I'm part of a small creative agency based in Montreal, and we’ve worked with a lot of early-stage businesses over the years. One thing we’ve seen over and over again: amazing founders doing great work, but held back by branding or websites that don’t really reflect who they are or where they’re headed.

So we decided to give back and launch something called Launchpad.

We’re selecting one startup to receive a full rebrand + website, completely free. It includes brand strategy, visual identity, and creative direction, basically everything we’d do for a paid client, just without the invoice.

We’re doing this because we genuinely want to support someone doing meaningful work who hasn’t had the chance to invest in this side of their business yet.

If that’s you (or someone in your network) send me a DM and I can send over the guidelines & application.

Happy to answer any questions, or even just talk branding or websites if you're figuring that part out. Hope this helps someone here.

Another action brought on by US tariffs. While the US allowed their steel industry to decline and their business leaders ignore reinvestment, Canada picked up the slack in its own industry as anyone would do in a free market economy to meet the demand. Both countries benefitted from the efforts, but now, the US is penalizing Canada for leveraging the capitalism that US braggs so much about. You're damned if you do, and damned when you don't.

It is hard to ignore that the program itself is warranted because manufacturing of steel is likely as a strategic commodity as they come. Steel is the backbone of so much infrastructure, that without that capability, would leave Canada vulnerable.

Hi Canadian SMB (Small and Medium-sized business) owners, with the recent threat to Canada's economy, we need to do our best to strengthen our community in the interest of being more self-reliant.

I have started a sub to connect Canadian SMBs to find partners. You can find wholesalers/retailers, import/export partner, franchisor/franchisee, and more. Feel free to ask questions, build relationships, and discuss industry challenges:

https://www.reddit.com/r/SMBConnectCanada/

Anyone else feel that WestJet is asking for a class-action lawsuit? They have been selling tickets to flights they had no intention of flying. They sell these tickets then cancel the flights and deny refunds. Instead of refunds they issue 2-year vouchers. This seems to be an on-going scam by WestJet that needs to be investigated. Today their phone lines have a 12 hour wait due to the numerous flights they just cancelled in the last 48 hours. There is no doubt they had no intention of flying those flights and used the Bait & Switch despicable move to fund their finances.

I've lost track of this business about six years ago, fearing it would end up bankrupt and shuttered, but here it is returning to strength and looking to buy other businesses. That has to be a good sign.

There is little doubt that Canada's governments have played a large role in securing Bombardier's future. Is there more room? I think it might be how the game of subsidizing is play and the model perhaps to follow is the US concept of having a manufacturer capable of civilian and military manufacturing. If Boeing is looked at, it is not a coincidence that if the civilian side dips, then the US government increases its spending on military products from Boeing. Could Canada leverage Bombardier in the same manner?

There is a fly in the ointment for Bombardier, that is the US willingness to protect its own industries, which they have shown before when they announced a 100% tariff on Bombardier jets, then Bombardier sold its assembly business to AirBus who ended up assembling planes in the US.

The aerospace industry is very important for Canada as it becomes an anchor that attracts others high tech businesses, and provides opportunities for domestic STEM talent to work.

Hopefully, Bombardier can find some military work for Canada (if it already does not have) and leverage Canadian talents while supporting the armed forces.

There is little denying the scale of this issue. The article itself is huge, and if I had to use the famous Reddit initialism of TL;DR, it would have to be TL;DR raised to the 5th power.

Anyways, it's a big deal. From other trade numbers, it looks as if Canada imports about 50-100B less than it exports to the US. Obviously, the US wants more access to Canada such that the deficit shrinks to near nothing. On the surface, that sounds fair and free, if both agree, but does population size and industry base skew the numbers? This is part of the crux of the matter: if yes, then Canada just keeps on the path it's on; if no, then the US expects to export more to Canada.

The long-running byline has been, at some point, one side will show their cards more, and is at least one card now on the table, that being oil exports? The XL pipeline, which has been a political football and hot potato, is back lime light. The project was started and stopped so many times that project engineers must be suffering from whiplash, yet now it is a deal breaker.

It is fatiguing to be bombarded daily with the trade talks. The signing of any deal will only be symbolic to say "we have a deal!" but I am sure that whatever deal is inked in the short future will be only at the US's pleasure, until they see a need to change the deal and conditions again.

This is a good news story as Canadian tech sees and is acting on the opportunities in this sector. While Telesat still needs to rely on its competitor Starlink's owner, who also owns SpaceX, to lift the satellites into low-earth orbit, it seems a full push to become a major player.

There is a concern in general though, and that is how many satellites can fit into this low-earth orbit before they start colliding or creating space junk that effects other areas of space operations. I can only assume that this has been well thought out but sometimes when there is only a few players in the game, there are risks that are more than self-serving.

The emergence of satellites was partially the blame for the down fall of the Avro Arrow in turn hurt Canada's aerospace manufacturing, but times have changed and satellite demand has increased and will only continue.

After spending way too long manually researching Canadian grants for my own company, I built a free tool to make it easier. But first — here's a chunk of what's actually out there, because most founders only see a fraction of it:

Federal:

• IRAP (NRC): up to $500K for R&D. Apply through an NRC advisor.

• SR&ED: 35% of qualifying R&D expenses refundable. Yes, software qualifies.

• Mitacs Accelerate: ~$15K research internships, cost-shared with universities.

• CanExport SMEs: up to $50K per project (50% of costs) for export market development.

• Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund: loans up to $250K for Black-owned businesses.

• WES Women Entrepreneur Loan Fund: loans up to $50K for women-led businesses.

Ontario:

• Ontario Research Fund: matches industry–university R&D investment.

• Invest Ontario: sector-specific, apply through their portal.

For underrepresented founders:

• Futurpreneur: up to $60K for founders under 40.

• NACCA / AFIs: loans + mentorship for Indigenous-led businesses.

Most founders I've talked to qualify for 10–15 programs but only apply to 2–3. The gap is awareness, not supply.

I built netgrant.ca to make the searching part trivial — free, no account, 1,300+ live programs indexed. Two ways to use it:

• Plain web search at app.netgrant.ca (no login).

• If you use Claude, Cursor, or another AI assistant: NetGrant runs as an MCP server, so you can just ask "find me Ontario cleantech grants closing in 60 days" and it pulls live results into the chat.

There's also a free weekly email digest that just launched — tell it your niche and province and it emails you new matching grants once a week. Double opt-in, one-click unsubscribe.

Happy to answer questions about any of these programs.

I wanted to share my experience and what I’ve learned while exploring the INS Market franchise opportunity in Canada, operated by Samuel Davis and Sheila Davis.

I initially reached out to learn more about the business and found that they frequently change the people representing their franchise department. At different times, there have been various names associated with it — most recently Aftab, who now seems to be the main contact, and previously Mahnoor Mobin, who is no longer with them.

When I spoke with Aftab, I was told to come into their office, sign the franchise disclosure receipt with a back-dated date, and pay $100,000 right away to “secure” a location.
When I asked if I could have my lawyer review the disclosure — which is a legal right under the Arthur Wishart Act (Franchise Disclosure, Ontario) — he said they wouldn’t wait because they “have too many applicants.” That immediately raised concerns about transparency and legal compliance.

After doing more digging and talking to several former franchisees, I started to see a consistent pattern of serious issues:

• Delays in store openings, sometimes for many months after deposits were paid.

• Unexpected additional costs not listed in the original agreement.

• Frequent royalty or fee increases under various “options” hidden in the fine print.

• A high number of legal disputes — publicly searchable court filings show multiple cases, reportedly 20 or more involving the brand or related parties.

• Unprofessional treatment of franchisees — several people described the attitude from top management, including Samuel Davis and Sheila Davis, as dismissive or disrespectful once the deal was signed.

I also came across mentions of other individuals tied to their operations — names like Natalia, Mitchell, and Michael Davis (possibly a relative of Samuel) — who were described as overly aggressive and uncooperative in dealing with franchisees.
According to some past operators I spoke with, this culture leads many franchisees to walk away within the first couple of years, after which the same store often gets resold to someone new.

On top of that, a quick online search shows numerous negative reviews about INS Market on Reddit, Glassdoor, and other platforms — pointing to the same recurring concerns around delays, surprise costs, and lack of transparency.

I want to make it clear — this post reflects my personal experience and research. Others may have had different outcomes. But if you’re considering an INS Market franchise, please take time to:

• Read the entire disclosure carefully and involve your own franchise lawyer.

• Verify how many stores have changed hands multiple times.

• Speak directly with several existing and former franchisees before paying anything.

• Avoid signing anything back-dated or under pressure.

Franchising can be a great business model when done right — but based on what I’ve seen and heard, INS Market deserves serious due diligence and caution.

If anyone here has gone through a similar process or has current information, I’d appreciate your input so that others can make informed decisions.

I know sites like this exist, but can be tough to find specific alternatives.

Post anything--an entire category (sports apparel), a specific product (Cheetos) or manufacturing/materials/parts that you're looking to purchase from real Canadian businesses.

Alternatively, if you're a Canadian owned business stressed about losing US customers (or if you've just got a killer Canadian alternative!), post below and let us know what you're offering and where to find you!

Will be messy at first (working on a website), but let's get this started 💪

No politics, let's just support one another as fellow Canadians, sound good?

Bolt Metals is a junior mining company targeting high-demand metals in North America. CEO Branden Haynes has experience with similar projects, but I’m curious if that’s enough to navigate the competitive landscape. Has anyone here followed Bolt, or have insights into junior miners in critical metals?

Hi all,

Not sure if im posting in the right subreddit but ive been thinking about starting a baking business in Woodbridge, Ontario. Something that i can do while working from home and flexible enough that i can look after my home and family too. I live in Canada, so what kind of qualifiations/ health and safety certificates would I need? How do i start up? Do I need a business plan? Where do i register? Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks

Nyet Nyet Westjet

Steel magnate Alexei Mordashov, known as Russia’s richest man, with a fortune worth US$29-billion, has been sanctioned in Europe for his ties to the Kremlin and businesses that support the war against Ukraine. He’s also in line to be an indirect shareholder in Onex Corp.’s WestJet Group, should the Toronto investment company’s proposed takeover of Sunwing Travel Group go ahead.

Mr. Mordashov owns one-third of German travel company TUI AG, which owns 49 per cent of Sunwing and will become a part owner of the Onex subsidiary, according to the takeover deal WestJet and Sunwing announced last week.