At the Toronto Global Forum on Wednesday, Barton said AI “is ours to lose,” arguing that despite Canada’s prowess in artificial intelligence, the relatively small domestic market for the technology poses a challenge. On stage with Barton, CIBC chief executive Victor Dodig said Canada is “punching below its weight” in turning tech innovations into economic successes. To increase growth capital for Canadian companies, Dodig suggested introducing flow-through shares for the technology sector to incentivize investors by offering them tax credits. (The Logic)

Talking point: While Dodig said he’s hopeful for the economy in the long term, he said high interest rates and inflation have created angst in the economy and society more broadly. In another talk at the event, Norway sovereign wealth fund CEO Nicolai Tangen put a finer point on the state of the economy: “I think it’s going to be a completely wasted decade,” he said on stage with Paul Desmarais III, the CEO of alternative asset manager Sagard. “I don’t think we’re going to get any returns in financial markets for the next five to 10 years,” he said. “And by the way, that’s coming from a genuine optimist.”