An army comprised of some of Canada’s biggest names in financial technology has launched a digital campaign encouraging the nation’s entrepreneurs to envision a “bolder, richer, freer country.”
Lamenting the country’s current status as “stagnant” and “broken,” despite having world-class resources and talent, Build Canada is described as a platform of ideas for growth, innovation, and prosperity.
Canada “should be the world’s richest country,” the online campaign argues—”but for decades, small thinking, bureaucratic inertia, and special interests have kept us from realizing our potential.”
Each policy proposed through Build Canada hails from successful local entrepreneurs with extensive relevant knowledge, according to members of the campaign—which includes Daniel Debow, Tobi Lutke, and Harley Finkelstein of Shopify fame, as well as a slew of other prominent fintech (and non-fintech) names.
Build Canada, which aims to sell more Canadian-made products globally and boost national productivity, counts among its supporters an armada of entrepreneurs, especially those in the fintech space.
The Build Canada list of supporters includes Borrowell cofounder Andrew Graham, Koho founder Daniel Eberhard, Questrade CEO Edward Kholodenko, Wealthsimple cofounder Michael Katchen, and Float cofounder Rob Khazzam.
It also includes Nic Beique, founder of Calgary payment solutions provider Helcim, and Jeff Adamson, cofounder of Neo Financial.
Founded in 2019, few startups in Canada have experienced the run that Calgary’s Neo has. In 2024, the rapidly growing fintech struck multiple partnerships, launched new features, raised serious capital, and topped major national lists.
Specific achievements for Neo’s banner year include an impressive first place in Deloitte Canada’s Technology Fast 50 as the company reported three-year growth of more than 150,000%. Neo also ranked #1 in Report on Business magazine’s annual ranking of Canada’s Top Growing Companies.
Throughout the year, the fintech announced partnerships with various organizations, from the Canadian Elite Basketball League to Toronto’s CI Financial. And in addition, the company unveiled new features and product enhancements, such as credit-building solutions targeting newcomers to Canada. Within two years, Neo evolved its suite of offerings from one product to eight.
The upstart also announced $360 million in Series D fundraising, which included investment from Lütke.
Build Canada is not the first time that Lutke has spoken out against a crumbling Canada, while others on the list are revealing political leanings for the first time.
And although Build Canada is not explicitly partisan or directly affiliated with the Conservative Party, as confirmed by a report from the Logic, it is nonetheless widely expected that a Conservative leadership would align more closely with the campaign’s vision for the country’s future.
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