Lynn Johannson, Advisor, Sustainability and ESG
January 4th, 2024
Lynn Johannson, President of E2 Management Corporation and Catalyst for THE Collaboration
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Category Archives: Voices
Insights from Jamie Dimon’s 2024 Letter to Shareholders
Markets and Economy | April 15, 2025
Image: Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO, JP Morgan Chase
Jamie Dimon’s 2024 Letter Outlines Global Risks and Advice for Leaders
On April 7 2025, CEO Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase published his annual 2024 letter to shareholders (58 page PDF), which is widely read by business and policy leaders around the globe. This year's edition, his messages are especially urgent. He describes a world of rising risks, and big decisions ahead with profound implications that stretch beyond simply Wall Street. Below are 5 insights that fintech founders, investors and Canadian decision makers need to know:
1. The U.S. Dollar’s Strength is At Risk
“History has shown that as countries become weaker, their currency loses reserve currency status.”
Dimon issued a clear warning that's rarely said out loud by execs of America’s biggest banks. That is the U.S. dollar’s global dominance is fading because it's strength relies on TRUST in U.S. institutions, alliances, and policy, BUT that trust is now eroding.
Last week, the U.S. dollar dropped significantly reaching a 3 year low against major global currencies. The decline is largely due to the Trump administration's escalating tariffs and trade tensions on imports from several countries, such as China, Canada and European nations. Tariffs led to increased market volatility, shaking investor confidence in American economic policies.
See: Ottawa Unleashes Policy Blitz to Support Economy
The WSJ published a report with the former Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, saying that investors "seem to be shunning dollar assets". Previously, for the past several decades, investors flocked to buy U.S. dollars during times of volatility and economic uncertainty because it was considered stable and safe.
American risks or lack of trust in its institutions is now prompting countries like Germany who hold 1200 tonne of their US gold reserve on American soil, to verify the existence of their gold and begin repatriating it back to Germany in case assets are suddenly frozen or risks spiral out of control. And they aren't the only country with concerns.
For Canada, this might open a window. If global capital starts looking for stable alternatives, Canadian institutions can position themselves as reliable partners. Our political stability and sound financial regulations are competitive assets. This is a moment to invest in confidence including the platforms and tools fintechs are building.
2. What Happens If the Free Ride Ends?
Dimon spells out just how much the U.S. benefits from being the world’s reserve currency:
“Being the reserve currency saves the United States $100 billion a year at current interest rates... People around the world actually carry approximately $2.5 trillion of paper U.S. dollars, which, in effect, is borrowing without paying interest.”
However, the U.S. being the global reserve currency isn't sustainable without continued global trust. For financial technology firms offering multi-currency accounts, global payments, and crypto on-ramps, this new reality is an opportunity.
See: Stablecoins Are Growing Faster Than You Think
If the dollar loses its unique place in the global system, financial firms will need to design for a world where volatility is the norm. That could mean hedging tools, stablecoins backed by liquid and diversified reserves, and tokenization of various assets could see a boost akin to gold, or a digital version of it.
3. A Weakened Financial System at Risk
“The U.S. deficit remains very large at just below $2 trillion, or 6.6% of GDP,” and warns that the “debt-to-GDP ratio is already over 100%.”
The U.S. government has borrowed nearly $11 trillion since the pandemic. The total U.S. federal debt is more than $34 trillion, which is greater than 100% of GDP. He says this is a structural issue and that America's fiscal path is on unstable footing. When debt continues to rise with no end in sight, global confidence wavers.
While in a different situation, Canada is under economic pressure from Trump's tariffs and trade war, persistent decline in productivity, and lower growth and foreign direct investment compared to many of its peer countries. It must restructure its own policies to support a fiscal agenda that supports innovation, digital infrastructure, supply chain and trading partner diversification, interprovincial trade, and green transitions that put Canada on a new path of economic growth. Canada can offer to the world what the U.S.'s current administration is turning, it's back against, a well managed democracy, and a country with ample resources (including human capital) that's serious about the future.
4. Fragmentation Could Break the System
One of Dimon’s strongest warnings is about fragmentation.
“Economic fragmentation from our allies may be disastrous in the long run… Keeping our alliances together, both militarily and economically, is essential.”
He’s not just just talking about political division but economic ones, such as trade wars, competing currencies and trading blocs, and digital standards that no longer align with alliances that underpin and support U.S. markets in the way they do today. A world where economic cooperation breaks down and different countries build their own separate systems for money, trade, and technology - leading to incompatible digital standard and higher costs while opening the door for bad actors to take advantage of new weak links in the system. It could also encourage allies to rally around a new financial power for stability.
See: Digital Export Trends and Global Trade Fintech Opportunities
For fintechs and Canada, it's a risk and opportunity. It means building our own rails, compliance protocols, and digital ID systems that work across borders. The more neutral, resilient, and standardized Canada's digital infrastructure becomes, the more relevant it is globally.
5 Pieces of Management Advice from Diamon's Playbook
In his letter to shareholders, Dimon shares lessons from decades of experience fro leading through crisis, transformation, and growth.
1. He warns that innovation can be smothered by too much money, too little clarity, or endless process. For startups, that’s a reminder to stay scrappy and experimental.
“You can kill innovation with too many resources, too few resources or bureaucracy… Evaluate innovative ideas through testing and learning rather than rote analysis.”
2. He also challenges the usual advice about delegation for mission-critical areas like cybersecurity, talent, or trust, and says leaders should get into the details.
“I changed my mind. I’m going to micromanage this one… In my entire career, I’ve rarely seen this kind of outsourcing of responsibility succeed.”
3. Don’t hide behind weak benchmarks.
See: Canadian Fintech Booms with $9.5B Despite Global Slump
4. Don’t sit through bad meetings, but "if a meeting is required, make it count… I ALWAYS do the pre-read… This has to stop: people checking notifications, texting, reading email. It’s disrespectful. It wastes time.”
5. In uncertain times, discipline is more powerful than vision alone.
Conclusion
The status quo is no longer. As geopolitical and economic risks take over, it's more pressing than ever for Canada to grow trust, build bridges, and invest in innovation with a strong economic growth mandate. Canada's fintech and financial ecosystem, can still thrive in a fragmenting world. We can't outspend superpowers but we can out-think them.
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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Strengthening Resilience and Leading Through Uncertainty
Leadership | April 14, 2025
Image: Freepik/rawpixel.com
Why Embracing Uncertainty Can Help Founders Gain Insight (During Chaos)
In an economic climate where geopolitical tensions are high and markets volatile with inflation spikes and policy u-turns, founders and innovators that embrace uncertainty can gain an edge. Uncertainty isn't a side effect of innovation, it's the starting line. Inspired from Deepak Chopra's recent article on the power of uncertainty, this article looks at the impact of embracing the unknown and how it can sharpen decision-making, unlock creativity, and help build resilience during times of rapid change and uncertainty.
Key Actionable Insights
1. Uncertainty Isn't the Enemy...It's the Edge
Chopra argues that trying to eliminate uncertainty kills creativity. When everything is 'the exact same', it breeds complacency. We've all experienced this. During some routine periods, a founder may feel that time is passing by very quickly. Yet during times of great change, novelty, innovation, a founder may feel that time is going by slowly. Fintech leaders who stay agile during times of ambiguity can separate themselves from those who stall in the face of uncertainty. Put differently, successful founders don't just survive during chaos, they scan for signals of change/chaos that others can miss, often giving them an edge.
See: 11 C’s of Soft Leadership and Emotional Intelligence
Just after the global financial crisis in 2008, Toronto-based Wave Financial launched in 2009. CEO Kirk Simpson saw that most traditional accounting software providers were offering tighter pricing and focused on enterprise clients to survive. Wave took a different approach and offered free tools to small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) and freelancers, and turned the crisis into a launch and growth opportunity. Wave was later acquired by H&R Block for $537 million.
Lesson: Fintech leaders who understand that uncertainty can unlock radical innovation, can give them an advantage over legacy players who retreat during times of constraints and volatility.
2. Your Brain’s Constraint Valve and How to Open It
Chopra describes daily constraints as a 'reducing value' that narrows perception and thus creativity, and by way of extension innovation and opportunity. This includes your daily habits and fixed beliefs. It's the caution, fear, and routine that limits all kinds of experiences. Breakthroughs rarely occur when ones perception is full of constraints and limited. If one provides the same inputs, they can expect the same outputs. Fintech founders and leaders can expect breakthroughs to occur where certainty ends.
See: BoE Report: Open Banking Boosts Productivity, Competition
Actionable takeaway: Host an 'uncertainty sprint'! Bring your team together with a single question and use it to generate unexpected solutions and test and iterate the thinking. "What if our biggest unknown became our biggest asset?
3. Transform The Present
It's easy to get lost in obsessing over the future - what's our forecast, future funding rounds or policy changes as examples. Chopra however reminds us that the only time you can take action is now. A strategy that is grounded in the present can lead to smarter execution.
Example: As digital financial services adoption continue to grow, incumbent banks are closing more and more physical branches, especially in rural and underserved areas during a cost-of-living crisis. In 2024, Canadian fintech Koho partnered with Canada Post to begin implementing a modern version of postal banking, which would provide basic digital banking services using Koho's financial infrastructure while making it available through Canada Post's national network. Together they reimagined a legacy system as a tool for financial inclusion while others were fixated on what's broken. By staying level headed and grounded in the present, Koho and Canada Post rediscovered what was already working today, and then transformed it.
4. Resilience is a Learnable Skill
For those that aren't used to uncertainty, it can create severe mental fatigue. Founders are required to juggle a ton of demands from compliance and culture to capital and product development and distribution.
See: What Toronto Can Learn from Tel Aviv’s Start-Up Scene
Founders should work to train their minds like athletes train their muscles to increase their mental resilience. Here are a few proven mental training exercises to try:
- Box Breathing (4-4-4-4) is a technique used by Navy SEALs to calm their nervous system and improve focus and decision-making under pressure. Breathe in for 4, hold 4, out 4, hold 4.
- Mental Rehearsal is a widely used visualization technique that improves composure and clarity during high stress and intense moments that can help founders execute better. Competitive athletes use visualization for a wide range of sports; here's a pre-game hockey visualization for forwards as an example. Visualizations should not just be about success but also how to respond to failure and include a 'mental reset'.
- Cognitive Reframing can help founders avoid defaulting to 'this is a disaster', and instead to a new perspective such as "What does this change and make possible? Founders who can reframe adversity are more adaptable resilient under stress.
Mental fitness training should be done daily and not just during periods of heightened stress. Your companies resilience begins with you and your team's mental capacity.
Why This Matters
Chopra’s insights position chaos as a powerful stage at the edge of creativity, clarity, and courage. Fintech founders and C-suites who embrace uncertainty as a condition of insight and opportunity, and not just risk, will be the ones thriving in the future.
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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Data Shows Tariffs Are Threatening Early Stage Innovation
Funding | April 10, 2025
Image: Freepik/rawpixel.com
Regulation Crowdfunding Markets Show Tariffs Straining Innovation Economy
Regulation Crowdfunding (RegCF) has proven to be a resilient market for early stage entrepreneurs and investors alike. When uncertainty strikes, it's often traditional venture capital that pulls back, while the community-driven model continues to offer early stage start-ups access to capital allowing them to innovate. However, just in from Sherwood (Woodie) Neiss, NCFA Advisor and Principal at Crowdfund Capital Advisors, data shows that tariffs are starting to strain RegCF markets - from March 10 to April 9, 2025:
- RegCF investment volumes declined by 24% (yoy) to just $57.48 million
- New campaign launches dropped over 40%
- Number of investor checks also declined by 15%
- Average capital raise size dropped to $720,000 (from $1.2 million)
Sherwood Neiss, Principal at Crowdfund Capital Advisors:
“We’re seeing the first real signs of pullback in what has otherwise been a resilient funding ecosystem. The numbers tell a story not of panic, but of pause. Investors and issuers alike are waiting for clarity—on costs, on policy, and on risk.”
Tariffs Introduce New Risks for Early-Stage Companies
In a volatile environment where U.S. tariffs are levied one day, and then paused the next, founders must now face new due diligence questions about supply chains, production costs, and their ability to manage sourcing.
See: Trump’s Tariff Pause Leaves Canada in the Cold
Image: Drop in Issuer Sentiment March 10 April 9, 2025 (Crowdfund Capital Advisors)
These aren't just theoretical risks because many start-ups, particular in hardware devices, consumer goods, and any sector relying on international parts and components are now exposed to volatility and surcharge taxes. Investor confidence is taking a major hit too, and early stage businesses run the risk of stalling or failing before they can scale.
“Tariffs may help some sectors, but they’re also putting early-stage companies under pressure at the exact moment they need capital the most. Many startups don’t yet have the scale to absorb these shocks. And without sufficient investor support, we risk losing not just companies, but jobs and innovation.”
Startups and Innovation Under Pressure
The adverse impact that tariffs have on innovators is especially acute in underserved and rural markets. These regions rely on RegCF since institutional capital remains scare. Retail investors are pulling back their investment participation in RegCF campaigns because of inflationary pressures and wage and job concerns.
See: CCA Report: State of Investment Crowdfunding 2025
Although digital native startups, such as software companies with lower capital requirements and no physical supply chains are more resilient in the current environment, the overall market uncertainty that tariffs have made investors more selective while pushing out campaign timelines.
Without policy intervention or more clarity, the negative implications of tariffs on RegCF markets may be severe, with fewer companies launched, fewer jobs, and reduced momentum for tech and manufacturing innovation across North America.
“This is a moment for policymakers, platforms, and investors to pay attention. We don’t need alarm, we need alignment. Investment Crowdfunding has been a powerful tool for democratizing capital. But it can’t thrive in a vacuum of uncertainty.”
Why It Matters
Public markets react quickly to interest rates or geopolitical shocks but RegCF is slower and more telling, as it signals what's happening on the ground.
See: Trump’s April 2025 Tariffs and What They Mean for Canada
Tariffs are elevating uncertainty risks related to cost structures, and its hurting investor sentiment. When early stage capital pulls back at grass roots levels, it hurts the innovation economy and the real cost is future growth.
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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Trump’s Tariff Pause Leaves Canada in the Cold
Economy | April 10, 2025
Image: Freepik/tawatchai07
Trump Temporarily Halts Tariffs for Most Countries But Keeps Pressure on Canada, Mexico, and China
On April 10, 2025, President Trump announced a 90-day pause on most of the newly implemented global trade tariffs after market backlash and political pressure. The break was extended to countries in Europe, Asia, and parts of South America, but Canada, Mexico, and China are still under tariff pressure.
Strategic Pause, Not for Everyone
While Trump paused the most recent tariffs for over 75 countries, U.S. tariffs still apply to Canada and Mexico primarily on cars and auto parts (25%), steel (25%), aluminum (10%), and some agricultural products like dairy, grains, and processed foods, and continue to affect cross border trade in manufacturing and farming sectors.
Trump's pause also didn't apply to China In fact, Tariffs on Chinese good were raised to 125%, as China hit back with an 84% tariff on U.S. goods and filed new complaints with the World Trade Organization.
See: Klarna Delays IPO As Markets React to Trump’s Tariffs
After the tariff pause was announced, markets surged with the S&P 500 exploding 9.5%, the largest one day gain since World War II, according to Business Insider.
But the rebound didn't last long, as markets opened the following morning on April 10, the S&P 500 dropped 2.3% out of the gate and is continuing its slide currently down 5%.
Timing of the Pause Raises Eyebrows
Right before the tariff pause was announced, Trump posted on social media telling people “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT.” The DJT trading symbol referenced his Trump Media & Technology Group company. Hours later, markets soared. Some U.S. lawmakers are questioning whether Trump or anyone close to him benefited financially from his announcement (aka insider trading).
According to TIME, Senator Adam Schiff has called for an investigation, asking the White House to hand over records to see if anyone used that information to trade stocks before the news went public.
Innovation Caught in the Crossfire
Tariffs aren't just about physical goods. Canada’s fintech firms, software exporters, and digital infrastructure providers also face risks, as many of these companies work closely with U.S. partners, investors, and regulators. Every barrier, whether its through tariffs, compliance hurdles or market uncertainty and confidence, slows down innovation, especially in the most innovative emerging sectors like AI, open banking, blockchain and embedded finance.
See: Five Ways Countries Are Responding to Trump’s Tariffs
Early stage startups are especially exposed, as any cross border collaborations, capital raises, and pilot projects face second thoughts and/or delays from U.S. partners.
What’s next?
Expect heightened volatility to continue. Canadian companies need to stay alert, continue to diversify trade relationships, and build a stronger domestic economy and ecosystem that reduces exposure to abrupt, off the cuff U.S. policy changes impacting trade and relationships.
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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Win Free Tickets to Consensus 2025! NCFA Pitch the Future Contest
Consenus 2025 | April 7, 2025
🔥 NCFA Ticket Giveaway Campaign 🔥 Win a Free Pro Pass to Consensus Toronto 2025!
NCFA Canada is excited to be an official Community Partner for Consensus Toronto 2025, happening May 14–16 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Produced by CoinDesk, Consensus is the world’s most influential gathering of leaders in blockchain, crypto, Web3, and digital finance—bringing together founders, regulators, investors, policymakers, developers, and creators from around the globe.
See: Consensus 2025 Toronto | Spotlight on Canadian Speakers
With the conference just over a month away, we’re celebrating by launching the “Pitch the Future” Ticket Giveaway Contest — your chance to win a FREE Pro Pass (worth $950 USD) and join the action in Toronto alongside thousands of Web3 innovators.
Have a bold idea, future trend, or big vision? Building something cool and want to share it with the world? Tell us why you should be there, and you just might be!
🚀Pitch The Future Contest Details
1. WHEN
The ticket giveaway runs from now until April 30, 2025
2. ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible to participate, follow both NCFA and @consensus2025 on at least one of our social channels like Instagram, X, Facebook or @CoinDesk #Consensus2025 on LinkedIn, depending on where you post your entry.
3. HOW TO ENTER
Post any one of the following (we’re keeping it flexible and fun!):
- 🔮 A bold idea or prediction about the future of Web3, fintech, or crypto
- 🛠️ A quick description of what you're building or working on
- 🙋♀️ A few words on why you want to attend or why you should win a free ticket
Your pitch can be a short video, text post, image, or attachment—we’re open to creative formats!
➡️ Be sure to tag @ncfacanada and @consensus2025 and use the hashtag #Consensus2025.
4. WINNER SELECTION and DISTRIBUTION
- 🎉 Two winners will each receive One (1) Pro Pass to Consensus 2025
- Winners will be announced on May 1, 2025 via NCFA’s website and social channels
- Winners will be contacted privately and must confirm attendance.
- If unconfirmed within a reasonable time, an alternate winner may be selected.
5. 🔁 Social Sharing Best Practices
Help spread the word and support the community:
- Tag @consensus2025 on X
- Tag @CoinDesk on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram
- Use #Consensus2025 in all contest-related posts
- Encourage your network to follow NCFA and Consensus Toronto for future updates
🔔 Don’t Miss Out!
Whether you're building the future, predicting it, or just hungry to be part of it, this is your shot to join the global Web3 community at Canada’s biggest crypto event of the year. Get your post up before April 30, and we’ll see you in Toronto!
See: 🚀 Join NCFA at Consensus 2025 Toronto May 14-16
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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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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