“We don’t need help,” Shopify’s Tobi Lütke posted on X, in response to a suggestion that his firm would benefit from a push for retirement savings plans to put more of their money into domestic firms. In a separate post, Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez said it was “nice to see the largest Canadian enterprises coming out to call out [Canadian] sovereign wealth funds for generally contributing minimally to domestic development.” (The Logic)
Talking point: The prominent tech founders were both reacting to an open letter from 92 other past and present chief executives calling for pension rule changes. Lütke had a broader critique of Canadian innovation policy, saying it puts “too much emphasis on IP and not enough on execution and commercialization” and props up “poorly executing companies.” In September 2018, an advisory group he chaired recommended more support for fewer firms. (Jim Balsillie, ex-co-CEO of Research In Motion, has long argued there’s not enough of an IP focus, and signed the letter). Gomez said many major funds “don’t believe in the Canadian players,” and finance foreign competitors instead.