How Toronto Became a Global Powerhouse for Artificial Intelligence Startups and Giants

The city hosts hundreds of tech companies

While speaking at Shopify’s annual conference in Toronto a few weeks ago, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau got in some trouble for a few choice words. His mistake? Calling for Canada to have “a little more swagger” when promoting its homegrown innovations on the global stage. The rival Conservative Party jumped on his comments, openly criticizing him. In response, Shopify’s CEO penned an op-ed in The Globe and Mail defending Trudeau’s remarks.

While this might sound like mild drama, the sentiment comes at a time when global giants are already noticing Canada’s rapid growth within certain high-tech sectors, and specifically those related to artificial intelligence.

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This story first appeared in the June 4, 2018, issue of Adweek magazine. Click here to subscribe.