The BetaKit Podcast Channel Budget 2025: "cautiously optimistic"
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Nov 7, 2025 In this engaging discussion, Vass Bednar, Managing Director at the Canadian SHIELD Institute, Benjamin Bergen, President of the Council of Canadian Innovators, and Jaxson Khan, Founder of Aperture AI, delve into Budget 2025. They discuss the budget's narrative on capital investment and Canada's competitive edge, highlighting AI's presence yet limited funding. The conversation zeroes in on innovation priorities, concerns over foreign influence in procurement, and the need for effective measures to protect R&D and consumer interests.
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AI Is Ubiquitous In Policy, Not Yet Big Cash
- AI shows up across the budget, but direct industrial funding is limited so far.
- Khan sees broader embedding of AI policy into many systems as the government's real signal of priority.
Catalyze Sovereign Cloud With MOUs
- Use public-private MOUs and the Canadian Infrastructure Bank to catalyze sovereign cloud investment instead of full public buildouts.
- Jaxson recommends mobilizing private and international capital around public interest goals.
Quantum Framed As Defense Infrastructure
- Quantum funding sits as dual-use defense infrastructure because quantum secures communications and space assets.
- Khan expects future quantum funding to flow primarily through defense envelopes.