Plus: Wealthsimple’s new first, Dominion Dynamics’ new wingman.
Seventy-eight cents isn’t a lot in this economy. But that’s how much women tech workers make on the dollar compared to their male counterparts, according to newly released data from executive recruiter Artemis Canada.
That’s a median base salary of $152,000 for women, compared to $194,500 for men. Men are more likely to earn bonuses, and their median bonus is $15,000 higher than that of women. When it comes to employee ownership, women also miss out: only 46 percent of women employees hold equity in their companies, compared to 54 percent of men.
The data points to a continued trend tracked by Toronto Metropolitan University’s The Dais in 2024, which found that the gender pay gap in Canadian tech tripled from 2016 to 2021.
The Artemis survey examines high-paying leadership positions in Canadian tech, which is only a fraction of Canada’s labour landscape. But more data shows women face new threats to their job prospects across sectors.
A new Anthropic research report tracking the labour market impact of AI indicates that workers in the most exposed professions to job displacement are more likely to be older, female, better educated, and higher paid. Among the most exposed roles are computer programmers, customer service representatives, and financial analysts. It’s a bitter irony that the technological innovation disrupting their job prospects is the same one women are expected to adopt to further their careers.
It may be tempting to say AI will hinder any progression towards parity for women in the workplace. But let’s not forget the gap was already widening before AI came into the picture.
Madison McLauchlan
Reporter, Montréal
NGen’s N3 Summit is where Canada’s advanced industries converge
Join Canada’s innovation leaders on March 31 and April 1 at the Metro Toronto Convention for a policy forum and trade show like none other. Hear from government and private sector leaders shaping industrial policy, meet the companies driving Canada’s advanced industries, and connect with business delegations and corporate investors from around the world.
The N3 Summit is a platform for growth, spotlighting breakthrough Canadian innovations in AI, robotics, automation, quantum, homebuilding, dual-use defence technologies, and more. Your pass includes access to speaking sessions, exhibit hall, networking cocktails, pitch sessions and industry-led workshops.
Tickets are going fast, so secure your spot at N³ today!
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OpenAI sets new safety standards following Solomon meeting and pressure over Tumbler Ridge response
Canadian AI minister Evan Solomon and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman met to discuss the company’s next steps after last month’s mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, BC.
The meeting was set after OpenAI revealed it chose not to tell police that it had banned a user who allegedly went on to commit the violent act. Solomon said Altman agreed to a series of safety standards and systems changes in the meeting.
Syantra’s breast cancer blood test isn’t looking for cancer at all
Unlike a traditional cancer-catching blood test, Syantra’s test looks for patterns of gene expression in the blood that indicate the body’s immune response to cancer. By measuring those signals, the test can triangulate cancer’s presence long before a standard test.
Wealthsimple becomes first Canadian FinTech to join SWIFT network
The Toronto-based FinTech says its SWIFT membership will make sending and receiving international money transfers more seamless and efficient for its clients.
Manitoba looks to spur more investment with tax credit ceiling raise
Manitoba will now be able to dole out more tax credits to more investors each year after raising the annual cap on a program that allows investors in Manitoba-based small businesses to receive tax credits equal to a percentage of their investment.
Alberta’s technology minister continues data centre courtship at Digital Innovation Forum
Whether it’s access to reliable electricity at scale or speed to market, Alberta’s tech minister, Nate Glubish, asserted in a keynote address this week that the province has everything AI giants like Anthropic and Microsoft need to build data centres in the province.
Canada’s small businesses felt the “true cost of a fractured global economy” in late 2025
Canada’s small businesses saw the largest quarterly decline in sales growth since 2020 in the final quarter of 2025, according to the latest Xero Small Business Insights report, which attributes the decline to “heightened uncertainty” and “heavily disrupted supply chains” amid frequent shifts in US trade policy.
Montréal AI conference ALL IN to expand with events in Vancouver, Toronto
Montréal-based AI conference ALL IN is expanding to the rest of Canada with two satellite events as it gears up for its fourth annual edition: one in Vancouver on April 15 and another in Toronto on May 28.
Op-ed: The quiet militarization of Canadian AI
In an op-ed for BetaKit, two Québec research chairs in Francophone digital tech and AI, Mélina Poulin and Nicolas Chartier-Edwards, argue that the convergence of AI and defence is all the more startling within an ecosystem that has long prided itself on its ethics.
FEATURED STORIES FROM OUR PARTNERS
How Gaiia used its R&D to help finance a pivot from services to software
After selling ISP Oxio for $100 million, the Québec City team behind it made an unusual move: shrinking the business to rebuild around its internal software platform. Gaiia used Canada’s SR&ED program and Québec’s CDAE tax credit, supported by Boast, to extend their runway, finance engineering growth, and help turn its experimental R&D into capital as the company prepares for a Series B.
Parabellyx is preparing businesses for digital warfare
Richmond Hill cybersecurity startup Parabellyx believes the era of point-in-time penetration testing is ending. Its platform, Luma, replaces static annual reports with continuous vulnerability discovery and validation. The company is using Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst’s Cyber Challenge to sharpen its go-to-market strategy and compete with global security vendors while scaling its platform.
🇨🇦 Weekly Canadian Deals, Dollars & More
- RCH – UniUni secures $85M USD in equity and credit facility
- VAN – Damon Motors’ leadership resigns following public market struggles
- VAN/CGY – Svante buys Alberta’s Carbon Alpha Corp.
- MH- Landing Zones receives repayable $1.1M from PrairiesCan
- TOR – Spellbook nabs $40M USD in debt to acquire competitors
- TOR – NationGraph raises $18M USD for AI intel platform
- OTT – Dominion Dynamics will invest $50M in “autonomous wingman”
- MTL – Ssense cut more than 200 jobs after founder buyback
- AC – Feds dole out $8.5M to 40 Atlantic Canadian AI projects
- STJ – Kraken Robotics acquires Covelya Group for $615M
The BetaKit Podcast — How to fix Canada’s Start-up Visa
“Speed is of the essence. This is a super dynamic marketplace. Canada is losing entrepreneurs, we’re losing the next generation of founders, and we need to do things, quick.”
More than a decade ago, Canada launched the Start-up Visa program to attract entrepreneurial talent from around the world. After years of complaints of delays, fraud, and abuse, the program was suspended while featuring a whopping 10-35 year wait time. Boris Wertz (Version One Ventures) and Lucy Hargreaves (Build Canada) join to discuss what went wrong and what a functional entrepreneurial immigration program might look like.
Markham leads within Canada’s most concentrated ecosystem of technology, research, talent, capital, and innovation.
Global leaders including AMD, IBM, Qualcomm, Honda, Huawei Technologies, Genova, and GM thrive alongside local pioneers advancing AI, robotics, 3D vision, and renewable technologies. Whether you’re launching, scaling, or expanding, Markham Economic Development connects businesses to the partners, programs, and opportunities that matter.
Connect with our team to discover how Markham can support your next stage of growth.
Feature image courtesy CoWomen via Unsplash.
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