TORONTO — The Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI), a technology sector lobby group, is setting up a new think tank seeded with a $10-million donation from its chair Jim Balsillie in a bid to influence the country’s economic and defence policy.

The Canadian Shield Institute—the name stands for ‘securing homegrown innovation, economic leadership, and defence’—will publish reports and host events. “We need fresh, updated thinkers with thinking and approaches for the 21st century,” said Balsillie, the former co-CEO of BlackBerry. 

The institute will study and make recommendations on economic issues including tax changes, the development of energy resources and infrastructure, the growth of deep technology sectors and the application of innovation to industries like housing, health care and mining. It will also commission research in other policy areas like defence, democracy and governance. 

The CCI was established in late 2015, just ahead of the election of the current Liberal government, to represent the interests of growing tech firms. It’s previously advocated for Ottawa to introduce new fast-track programs to bring in skilled foreign workers, overhaul major R&D tax incentives, and buy more from Canadian startups. 

The Liberal government made changes in response to some of its recommendations. But the CCI has argued for several years that Ottawa lacks a comprehensive plan to grow the Canadian economy, and to protect and retain homegrown companies and intellectual property. Balsillie on Wednesday called the Liberals’ policies a “disappointment.” 

Instead, he said, the country needs “more comprehensive prosperity and security strategies that are sovereign and linked.” That translates to more focus on securing intellectual property and strategic sectors, and less on attracting foreign direct investments, he has argued. 

“We must work to rebuild our nation’s resilience and growth, while also reducing government waste and maximizing the value of public investments,” said CCI president Benjamin Bergen. The group did not share details of the institute’s corporate structure and staffing, although Bergen said it will be established as a separate entity. The CCI will continue to focus on advocating for its members, while the institute will be a “policy powerhouse, with a mandate that goes beyond innovation policy.” 

The Canadian Shield Institute is launching ahead of another election, one the Conservative Party looks likely to win. Although the institute will be non-partisan, Balsillie said a change of federal government represents a “tremendous opportunity for updated thinking.” He cited a recent report from The Logic that the Conservatives’ innovation plan will focus on retaining Canadian data and IP, and on funding homegrown firms rather than foreign multinationals—long-standing concerns for the CCI. Provincial governments have also signalled they’re open to new policy ideas, Balsillie said. 

Existing think tanks have misdiagnosed the country’s economic problems, according to Balsillie, who named the oft-quoted Macdonald-Laurier Institute, Fraser Institute, Public Policy Forum and C.D. Howe Institute. For example, he noted that many claimed the renegotiation of NAFTA as a success for Ottawa; Balsillie has long contended that the replacement USMCA locked Canada into unfavourable terms in areas like e-commerce and digital platform regulation. And he argued the U.S. is much better prepared for another round of renegotiation than Canada.

The re-election of the economic nationalist U.S. president Donald Trump has alerted more policymakers to the need for changes in Canada’s own approach, Balsillie claimed. “We’re quite confident this will be extremely well received.”

The Canadian Shield Institute is not the only new think tank in town. Last April, the Washington, D.C.-based Information Technology & Innovation Foundation launched an Ottawa-based affiliate. The new Centre for Canadian Innovation and Competitiveness has weighed in on tech and economic issues, and draws board members from firms like Bell, Power Corporation and Kinova. 

An increasing number of Canadian tech leaders have also expressed public concern about the country’s economic prospects in recent months. Top executives of Shopify, a former CCI member, regularly post on social media about issues like the Liberals’ changes to capital gains taxation, the growth of public service jobs, and declining economic output relative to population growth.

Balsillie said there’s room for all that increased engagement. “If you’re a responsible person who cares about Canada, wonderful,” he said. “If it’s a new awakening, that’s fine too.” The institute provides a focal point for that interest, he added, and will back researchers with the resources to develop and promote new policy ideas.