Author: John

Zero-Emission Mining. Canada is Setting the Standard.

Canada’s mining sector is economically crucial, and the global demand for minerals is only adding to its potential. The Government of Canada actively supports the sector by investing in innovative solutions that will strengthen Canada’s leadership in sustainable, efficient and safe mining.

The country is overflowing in critical minerals that are vital to the manufacturing of clean technologies, from solar panels to battery electric vehicles. Canada’s mining sector will be able to deliver those minerals to the world more quickly and efficiently, while speeding the global shift toward net zero. 

The Mining Association of Canada (MAC) has released their Towards Sustainable Mining® (TSM) Climate Change Protocol designed to minimize the mining sector’s carbon footprint, while enhancing climate change disclosure and strengthening the sector’s ability to adapt to climate change.

Consumer interests and market forces are driving a shift to low-carbon transportation models. How so? Take for example the fact that more and more Canadians want electric vehicles. 

Accordingly automakers are prepared to make investments to shift their manufacturing. This gives Canada an incredible opportunity to invest in electrification and drive a green recovery to help achieve our climate change goals.

Canada is the only nation in the western hemisphere with an abundance of cobalt, graphite, lithium and nickel, the minerals needed to make next-generation electric batteries.

With Canada’s natural resources and skilled workforce providing a competitive advantage, the next generation of battery supply chains looks to be headed to – Canada. 

This Junior Miner Has It Right

This company can really see upside in the new zero-emission environment.

 Surge Battery Metals Canada TSXV: (NILI) U.S. OTC: (NILIF): A proud ESG-Mandated company. Surge Battery Metals is focused on battery metals that will advance the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) to create a cleaner world while building new industries.

The EV market is putting huge pressure on Lithium, Copper and Nickel. But electric vehicle makers will only buy from miners that follow Environmental Social And Governance guidelines. 

In every project Surge is taking steps to cut greenhouse gas (CO2) emissions at all stages of the production chain, from underground ore mining to processing and refining.

This puts Surge in prime position to be a major industry supplier. 

 

Ignoring the Canadian Cybersecurity Market Will Cost You

It happened again. Another massive cyber crime. 

In early August of 2021 cybercriminals hacked one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies – T-Mobile. 

But this hack was not just relegated to customers. No. This was much bigger. 

T-Mobile admitted that 47.8 million records were taken – and not just from customers. A person could even be at risk if they ever applied for a T-Mobile account, whether or not it was ever opened. The personal data included both social security numbers and driver’s license details for “a subset’ of people” along with account PINs for some.

Think about all the things we all do on our phones, tablets, or laptops. We do our banking. We use a mobile wallet, chat on social media and so much more. There are now many more ways criminals can try to steal our money or identity.

From individuals to governments, no one is exempt.

Canada is at the forefront of building a booming cyber security market

According to a report by the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, the number of jobs for cyber security professionals in Canada is growing by 7% every year.

The report also estimates the number of vacant positions worldwide by 2021 to be 3.5 million.

While the annual average salary of a Canadian cyber security professional in 2020 was $97,000 CAD.

According to Crunchbase there are 282 cyber security companies that have their headquarters located in Canada. Of which 263 are for-profit companies.

Here are three up and coming companies

1Password: According to their website, the company was founded by two friends in 2005, and is now a global team of greater than 400 people. Their customer base includes over 80,000 businesses. 

F8th is an AI company on a mission to provide an alternative tool to protect companies against the latest techniques in fraud. Their product builds a behavioral biometric such as a fingerprint by continuously analyzing typing speed, movement speed, clicking speed, acceleration and more.

Digital Boundary Group (DBG) is one of North America’s premier information technology (IT) security assurance services firms. Their client list includes public and private sector organizations ranging from Canadian Federal, Provincial and Municipal Governments, Canadian and U.S. Police Services.

Cyber Mongol is a counterintelligence company that harnesses the tireless and raw automation power of machines, empowering the human teams that defend organizations worldwide against cyber threats. Their PANDEMIC Counter Cyber Intelligence Automation is a patent-pending, modular pipeline built to automate the laborious task of open-source intelligence collection related to identifying advanced operator tactics.

At Canadian Market Report we have a keen interest in following these companies. Many of them have not yet gone public but some will. And when they do we want our readers to be informed and before the hoards of “me too” crowds jump in. 

It really is going to be exciting times for the Canadian Cybersecurity market. Stay tuned, or better yet, get hooked up with our free newsletter and stay in the know!

Turn Your Gaze North for a Seriously Overlooked AI Market

Artificial intelligence will change the world as we know it

And you might not know it, but Canada is quietly attracting the world’s tech giants northwards. Canada’s AI boom is being led by companies like Microsoft, Facebook, Google, and Huawei. Better still they are spending huge capital on research hubs in Quebec, Ontario, and Alberta.

The country is attracting top-notch talent as well.

Leading the Canadian charge is the Toronto-Waterloo corridor also known as Silicon Valley North. Between 2012 and 2017, Toronto saw the creation of 82,100 tech jobs — surpassing California’s Silicon Valley by 4,270 jobs.

Here are 4 Toronto-based AI rising stars

Alayacare offers a cloud-based software platform for home healthcare practitioners. The platform features clinical documentation, back-office functionality, patient and family portals, remote patient monitoring, telehealth, and mobile care worker apps.

Tenstorrent is a provider of cloud and AI-based deep learning processing units. It has developed high-performance processor ASICs, engineered specifically for deep learning and artificial intelligence.

Ada is a provider of an AI chatbot for customer experience. It provides a no-code chatbot platform that automates the customer engagement process. The cloud-based messaging platform features analytics, API & authentication, and conditional logic capabilities. It has use cases in travel, e-commerce, fintech, telecom, retail, banking, and insurance applications, among others.

Ecobee creates smart thermostats for commercial and residential applications.

There’s no doubt Toronto certainly deserves its place at number one. But wait one second the rest of the country is quickly gaining ground. Cities such as Montreal, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Ottawa are well on their way to becoming major hubs of AI innovation.

Behold the Marvel of Montreal’s AI Progress

To be fair, Montreal is not really a newcomer to AI development and innovation. In fact, the city has been a backbone in the industry since the early days of Yoshua Bengio, who is considered one of the pioneers of neural networks and deep learning in the 1980s.

In 2017 Element.AI of Montreal received a series A funding round that raised $137 million, the largest in history for an AI startup.

Two other AI companies that call Montreal home are:

Hopper and AI-enabled price prediction solutions for travel services.

Coveo which offers knowledge management solutions using an enterprise cognitive search technology. Customers include L’Oreal, Lockheed Martin, Bombardier, CAE, YUM! Brands, GEICO, and SunGard.

When You Think Edmonton – Think Google

In 2017, Google’s AI company DeepMind opened its first international office in Edmonton in collaboration with the University of Alberta. The company plans to contribute academically through teaching and research as well as support AI programs in the University, which is considered an AI world leader.

Want another? The Royal Bank of Canada has gained more interest in AI research with Borealis.AI. This is a world-class AI research center that seek to address some of the biggest challenges in financial services today. Such as:

  • Enhancing risk applications
  • Reducing fraud
  • Helping customers better manage and predict their cash flow, access credit and plan for their financial futures

Let’s Not Forget Vancouver and Ottawa

Vancouver’s AI ecosystem is on fire. Their startup landscape has exploded over the last decade and Vancouver has one of the best startup ecosystems for a city of its size.

Here 4 amazing Vancouver-tech companies:

Innergex – a developer, owner and operator of run-of-river hydroelectric facilities, wind energy, and solar farms in North America.

Ostara – helps protect precious natural resources by transforming how nutrients are managed from source to field.

Hootsuite – Social media dashboard takes the form of a dashboard, and supports social network integrations for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Unbounce – The #1 landing page & AI copywriting platform for 70,000+ customers

D-Wave – the only quantum computing company that builds and delivers quantum systems, cloud services, application development tools, and professional services to support the end-to-end quantum journey.

Finally, there’s Interset, an Ottawa-based company which uses AI to address cybersecurity issues. Other Ottawa examples include Zighra, Stratelogics, and BluWave-ai. More and more AI startups are sure to see Ottawa’s potential.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is unleashing a tidal wave of wealth that will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.

In order to assess the true AI power and potential of Canada, it’s important to start shedding light on other cities apart from Toronto which are on their way up. We can expect to see these cities grow and become international players in the global AI race.

Canadian Cannabis Stocks are Blazing

In Canada, recreational marijuana use was federally legalized in 2018, creating a number of legal cannabis companies, many of which went public. These stocks are a great way for US investors to participate in the global expansion of legal cannabis, a market that experts say will grow about 18% annually between 2020 and 2027.

Sales are growing to all new highs

Cannabis sales in Canada this year will reach $4 billion, well below projected US market sales of $23 billion.

Most encouraging is that the Canadian cannabis market is expected to grow twice as fast as the US market between 2020 and 2021 and nearly three times as fast from 2021 to 2022.

Spurring on this growth is household spending on marijuana consumed by adults. Regulated channels rose to $918 million ($800 million) in the last quarter of 2020, or $204 million more than expected for illegal marijuana over the same period.

Toronto is leading the way

The Toronto area, which is a leader in cannabis sales in Canada, has experienced significant business growth. They started 2020 with seven regulated stores and ended the year at 87. That jump helped boost sales from $17 million in January 2020 to $40 million ending in December 2020.

Sales of extracts and concentrates tripled between early and late 2020, ending last year with retail sales of $324 million, according to Statistics Canada.

Legal sales were also driven by recreational nutrition products, which had a full first year of sale. Grocery sales rose from $12.7 million in the first quarter to $42.2 million in the fourth quarter.

The legal market is also stimulated by falling prices and increasing product selection.

Medical use sales lag

Medical marijuana sales, recorded separately by the Office of Statistics Canada, continued a sluggish downward trend. Approximately $135 million was spent on medical cannabis products in the fourth quarter of 2020.

In total Canada spent $587 million on medical marijuana last year. That number includes all medical marijuana products sold directly to consumers by state-licensed producers. According to Canadian statistics, that also includes marijuana grown at home for medicinal purposes.Market

Canadian cannabis stocks to pay attention to:

  • Aurora international marijuana sales (ticker: ACB) are up 562%.
  • Aphria (APHA) up around 700% year over year.
  • Canopy Growth Corp. (CGC) by far the largest Canadian cannabis stock by market cap, valued at over $12 billion.
  • The growth of the Cronos Group (CRON) can be attributed to its blockbuster expansion into markets outside the US, where sales tripled from just under $4.6 million to $13.5 million annually.
  • OrganiGram Holdings (OGI) recently announced a deal with British American Tobacco (BTI) a 19.9% ​​stake in OGI resulted in a surge in shares.
  • Sundial Growers (SNDL) the company is shifting from wholesale to retail operations, the latter of which tends to offer much higher margins.
  • Tilray (TLRY) is the world’s largest cannabis company by sales and one of the biggest players in the legal marijuana game.
  • HEXO Corp. (HEXO) is Canada’s third largest licensed recreational marijuana company.

As strong growth for legalized edible and alternative cannabis products gain steam, keep your eyes open. There’s no doubt that the Canadian cannabis market has tremendous potential.

The Canadian Online Gaming Market Is Absolutely Booming

It’s happening. The Canadian gaming industry is growing at breakneck speed despite the global health crisis. In recent years alone, its value is estimated to have increased by 30% and is expected to exceed $200 billion by 2023.

What’s more, investment in esports has also increased, driven by revenue diversification in the gaming sector. Add-ons, expansions, in-game purchases, and monthly subscription services have created multiple revenue streams for eSports companies and their investors. The growth of live streaming games and league tournaments is also a key factor in the growth of the esports market.

While the eSports industry in the US and Asia is among the largest in the world, the influence of Canadian eSports and eSports shares in these countries is closing the gap.

Are These Companies Ready to Benefit from the Boom?

According to the Canadian Entertainment Software Association (ESAC), 23 million Canadians were considered gamers in 2020, and the gaming industry accounted for $4.5 billion for the country’s gross domestic product in 2019.

ESAC also reported that between 2019 and 2020, 35 percent of adults and 29 percent of children and youth engaged in esports. Additionally, more and more Canadians are participating in esports as spectators, with 40% of gamers participating in game streaming.

As well, data from analytics and research firm Newzoo shows that global gaming revenue could exceed $200 billion by 2023.

Companies such as Engine Media Holdings (TSXV:GAME), Enthusiastic Games (TSX: EGLX), and Score Media and Gaming (TSX: SCR) may be ready to take advantage of all this.

What are the catalysts driving this market shift?

Forced isolation has led to an increase in interactive game quests. Because of this, the popularity of computer and mobile entertainment in Canada is at its peak. Plus, access to game content has never been easier: all you need is a smartphone, laptop or console and an internet connection.

The epidemic has not subsided, quarantine restrictions have been maintained in many countries and the demand for games still remains high. Every publisher and developer are trying to fill a niche created with quality content for gamers.

Smartphones to Replace Gaming Consoles?

The mobile entertainment sector has grown over the years, as the smartphone market has also grown rapidly. Mobile technology is becoming more and more powerful and smartphone applications are approaching the level of computers and consoles. Monetization of mobile games is also very profitable, which is why the development of such projects is very popular and the budget for their promotion is huge.

Mobile content is also advancing on all fronts. By 2021, games for smartphones and tablets will account for 52%+ of the market, which is nearly $79 billion. Games for consoles (Xbox, Sony PlayStation, Nintendo Switch) accounted for almost 28%, while the proportion of games for desktops and laptops fell to 20%.

Incentives to Play Abound

Currently the online gambling industry is experiencing one of the peak points of its development. It becomes very easy to find your favorite playing card and playing card platform or slot. The number of different casino bonus programs is also increasing. Canadian players can easily find casino listings with 100 free spins no deposit offers and increase their chances of success. The demand for online casinos is expected to continue to grow and this is natural considering the current world situation. In this way, online gambling will continue to contribute to the development of the Canadian gambling industry.

The increase in payment services goes hand in hand with the growing popularity of mobile games as consumers become more attracted to paid mobile content. It is now possible to make purchases with just one touch on the smartphone screen.

Pay to Play in Crypto

Cryptocurrencies have also experienced a boom in recent years. More and more platforms are accepting Bitcoin payments. This allows players to maintain their own anonymity while playing online.

In recent years, more and more Canadians are gaining access to high-speed Internet connections. Modern communication stations are installed even in remote mountainous areas. This has enabled millions of people to become confident online users.

Canada is Firing on All Cylinders

Not surprisingly, the online gaming industry is booming in Canada. And this is not the end of its development. Interest in online gaming has increased markedly as many people are looking for ways to spend time at home and communicate risk-free.

It has to be said that 5G will be the online gaming engine of the future. This technology will make internet connections faster and more accessible. Thanks to 5G, the number of Canadian users who prefer to play on their phones will increase significantly in a few years.