico were exempt from this round of April 2 'liberation day tariffs', Prime Minister Mark Carney vowed to push back against the existing tariffs currently applied to Canada.
See: What Fintechs Need to Know About New U.S. Tariffs
Uncertainty of global trade has hit global stock markets hard, with broad indexes declining 4%, as investors flee to safe assets. Investors are expecting higher input costs, slower global trade growth and escalating retaliation from affected countries.
President Trump said:
“Our country has been looted by nations near and far. Now it’s our turn to prosper... and use trillions to pay down our debt.”
What Was Announced
- A 10% universal tariff on ALL imports to take effect April 5, 2025.
- Countries deemed to have 'unfair' trade practices with the U.S. will have country specific higher tariffs that will take effect April 9, 2025.
- The tariff rates were calculated based on formal existing tariffs plus “non-tariff barriers” like regulatory restrictions, and then halved.
- A separate executive order on April 2 was signed that removes the “de minimis” exemption for shipments under $800 from China and Taiwan to take effect May 2, 2025. This directly affects platforms like SHEIN and Temu.
- Notably some countries like Russia, North Korea, Cuba and Belarus are exempt from this round of tariffs too, with the administration explaining that they are already facing high tariffs and imposed sanctions which effectively eliminates meaningful trade with those countries.
See this CTV news post for the full list of tariffs by country
| Country | Tariff Rate |
| Cambodia | 49% |
| Vietnam | 46% |
| Sri Lanka | 44% |
| Bangladesh | 37% |
| China | 34%+20% |
| Taiwan | 32% |
| Indonesia | 32% |
| Switzerland | 31% |
| South Africa | 30% |
| Pakistan | 29% |
| India | 26% |
| South Korea | 25% |
| Japan | 24% |
| European Union | 20% |
| Thailand | 36% |
| United Kingdom | 10% |
Exemptions and Overlaps
Canada and Mexico are currently exempt from the new April 2 country-specific and universal tariffs, ONLY if goods qualify under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) rules of origin.
However, Canada already faces a separate 25% tariff that was imposed in March 2025 on a broad set of goods and linked to fentanyl enforcement and immigration/border disputes. The 25% tariffs have been partially suspended but not entirely repealed - see White House fact sheet.
Sector-specific tariffs on Canada that were previously announced, such as those on steel, aluminum, autos (starting April 4), copper, and semiconductors, are not cumulative with the April 2 tariffs.
🇨🇦 Canada’s Response “We Will Fight Back”
While some products are still protected under USMCA, other key Canadian exports, such as raw materials, energy products, and manufactured goods — remain vulnerable. PM Mark Carney made it clear that Canada will retaliate "with purpose and force".
Ottawa's game plan includes preparing a set of counter-tariffs, providing emergency support for exporters, accelerate trade talks with Asia-Pacific and the EU, and incentivize domestic production and supply chain innovation (remove interprovincial trade barriers).
Update: Canada Matches U.S. Auto Tariff with 25% Countermeasure - PM Mark Carney announced today that Canada will implement a reciprocal 25% tariff on U.S. vehicles that do not comply with the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) to protect Canada's auto sector and its workforce. The new levies will apply to $35.6 billion CAD of imports.
What It Means for Canadian Fintech and SMEs
Broad sweeping tariffs will ignite a trade war and is a risk event for Canadian businesses. Small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) will find it difficult to absorb cost hikes and delays in exporting to America.
See: Canada and Trump Risk Index What Fintechs Need to Know
Fintech platforms in cross-border payments, lending, and logistics can offer supply chain risk and trade compliance tools. E-commerce platforms could see many global vendors move away from U.S-centric trade models.
Looking Ahead
Although Canada avoided the pain of the April 2 tariffs, the risks aren't gone. With a global trade war not afoot, supply chains will shift and Canada will feel the effects either directly or indirectly. Carney's call for a 'new economy' may go beyond just a response and become Canada's national strategy going forward. Brace for volatility and opportunity at the same time.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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UK FCA Plans Full Crypto Licensing Regime by 2026
UK Crypto Regulation | April 2, 2025
Image: FCA Crypto Roadmap (Financial Conduct Authority)
FCA Confirms UK Crypto Registration to Begin in 2026 Following Legislation this Year
In a recent interview with CoinDesk, FCA Director Matthew Long said that the UK intends to officially start licensing crypto firms under a comprehensive framework in 2026. It's contingent on consultations and final rule-making this year in 2025, and then being approved by Parliament.
Current Registration Landscape
As of April 2 2025, the FCA has registered 51 cryptoasset firms under a temporary anti-money laundering (AML) framework to ensure basic compliance until a more comprehensive framework is developed. Bookmark the above link if interested in tracking and verifying the registration status of crypto firms in the UK. The resource page is managed and kept up-to-date by the FCA. Crypto businesses were given ample time to register for the temporary regime including an extension.
Transitioning to New Comprehensive Framework
The new UK crypto licensing rules will go beyond just anti-money laundering checks. They’re expected to cover areas like how crypto is stored (custody), how tokens are listed on platforms, how market abuse is prevented, and how consumers are protected. This plan builds on two key FCA documents published in late 2024.
First in November 2024, the FCA published a Crypto Policy Roadmap outlining the FCA’s policy direction and timeline for implementing its comprehensive crypto framework. Then, there's a Discussion Paper DP24/4 (December 2024) that evaluated options for regulating cryptoassets with a focus on market abuse rules and establishing disclosure standards. Together, along with numerous updates to industry, its clear that the FCA is aiming to create transparent and fair crypto regs that support innovation while keeping the market safe and trustworthy.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA) has tracked and reported the FCA's progress towards crypto regulation by 2026 including initiatives like stablecoin rules and the Digital Securities Sandbox. Learn more: "UK’s Regulatory Crypto Roadmap from Sandbox to Mainstream
Implications
By providing clear regulatory guidelines, the FCA aims to enhance consumer confidence and attract legitimate crypto businesses.
See: UK vs. Canada: A Tale of Two Different Crypto Consumers
It aligns the UK with global efforts to standardize crypto regulation, and continues to position the UK competitively among jurisdictions like the European Union and the United States.
Conclusion
Given that the UK is entering a new phase of crypto regulation, with full licensing expected to begin in 2026, crypto firms looking to operate in the UK should stay engaged with the FCA to prepare for the new rules, and implement the required compliance and governance procedures.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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OpenAI Secures $40B – What It Means for Canada
Funding | April 1, 2025
Image: Freepik AI
The Largest Private Tech Raise in History Just Happened
On March 31 2025, OpenAI announced the largest private tech raise in history (according to CNBC), raising a whopping $40 billion valuing the AI giant at $300 billion including major backing by SoftBank, Microsoft, Thrive Capital, and others.
OpenAI's blog post:
"Today we’re announcing new funding—$40 billion at a $300 billion post-money valuation, which enables us to push the frontiers of AI research even further, scale our compute infrastructure, and deliver increasingly powerful tools for the 500 million people who use ChatGPT every week."
OpenAI’s record-setting raise shows where AI is headed
The $40 billion raise was led by Japan’s SoftBank who contributed $30 billion together with a syndicate of other players like Microsoft, Thrive Capital, Coatue, and Altimeter who contributed the remaining $10 billion, for a $300 billion valuation.
See: Altman Rejects Elon’s Unsolicited $97.4B OpenAI Bid
Approximately $18 billion is being set aside for the Stargate Project, which is building a new network of AI data centers across the U.S. that would provide OpenAI the computing power to develop even more advanced AI systems towards artificial general intelligence or AGI.
OpenAI's flagship product, ChatGPT, now has over 500 million weekly users who rely on the tool as part of their everyday life and work. Despite such massive growth, OpenAI reported a $5 billion loss on $3.7 billion of revenue last year in 2024, and doesn't project that it'll be cash flow positive until 2029.
Global AI spending is exploding. According to a Gartner report highlighted on VentureBeat, global generative AI spending will reach $644 billion in 2025 - that's up 76% from 2024. 80% of that spend is expected to be invested into hardware infrastructure like servers, chips, and power. It's advancing a reordering of global economic power through AI infrastructure.
AI is no longer a research field, it's now global infrastructure at scale, and those building the platforms, data centers, and models today will likely control the economic upside tomorrow.
Canada’s Research Momentum Isn't Enough Anymore
Canada was ahead of the curve when it launched its initial Pan-Canadian AI Strategy in 2017. Our research labs, Mila, Vector, and Amii, are world class, and more recent efforts like Canada's $2 billion Sovereign AI Strategy, including a $300M Compute Access Fund for SME growth are important initiatives.
But in scale? They’re a fraction of what’s needed. OpenAI alone just raised 20x what Canada has committed over the next 5 years, and in the face of a projected $644 billion global spend in 2025, Canada risks being left behind unless we rethink our approach.
A Smarter Path Forward for Canada
Going toe to toe chasing gazillion parameter large language models may not be realistic, or even necessary, for Canada. There's a growing case for investing in smaller, efficient, and open source models that cost vastly less to train and operate. They also require less energy and hardware infrastructure and are relatively easy to govern and fine tune for regulated sectors.
Initiatives like Hugging Face’s tiny LLMs, ongoing research at Canadian institutions, and Cohere's $240 million AI data center project, open the door to develop an AI commercialization strategy around lightweight, safe, and sovereign models that are suitable for practical needs from fintech to healthcare and public services.
To stay in the game and lead responsibly, Canada must:
- Put more funding into AI businesses (not just research labs) that help Canadian companies turn AI ideas into real products by giving them better access to both government and private investment
- Invest and build in shared infrastructure like data centers and cloud systems here in Canada so startups and researchers don’t have to rely on foreign tech giants for computing power (👉 Brookfield Invests €20 billion in France’s AI Infrastructure)
- Focus on developing compact AI systems that are safer, cheaper, and easier to use in areas like finance, healthcare, education, and government
See: A Look Inside Canada’s AI Commercialization Challenge
- Offer incentives to banks, hospitals, utilities, and others to choose local AI solutions instead of imported ones
- Create smart and agile regulations that keep AI safe and fair without blocking new ideas or slowing down growth
- Make Canada a magnet for top AI talent. Give companies, developers, researchers access to the tools, compute power, and support they need to build in Canada and thrive here
Why It Matters
AI is out of the bottle and no longer just research. It's forging global infrastructure for the future economy. While Canada still has amazing talent and values, without larger investment, smarter models, and real infrastructure at home, we risk being left behind. Canada should be building smaller, safer, and sovereign AI ecosystem that works for Canadians and the world.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Musk Expands AI Power Amidst Twitter Stake Lawsuit
AI | March 31, 2025
Image: Freepik/8photo
$33B xAI-X Merger Deepens Musk’s Control Amid Fraud Lawsuit
On March 282025, Elon Musk announced on X that xAI was acquiring X in an all-stock deal to merge data, computing power, AI models, distribution and top talent under one roof. xAI after the merger is valued at $80 billion. At the time of the acquisition, X was valued at $33 billion (includes $12.5 billion debt).
In many ways, the two companies are already working together in some respects, as xAI's chatbot Grok already uses posts on X to train its systems, and moving forward will likely become a larger part of an AI-powered platform, especially for paying users.
See: Elon Musk’s “Magic Money” Discovery and What It Means
Musk originally bought Twitter for $44 billion in 2022 but since taking over the platform which is now called X, the company's valuation has dropped in value and lost major advertisers.
Fraud Lawsuit Moves Forward
On the same day the merger was announced, a U.S. judge ruled that a shareholder lawsuit alleging securities fraud against Musk directly can proceed. Plaintiffs said Musk ignored a March 24, 2022 deadline to disclose that he had acquired more than 5% of Twitter’s shares, and waited 11 more days before filing with the SEC that he owned 9.2%. According to plaintiffs, that delay saved Musk more than $200 million while other investors sold at lower prices.
Further, U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter said Musk’s filings and tweets like the one jokingly turning Twitter’s logo into Doge could be intentionally misleading and expose Musk to financial penalties while raising questions about transparency and investor protection in large cap private tech deals, especially when ownership and management overlap.
Political Influence
Elon Musk has also waded big time into U.S. politics and is now a senior adviser to Donald Trump’s administration and tasked to consolidate or shut down parts of the federal government via the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), sparking significant backlash against DOGE which has extended to Musk's business ventures. National wide protests known as the 'Tesla Takedown' movement have occur at Tesla dealerships. Tesla's stock price has experienced a huge decline, partly because of the public's dissatisfaction with Musk's political involvement including prominent celebrities and politicians.
See: Trump’s Inauguration Marks New Chapter for Tech Giants
Meanwhile,Musk still runs Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and The Boring Company, all of which rely on public contracts or infrastructure. Musk holds an unprecedented mix of public and private power, raising real concerns about accountability, fairness, and how much influence a person should have over technology and the public's agenda.
Why It Matters
This M&A deal is a new kind of vertical integration where tech, compute power, communication and political influence all fall under one roof. Investors, regulators, and the public must deal with the risks and implications of when the same person builds AI models, trains them on global conversations, distributes them on his own platform, and advises political leaders.
It's not just about scale, it's about the infrastructure of influence itself.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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eToro Files Nasdaq IPO After Crypto Revenue Surge
Public Market Funding | March 31, 2025
Image: Freepik/macrovector
Trading platform eToro officially files to go public on Nasdaq as IPO interest builds
On March 24, 2025, an Israeli fintech platform known for social trading and crypto investments, eToro filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, confirming intent to go public on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “ETOR". After several years of IPO uncertainty and decline, here's a
of 10 private fintech companies watching and waiting to see how IPOs in early 2025 perform before announcing their own.
About eToro
eToro is an Israeli fintech company with offices in Cyprus, UK, US, Australia, Germany and the UAE, and not currently available to Canadian residents. It's an online, multi-asset trading platform founded in 2007 where users can trade stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), cryptocurrencies, and commodities. Uniquely it offers social trading features where users can view, follow, and copy the investment strategies of other traders. This innovation makes investing more accessible for those new to trading and financial markets.
See: 10 Fintech and Crypto IPOs 2025 – Boom or Bubble?
eToro is a digital-first platform that operates entirely online via web and mobile apps, reducing many of the barriers traditionally associated with investing. It was one of the first early fintech players to embrace crypto trading which helped democratize digital assets among retail investors. With a friendly UX/UI, real time data tools, and low starting requirements, eToro is often compared to fintech giants like Robinhood, Revolut, and Wealthsimple and is part of the broader movement to challenge incumbents by using new technologies to offer simpler, faster, and often cheaper alternatives.
eToro’s financial performance has been strong heading into 2025. In 2024, the company generated $931 million in commissions, an 31% increase over the year prior. Net income also jumped to $192 million from just $15 million the year before. Why the growth? A surge in crypto trading made up 38% of their commissions last year which is up more than double from 17% in 2023 per investopedia reporting.
IPO Market 2020-2025
Initial Public Offering markets have been hit or miss over the past five years, due to economic uncertainties, investor sentiment and global events. Below is an overview.
2020-2021 - IPO activity surged. Low interest rates and a bullish stock market created favourable conditions that leads to a record number of companies going public. In 2021, global IPO proceeds raked in $508.9 billion, an 80% increase compared to 2020.
2022-2023 -IPO decline/uncertainty. Due to rising inflation, rising interest rates, and geopolitical tensions, IPO momentum slowed in 2022 and 2023. Investors were caution leading to a big drop in IPO activity. In 2023, global IPO proceeds fell like a stone to around $117.9 billion, the lowest in the last decade.
2024 - IPO markets showed signs of recovery. While the U.S. led in IPO proceeds, India surpassed other countries in IPO volume, highlighting regional strengths. Private equity and venture capital-backed IPOs played a key role with tech, industrials, and consumer sectors leading activity.
2025 - pentup IPO demand / optimism Returns? With easing inflation and anticipation for further rate cuts, some confidence is returning to IPO outlook, proceeds in 2024 were up 45% and the number of IPOs also rose 40% from the previous year. Sectors like artificial intelligence, fintech and crypto are gaining traction due to a shift in the regulatory outlook, especially in the U.S. under the new administration. At the same time, tariffs and trade wars are dominating the narrative putting pressure on investor's outlook and economic uncertainty.
So after a period of volatility, IPO markets in 2025 appear to be ready for renewed activity but not without risks. As such, companies waiting in the IPO queue are watching with abated breath to see how proceeds and investor sentiment are before launching their own IPOs, including firms like BitGo, Gemini, Kraken, Circle, Klarna and Chime.
eToro's IPO Outlook
This isn't eToro's first kick at the IPO can. Back in 2021, eToro planned to list through a SPAC deal, a type of company that exists just to be taken over so firms can go public quickly. That deal would have valued eToro at over $10 billion but it fell through in 2022 according to investopedia.
See: How Fintechs Are Unlocking Value in Private Markets 2024
This time, eToro has big brand banks backing its IPO like Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, UBS, and Citigroup. If eToro’s IPO is successful, it could open the door for more tech and fintech firms that have been patiently watching on the sidelines and may finally be able to enter the public markets.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Meridian’s Motusbank Winds Down After 6 Years
Fintech in Canada | March 31, 2025
Image: Freepik
Motusbank will shut down by 2026 as accounts move to Meridian and Coastal Capital Savings
In early Q2 2019, Ontario's largest credit union, Meridian Credit Union launched a digital only bank called motusbank, now after 6 years in operation, motusbank is shutting down. In a joint announcement, Meridian and Coast Capital Savings confirmed they will take over motusbank’s accounts and assets by early 2026, pending regulatory approval. This marks the end of motusbank's short run as a national online bank. It was meant to be Meridian's vehicle for expanding across Canada but it struggled to reach sufficient scale to remain viable long term.
Why Did motusbank Shut Down?
According to the announcement, despite having national ambitions, motusbank only reached 16,000 members by 2025. It highlights that competing in Canada's banking markets without branches or significant branding, or a strong digital acquisition strategy, is a grind.
See: Will Competition Reforms Boost Fintech? Inside the Fight
The pandemic also hurt smaller banks, but the stiff competition from bigger players like EQ Bank, Tangerine, and Simplii who have more brand recognition, marketing might and deeper pockets was a headwind.
Additionally, there was a leadership change in January 2022 when Jan-Ann Gilfoy was appointed President and CEO of both Meridian and motusbank. motusbank was pushed by Meridan's previous CEO, and now new leadership is emphasizing local growth, cooperative values, and is aiming to deepen relationships with existing members (customers).
Jay-Ann Gilfoy, CEO of Meridian and motusbank:
“We’ve made the decision to sharpen our focus on the growth and success of Meridian.”
Implications and Reactions
👉 Loans originated in Ontario like mortgages and HELOCs will transfer to Meridian starting May 2025. Deposit accounts and loans outside of Ontario will be transferred to Coast Capital Savings.
For customers, this news is obviously an inconvenience but their funds remain insured and most customers don't need to do anything for now, as the transition will happen automatically.
For industry however, news of motusbank's closure shows that without deep pockets, unique value proposition, a strong digital marketing acquisition strategy, and strong brand, being 'digital only with low fees' may not be enough. Compare and contrast the approach to Robinhood's wealthtech push and lifestyle finance offering.
See: Open Banking Delayed to 2026, Favours Banks Over Innovation
This is a quiet exit from the digital banking space, but it says a lot. According to Reddit users commenting on motusbank shutting down, many saw this coming and pointed to the outdated app, slower innovation and lack of aggressive growth.
One user said, “Motusbank has been pretty much on life support through the pandemic.”
Others said they’ll likely switch banks unless Coast Capital can impress them. Some are locked in for now, like one poster with a GIC maturing in 2027.
Closing Outlook
Neo, challenger, and digital-first banks should sit up and take notice, given that motusbank was one of Canada's few fully digital banks not owned by one of the incumbent banks. The message is pretty clear, convenience and low fees must be paired with innovation, strong growth strategy, size/trust and scale.
Given the dominance of Canada's banks and the governments hesitance to open up more competition in the banking sector, it's harder and harder to go it alone and customers will suffer with limited choice for innovative alternatives and high fees. The Crisis Canada and Fintech Can’t Afford to Waste
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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National Plan to Unlock Growth and Innovation
Royal Commission | March 28, 2025
Image: Freepik
Canada Needs a Bold National Plan to Support Innovation, Economic Growth, and Attract Investment
A group of Canadian policy experts from across the country at Policy Options are calling for a royal commission to secure Canada's future — and they're probably right if the first outputs and key decisions can be delivered on a very quick timeline (i.e. less than 6 months). They warn that Canada’s economic model is outdated, our policies are stuck in the 20th century, and our global competitiveness is slipping (let's not forget our continued productivity decline and inability to track significant investment).
See: The Crisis Canada and Fintech Can’t Afford to Waste
Canada's economy is underperforming. The country is slow to adopt modern financial infrastructure. Interprovincial trade barriers are costing billions. Canada lacks a coordinated innovation and startup scale-up strategy.
They argue that only a national, non-partisan effort like a royal commission can bring Canadians together to build a future-ready plan. For fintech, innovation, and entrepreneurship. If Canada is serious about attracting investment, scaling startups, and competing globally, it needs a national strategy that streamlines regulation, opens interprovincial trade, unlocks innovation and capital, boosts economic growth and attracts investment, and a royal commission could make that happen. Now is the time to act.
Royal commissions have worked before. The Macdonald Commission (1982–85) laid the groundwork for free trade and modern economic policy. A new commission could once again unite governments, entrepreneurs, and civil society to chart Canada's strategy in an uncertain future, but only if it moves quickly.
Why It Matters
Canada has amazing human capital - talent, ideas, and potential, but we need a national strategy that makes it easier for entrepreneurs to launch, raise capital, scale technologies, and compete globally, which would drive significant economic growth.
See: Canada’s AI Competition Report Faces Big Tech Challenges
A royal commission could align innovation, regulation, trade, and investment around a shared economic vision. Done right, it would empower the next generation of Canadian companies and secure long term prosperity, not by protecting incumbents but by empowering performance.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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