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What do AI, housing, and startup ecosystems reveal about Canada’s future economy?

After 16 conversations across business, technology, real estate innovation, governance, media, and entrepreneurship, a deeper pattern began to emerge.

Not just how Canadian founders build —
but what actually allows innovation to grow.

In this Season 1 reflection, host Ashley Smith steps back to connect the threads that surfaced again and again throughout the first season of Canada Now.

Across industries, leaders kept returning to the same themes:

Trust.
Community.
And the systems that shape how ideas scale.

From cybersecurity and responsible AI…
to founder ecosystems and loyalty communities…
to capital markets, talent strategy, governance, and data infrastructure…

A bigger question begins to take shape:

What kind of country is Canada building right now — and what systems will determine whether Canadian innovation thrives globally?

Part 2 explores the deeper infrastructure behind innovation — the relationships, institutions, incentives, and leadership models that help ideas grow from early experimentation into lasting companies.

Because innovation rarely succeeds on talent alone.

It grows inside ecosystems.

And those ecosystems are built by people who trust each other, support each other, and design systems that allow great ideas to scale.

🎙 FEATURED VOICES IN THIS EPISODE

Builders, founders, and ecosystem leaders including:

• Brady Dahmer | Brand Strategist & Agency Founder (Ep. 10)
• Dominic Vogel | Cybersecurity Strategist (Ep. 8)
• Karen Olsson | AI Advisor & Technology Executive (Ep. 11)
• Matias Marquez | Founder & CEO, ethos (Ep. 15)
• William Johnson | Founder, Vancouver Tech Journal (Ep. 16)
• Tom Rossiter | Founder & CEO, RESAAS (Ep. 9)
• Jay Rosenzweig | Founder & CEO, Rosenzweig & Company (Ep. 7)
• Trevor Koot | CEO, British Columbia Real Estate Association (Ep. 1)
• Darlene Hyde, ICD.D | Governance Leader (Ep. 14)

🎧 Listen to the full Season 1 conversations with these builders across Canada’s innovation economy.

Subscribe to Canada Now for in-depth conversations exploring Canadian entrepreneurship, leadership, innovation ecosystems, governance, and the ideas shaping Canada’s economic future. 🍁

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→ Subscribe, Review, and Share 🍁

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Send a text to Canada Now! 💬

After 16 conversations across housing, governance, technology, business, entrepreneurship, and media, a pattern began to emerge.

Not just innovation. Not just disruption.
But a tone.

In this solo Season 1 reflection, host Ashley Smith steps back to examine what Canadian leaders — across real estate, board governance, technology, and startups — are revealing in this moment of economic pressure, technological acceleration, and global uncertainty.

From institutional modernization and board-level foresight…
to factory-built housing and real estate innovation…
to founders rejecting growth-at-all-costs in favour of sustainable Canadian entrepreneurship…

A clear through-line appears: maturity over noise.

Is this restraint?
Or is it a competitive advantage?

Part 1 explores the pressure points shaping Canada’s next chapter — and why steady, disciplined leadership, capital discipline, and long-term thinking may be Canada’s quiet edge.

Part 2 will dive deeper into the communities and leadership models emerging to support it.

🎙 FEATURED VOICES IN THIS EPISODE

CEOs, board leaders, tech founders, and housing innovators including:

• Jeff King | Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (Ep. 4)
• Trevor Koot | British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) (Ep. 1)
• Darlene Hyde, ICD.D | Governance Leader (TransLink, CMHC, Credit Unions) (Ep. 14)
• Ross McCredie | Sutton Group (Ep. 2)
• Rohan Kulkarni & Salik Khan | Rohe Homes (Ep. 6)
• Arman Mottaghi | Properate (Ep. 12)
• Matias Marquez | Ethos (Ep. 15)
• Jess Glowacki | EH! Social (Ep. 3)

Subscribe to Canada Now for in-depth conversations exploring Canadian startups, leadership, real estate innovation, governance, and the ideas shaping Canada’s economic future. 🍁

Love the show? Help it grow!
→ Subscribe, Review, and Share 🍁

Follow Canada Now for bold ideas and real conversations shaping what’s next in Canada. 🇨🇦
→ All Links (including socials)
→ YouTube
→ Canada Now Newsletter (subscriber perks coming soon!)

Meet the host, Ashley Smith! 🙋‍♀️
→ Ashley's links (social, website, + more)

Send a text to Canada Now! 💬

In this episode of Canada Now, I’m joined by William Johnson — Vice President of Strategy & Operations at Overstory Media Group and founder of Vancouver Tech Journal — for a wide-ranging conversation on what’s really shifting in Canada’s innovation ecosystem in 2026.

We unpack the current pragmatic reset in venture and startups, why Vancouver’s tech community feels both exciting and precarious, and why the next era of innovation may be defined less by hype… and more by trust, niche communities, and offline connection.

William shares a powerful thesis: as AI begins creating and distributing more of what we see online, the real moat for founders, brands, and media may be building in the real world — turning audiences into communities through meaningful convening.

If you care about Canadian tech, media, storytelling, or the future of community-driven business, this one is a must-listen.

We cover:

• Vancouver’s tech evolution since the last major growth wave
• What’s changing in venture capital and early-stage investing
• Why “community is the moat” in 2026
• The shifting media landscape in Canada (and the distribution challenge)
• AI, the “dead internet” theory, and what it means for creators
• Why micro-events and offline convening are becoming the new edge

Connect with William on LinkedIn, and follow his work through Overstory Media Group and Vancouver Tech Journal.

Episode feature article and show notes now available (subscribe to https://canadanow.beehiiv.com for updates).

Love the show? Help it grow!
→ Subscribe, Review, and Share 🍁

Follow Canada Now for bold ideas and real conversations shaping what’s next in Canada. 🇨🇦
→ All Links (including socials)
→ YouTube
→ Canada Now Newsletter (subscriber perks coming soon!)

Meet the host, Ashley Smith! 🙋‍♀️
→ Ashley's links (social, website, + more)