Elevate CEO: Canada at turning point ahead of festival

As Elevate Festival returns to Toronto for its eighth year, it will continue to shine a light on Canadian innovation, while also weighing sovereignty against attracting foreign investment from south of the border.

Lisa Zarzeczny, CEO and Co-founder of non-profit innovation organisation Elevate, said she sees U.S. technology companies increasingly looking to expand into Toronto, driven by the depth of the city's AI research and talent base. As many American companies seek to expand their presence in Ontario and beyond, eyes will be on the conversation at the festival next week.

In August, CBRE rated Toronto third in its annual list of the top 50 North American tech employment markets, ahead of New York City. It also added that three million square feet of office space in the city is dedicated to AI companies. Montreal had one million square feet of office space in the same category.

Government figures peg Canada's digital sector at CAD $140 billion in GDP, with 150,000 jobs directly associated with AI. Stanford University's Global AI Vibrancy Ranking puts Canada in seventh globally for AI talent.

The key industry shift this year, Zarzeczny said, is the pace of AI development and the number of new AI companies being founded, which has pushed more of them to consider Toronto early in their expansion plans, often as one of the first markets outside their home base.

"I don't think that's gone unnoticed by both U.S. and other international companies when they see the research coming out of Toronto and Canada, when they see the talent and also the companies coming out of here," Zarzeczny said. "That's certainly been a trend that we've seen over the past few years, and especially this year, a lot of U.S.-based companies are looking to expand their presence here in Toronto."

Last October, Lyft announced a dedicated Toronto office. Jason Vogrinec, EVP of Core Systems and Platforms for Lyft, cited engineering, product and operations talent as a key benefit to the location. Uber, Cloudflare, Pinterest and many others have also expanded their presence in the 2020s.

Last year, Zarzeczny said Elevate's seventh festival came at a critical point, raising questions about how Canada can hold on to its AI advantage, foster environments where entrepreneurs thrive, and navigate a continuously shifting landscape of trade and terrorists.

"These aren't abstract debates. They're the daily realities shaping our future. But what I have witnessed over the past year is a community responding not with hesitation, but with renewed resolve. There's a shared understanding that we stand at a critical time and what we choose to build together today will define Canada's future for decades to come," she said in 2025's festival opening remarks.

Brain drain existed last year, and it has not gone away, although Canada's sovereign movement is driving calls for people and companies to keep operations concentrated in Canada.

This will be reflected in this year's festival, which will feature the launch of a Sovereign Growth track, which is set to bring conversations from stablecoin to infrastructure ownership.

"I think there always needs to be a balance between attracting investment and other companies, and I think we're doing a good job at that," she said. "Where I'm seeing a gap and a challenge is making sure that our Canadian companies have the talent, the capital, the resources and the incentives here to be able to build the next 20 Shopifys. I think that's where we really need to be focused as a country."

Among the companies Elevate Festival is featuring this year is voice AI company ElevenLabs, which Zarzeczny described as one of the world's fastest-growing AI companies and which recently appointed a general manager for the Canadian market as it builds out its presence here.

Waabi, the autonomous vehicle company that secured the largest single fundraise in Canadian history (CAD $1 billion), will also have its Chief Operating Officer speak at this year's festival.