Canada Tech & AI Watch: Ada-Dialpad merger, Cohere, C-22

Ottawa’s growing appetite for equity stakes in technology companies, a Toronto AI firm’s merger with a U.S. rival and a privacy fight over Bill C-22 headline this week’s Canada Tech & AI Watch, as the federal budget lands Thursday afternoon.

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne told the Canadian Club of Ottawa on Monday that Canada taking equity stakes in general-purpose technology companies is “strategic,” and called the government’s investment in Cohere “a poster child of what you want to do,” BetaKit reported. “We’ve done it before in strategic industry to make sure that we have a leading position, and I see [the] state more involved in that,” Champagne said.

The remarks follow Ottawa’s commitment of up to $1.6 billion in Cohere. AI Minister Evan Solomon has said the Cohere stake won’t be Ottawa’s last in tech, and Cohere has since pledged $4 billion in Canadian research and development and 1,500 jobs. BetaKit reported that reaction to the deal has been mixed, with some experts questioning its opaque terms and former Research in Motion co-CEO Jim Balsillie arguing it undermines the case for strategic public investment.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s second federal budget is to be tabled Thursday at about 4 p.m. ET. Champagne has said it will be “about entrepreneurs.” BetaKit reported that the tech sector is watching for a proposed capital gains rollover, new funding for the space sector and an updated immigration plan. None of those measures had been confirmed when this edition was published.

In deals, Toronto customer-service software company Ada said Wednesday it is merging with California-based Dialpad “to create a new leader in agentic customer communications,” according to BetaKit. The transaction is expected to close on or around Nov. 12. The Globe and Mail first reported the all-share deal and said it values Ada at about $600 million, well below the US$1.2 billion it was valued at after its 2021 Series C financing. The terms were not disclosed by the companies. Dialpad co-founder and CEO Craig Walker will lead the combined company, and Ada CEO Mike Murchison will become chief AI officer. We covered the announcement in Toronto’s Ada to merge with U.S. firm Dialpad.

Shopify Inc. (TSX:SHOP) reported third-quarter revenue of US$3.74 billion on Tuesday, up 32 per cent from a year earlier, with US$119 billion in gross merchandise volume and net income of US$462 million. BetaKit reported that the stock fell after merchant sales came in slightly short of some analysts’ estimates, as the company leans into agentic shopping. Shopify reports in U.S. dollars.

On privacy and regulation, Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne told the Senate’s national security committee on Monday that “extra amendments are still necessary” to Bill C-22, the Lawful Access Act, BetaKit reported. He recommended narrowing the definition of subscriber information, defining “publicly available” information, carving out health and privileged data, and writing necessity and proportionality into the bill. He said there is currently no overarching requirement that all obligations under the act be both necessary and proportionate. Our earlier report has more on the committee hearing, including the public safety minister’s defence of the bill.

Signal has said it would quit Canada if the bill becomes law, and Apple has said the government’s June amendments do not go far enough on encryption. The bill passed the House of Commons earlier this year and is before the Senate.

Also this week, BetaKit reported that Canada is on track to create more startups in 2026 than in 2025, but that fewer are raising pre-seed capital, according to a new report.

Figures and quotes are from the sources linked above as of Nov. 5, 2026. Some items rely on BetaKit’s reporting, and company announcements were not independently reviewed.

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