'We'll need to change our mindset': Tech analyst reacts to Shopify's president calling for more ambition

The president of Shopify Inc. is calling for a cultural shift in Canada’s tech industry, warning that a lack of ambition is hindering the country’s potential.

Harley Finkelstein says Canadian companies have developed a reputation for being acquired by larger U.S. competitors rather than striving for global dominance, adding this mindset is holding back growth in the sector and wants more companies headquartered in Canada instead of treating the country like a 'branch plant.'

"Shopify has become something of the heir apparent to the notable Canadian tech success story, a crown once worn by Nortel and BlackBerry," says technology analyst Carmi Levy. "Harley Finkelstein has a point, as Canada has often been perceived as a secondary market to the U.S., where small, innovative companies eventually get bought up by larger, better capitalized American companies," 

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Levy adds that even Shopify is vulnerable to competition from U.S. giants like Amazon.

“Finkelstein was clearly going for the headline, he’s known for speaking his mind, but if we’re going to truly compete globally, we’ll need to change our mindset,” says Levy.  "Ottawa's role as a significant corridor of Canadian tech excellence means we should be listening more to the leaders currently driving that change, and challenging them to not only highlight the need to think and act different, but also share their plans for turning talk into action."

Finkelstein made his comments at the Elevate technology conference in Toronto, where he appeared alongside astronaut Chris Hadfield.

HealthSign, an Ottawa-based medical tech start-up, is gaining attention after winning first place at the Innovation World Cup in San Jose, Calif. for its advanced patient monitoring wristband. But despite its success, Tim Skelly, the vice president of business development, says Canadian tech companies can struggle to find resources domestically and must look to the U.S. and globally for investment opportunities.

"It's not a lack of ambition at all from Canadian companies," he said. "There is simply more potential investors in America. We have to be open to any opportunity that comes along in order to fund this product because it's for the benefit of the entire world."

While HealthSign aims to remain based in Canada, Skelly acknowledges that securing the right investment partner, no matter what their country of origin, has the potential to quickly accelerate product growth and placement.

"We've developed a wristband that takes multi parameter, vital signs for individuals, either remote, patient monitoring, at home, or within a clinical institution. It's not just a Canadian issue and one of the things that this device will do is cut down on the amount of time that a nurse or doctor takes to get vital signs from a patient," he said.

"There are very few companies that can go without any kind of external investment one way or the other so we are trying in every turn to increase the awareness of our company end of the product we have and it's benefit that it can bring to the healthcare system across the world." 

Shopify, founded in 2006, is an Ottawa-based, multinational e-commerce company which provides sales platforms and services like payments, marketing, shipping, and customer engagement tools. 

As of 2023, Shopify hosts 4.6 million stores in 175 countries, with annual revenue of $7.1 billion, making it the third largest publicly traded company in Canada.