- By Roger Strukhoff (Originally published June 2007)

The increasingly ubiquitous Blackberry represents a recent triumph of Canadian entrepreneurialism and technological thinking on the global stage. A contrasting effort has been created by the Ottawa-based Eclipse Foundation, a world leader in developing a platform based along open-source thinking.

The great country to the north of its domineering "American" neighbor continues to be a world beacon of democracy, and an attractive immigration destination for those seeking a better life. Its dollar has gained significant strength against the greenback over the past year, and it remains a creative cauldron in the entertainment world.

Yet Canada also remains one of the great mysteries among global technology players. U.S. publishers and events producers are repeatedly flummoxed by a country that can seem hostile to outsiders coming in and trying to replicate what they've achieved below the border. Representing an economy of significant size, a card-carrying member of the global G8 club, Canada is nevertheless a place that generates a modest 8% to 10% of U.S. revenues in many markets--too big to ignore yet too small to be aggressively pursued by many outsiders.

Canada's federal structure resembles that of a highly liberal Western Europe more than that of the U.S., yet its highly autonomous, often-feuding provinces often take federalism to a level only dreamed of by conservatives in the U.S. Any outside company entering the Canadian market must be highly aware of regional differences, not only between the French-speaking Quebecois and the rest of the country, but between and among the provinces of the East, the Heartland, and the West.

Technology in Canada is often said to exist in three places--Toronto, Vancouver, and to a lesser extent, the capital city of Ottawa. Quebec is often seen as a different world altogether. Yet there are very creative companies found in places such as Saskatoon, Kelowna, and Winnipeg. The country is far more diverse than generally given credit for, yet humble (or perhaps insular) to a degree that often keeps its achievements from being highly publicized, at least in the inward-looking U.S.

Government agencies at the federal and provincial levels urge individuals and companies to invest in Canada, and point to its well-developed general and university education system, its tax incentives, and its reasonable cost of doing business as foundations upon which companies can be successful, on a national and international basis, in Canada.

This website will continue to strive to be aware of the key drivers of the technology scene in Canada, its differences from the U.S. and the rest of the world, and the unique successes that this very large, often-quiet country is generating.