Discussing Canada’s next tech chapter with BrainStation and Canadian tech leadership

Earlier this month I was asked to join a panel of business leaders for a discussion on the future of the tech industry in Canada. Thanks to BrainStation’s Ian Bester, VP General Manager, for hosting the session, and to my prestigious co-panellists for the awesome insights shared:

• Elana Chan, Head of B2B Marketing at Google
• Stephen Megitt, Executive Strategy Director at EY
• Jon de la Mothe, Vice President, Ad Product and Operations for Rogers Communications
• Leanne Gibson, Head of Industry at Facebook & Instagram Canada

I’ve summarized some of the highlights from the conversation here, and for the full experience I recommend taking a lunch break to watch the event recording. 

Canadian tech is on an impressive upward trajectory

The Canadian tech industry is a major—and growing—economic driver. Toronto is the fourth best North American city for tech talent, with three other Canadian hubs (including Hootsuite’s home city of Vancouver) in the top 20.

Why? It’s a combination of highly qualified talent, friendly business conditions—and probably a dose of the Canadian kindness that Megitt championed: “We take care of each other and we take care of our own…Being nice will never mean that we finished last.”

Looking forward to a bold new chapter in Canada’s history, de la Mothe said, “We’re not playing catch up anymore.”

Growth is being powered by thousands of innovative SMBs

Small and medium sized businesses make up 97% of the Canadian economy and their digital transition is vital to the success of Canada’s next chapter. But before this year, only 40% of these businesses had an e-commerce presence. While this figure will have gone up due to COVID-19, there is still a long way to go to ensure the market is reaching its potential.

With store closures and consumer uncertainty around in-person retail, now is the ideal time to invest in an e-commerce strategy. Don’t forget about selling via social media, too. Hootsuite has plenty of helpful resources to get your business up-and-running with social commerce.

When it comes to your brand’s social strategy at large, Hootsuite has a range of small and medium sized plans that can scale up with the growth of your own growth. Take a look at our plan comparison chart to see what’s on offer.

We must all ‘step up’ to reach Canada’s next chapter

Everyone has a role to play if Canada is going to achieve tech powerhouse status. The panel discussed a number of different actions that individuals can take, as well as strategies that organizations can execute to reach that goal.

Chan and Megitt also highlighted the importance of government and educational institutions preparing people for the future of work. 

Chan said: “I don’t think we can leave people behind here. The digital divide is going to be real and problematic if we cannot have basic digital skills for a wider population.” 

Megitt discussed ways to close the gap: “It needs to start early on in life to expose them to STEM and to expose them to careers that they thought weren’t for them. We need to work with [academia and] the government more to create incentives and programs that will train and nurture tech talent, and give them a reason beyond just the job to stay [in Canada] and continue to work and develop the fabric of Canadians.” 

Three tips for individuals

1. Take digital skills training

Chan said, “Digital skills are going to be the rising tide that raises all ships.” So if you want to get ahead, start exploring the wide variety of training opportunities out there.

Our hosts at BrainStation offer courses that span data, product, design, and more. With full-time bootcamps and part-time courses, there are options to fit your schedule. And at Hootsuite, our courses and industry-recognized credentials teach the latest social media and digital marketing strategies so you can stand out from the crowd.

2. Lean into your existing experience

While digital skills will mean a lot in tomorrow’s economy, they don’t count for everything. Technology companies benefit from the experience and process-driven thinking that comes from working in more traditional industries—something I gleaned from a year spent advising start-ups after a career in large scale retail.

Chan summarized: “There are a lot of transversal skills… You have to make the jump, which is a little bit scary because it’s unknown. But a lot of these traditional companies hire very smart people. And that’s what we’re looking for.”

3. Pursue every learning opportunity

Megitt touched on something that I’m sure many of us know—jobs are evolving all the time and it’s a constant journey to stay up to date. That doesn’t always mean formal training, but it does mean being proactive. He said, “The folks that started first to begin that up-skilling, cross-skilling are the ones that raised their hands and wanted to learn.”

Gibson summed this up as: “If you’re that curious person who prioritizes leaning in and being on a learning journey your entire career, the opportunities are really endless.”

Three tips for organizations

1. Be prepared for disruption

Even companies that have reached dominant positions through disruption aren’t immune to what’s ahead. The acceleration of disruption with the acceleration of technologies is going to be the norm.

Megitt highlighted the global nature of this disruption, and why it’s imperative to keep innovating: “We as Canadians have to create the right short-term and long-term opportunities to help keep the talent here and keep introducing and innovating new technology, new products within those experiences.”

2. Get your export house in order

Canada is one of the only G7 countries that has trade agreements with all other G7 countries. This is a huge opportunity to export Canadian goods, but Chan told us that fewer than 10% of SMBs export—even though those that do grow two times faster.

While COVID-19 has shut borders for many of us, it has opened the door to consumer willingness to purchase overseas. Chan suggested using the Google Market Finder to identify the export markets that are right for your business, and Gibson noted Facebook’s nationwide campaign with RBC to support Canadian SMBs selling on the platform.

3. Define (and live up to) your values

Consumers are becoming more value-focused. They are thinking about who they want to do business with and it’s increasingly with brands that share their values.

Companies including Hootsuite are stepping up to put action behind words when it comes to mandates like diversity, inclusion, and representation. Chan explained why it’s vital to do this: “You can’t be representative of your users if your teams and values aren’t also reflecting those views.”

Putting a stake in the ground is crucial. But in a year when social media has become the driving force of engagement between brands and consumers, we’ve seen tremendous missteps made when companies don’t listen and instead try to dominate a conversation. Social listening is a skill all leaders need to utilize and continuously develop.

For more on how to adopt social listening, and how to use it to build a strategy around your brand values, take a look at the fourth and fifth trends in our Social Media Trends report.

Share your thoughts

Was that it? Not at all! This article could have doubled in length and still not covered everything we discussed. Luckily, the recorded event is available to watch. Take a look and let me know how you’re planning to play your part in Canada’s exciting next digital chapter.