Fintech Leans Rightward as ‘Build Canada’ Campaign Envisions ‘Bolder, Richer Country’

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 fintech entrepreneurs.

The Build Canada list of supporters already features many of Fintech.ca’s most popular entities: Borrowell co-founder Andrew Graham, Neo Financial co-founder Jeff Adamson, Koho founder Daniel Eberhard, Questrade CEO Edward Kholodenko, Wealthsimple co-founder Michael Katchen, and Float co-founder Rob Khazzam.

This 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.

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.