Welcome to this week’s Sunday Briefing. In this issue:
UVic names new president
B.C. housing innovation on display in Victoria
Victoria VR studio launches new game
Clean energy funding open in B.C. until June 15
Now on to today’s briefing.
-Emily, [email protected]
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Canada releases its national AI strategy
Photo: Government of Canada
The federal government has released Canada's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, a six-pillar plan designed to accelerate AI adoption, build sovereign infrastructure, and position Canada as a global leader in the technology.
The strategy describes Canada as world-class in AI research, but lagging in adoption, with meaningful dependencies on foreign infrastructure. Only 12% of Canadian businesses currently use AI, well behind Nordic leaders at 29 to 42%. The plan sets out to change that.
Key targets include:
Increase business AI adoption from 12% to 60% by 2034
Create up to 250,000 new jobs through AI adoption by 2031
Create up to 90,000 AI-related job and work placement opportunities for young Canadians by 2031
Unlock nearly $200 billion in GDP gains from labour productivity
Build a world-leading public supercomputer by 2031
Reach 1 million entry-level post-secondary students with AI literacy training
The six pillars span protection, empowerment, adoption, infrastructure, champions, and partnerships.
The first pillar focuses on protecting Canadians from AI risks through updated privacy laws, online safety legislation, and a $50 million expansion of the Canadian AI Safety Institute. The second centres on AI literacy, including a National AI Literacy Initiative and a commitment to give all post-secondary students access to trusted AI agents.
The third pillar targets adoption across Canadian businesses, with a $500 million expansion of the Regional Artificial Intelligence Initiative and a $500 million LIFT program through BDC to help SMEs finance AI tools. The fourth addresses sovereign AI infrastructure — compute, data, and talent — including a $700 million expansion of the Compute Access Fund. Partnerships currently being finalized have proposed providing 850 megawatts of compute capacity by 2030, with potential scaling to 2.3 gigawatts.
The fifth pillar focuses on scaling Canadian AI champions at home through a new $500 million Canadian Tech Growth Fund. The sixth covers international partnerships, including the recently launched Sovereign Technology Alliance with Germany and 11 AI-specific agreements signed in the past year.
The strategy identifies five priority sectors where Canada's strengths converge with AI opportunity: health and life sciences, energy and natural resources, transportation, agriculture, and manufacturing and robotics.
📰 More Victoria innovation news
🎓 She's got the whole world in her hands: UVic named Dr. Rhonda McEwen as its ninth president and vice-chancellor, bringing three decades of cross-sector experience in digital communications, AI research, and higher education leadership to the role beginning this October.
🏠 We can work it out: DIGITAL hosted a Housing Growth Innovation Showcase in Victoria, spotlighting B.C.-made technologies — including modular construction and AI-driven building inspections — backed by $9 million in provincial funding to help build homes faster.
🎮 Welcome to the jungle: Victoria VR studio Hololabs launched Abyss: Vault, a multiplayer sci-fi escape room game developed with support from the Canada Media Fund and Creative BC, premiering locally at Infusion Play on June 15.
⚡ Money, money, money: B.C.'s Innovative Clean Energy Fund opened its third annual Targeted Call for Clean Energy Innovation, offering funding for companies with solutions to make electrification more affordable or optimize utility energy management — applications close June 15.
🌿 New from Mateína: A zero sugar, organic yerba mate that delivers clean energy — no crash, no weird ingredients. Just plant-powered fuel that works.*
*Sponsored listing
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Food security takes community
Food security takes purpose-driven organizations like yours to feed people in need. 💛
PHS Community Services provides over 3,900 meals daily, and is raising $30,000 to expand its Food Program.
Join/Donate to the PHS run team in the Under Armour Eastside 10K to help feed thousands of people every day.
Want to reach Victoria tech leaders? Advertise in the Victoria Tech Journal to get in front of founders, investors, and innovators. Contact [email protected] to learn more.
🕴️ Tech jobs of the week
Find your next career:
Client success specialist at Waterworth
Game artist (UI & assets) – Mobile Casino at Blastworks Games
Purchaser, electronics at AML Oceanographic
Hiring in Victoria? Reply to this email and let us know!
🗓️ Upcoming events
June 29 | Vital Data Mini-Con 2026
Health data has never been more important, but it’s also more fragmented than ever. Across the country, valuable data is often locked away in separate systems that don’t communicate effectively, if at all. At the same time, there is growing pressure to actually make use of this data—especially with the rapid development of new AI tools.
Trade the laptop for a ballpark hot dog. On Thursday, July 9th, VIATEC takes over the Canadian Club House at Royal Athletic Park for an evening of baseball, cold drinks, and the tech community under the summer sky. The Victoria HarbourCats are hosting the Bend Elks, and you've got one of the best seats in the park.
Have something or someone we should know about?
Reply or email [email protected] so we can work together to spotlight the lesser-known stories of Victoria's tech ecosystem.