Valhalla Private Capital’s Post

🤠 On July 11 from 4 - 8 PM, round up your closest hashtag #yycTech friends for the Tech Stampede Social! With refreshing libations from Cold Garden Beverage Company, tasty food for purchase, and good vibes courtesy of DJ ChargedUp — we've got everything you need to get ready to ride off to the Midway. 💫 🎟: https://loom.ly/5_PzarY We're excited to be co-hosting the Tech Stampede Social with University of Calgary Faculty of Science, Calgary Economic Development, Plug and Play Tech Center Alberta, Helcim, Showpass, Neo Financial, Garmin, Valhalla Private Capital, Goodlawyer, Startup TNT, Tech Thursday & Cold Garden Beverage Company. hashtag #yyctechstampede

Here we go!!! Come join us and our good friends at BioAlberta for the Edmonton social.. look forward to seeing our members, portfolio companies and new friends! Please RSVP at the link below or DM us

After a tumultuous year - largely credited to forest fires, iron ore mining in Newfoundland and Labrador and activity in natural gas and crude oil extraction in Alberta - Canada's economy remains up in the air. As we look back at 2023, read more about the ups and downs of the Great White North's forever ebbing and flowing economy. Read more via our blog: https://lnkd.in/gD-yizFP #startuptips #startupjourney #investing #investingwisdom #investingadvice #investingstrategy #investingtips #angelinvesting #angelinvestors #angelinvestor #angelinvestment

#Artificialintelligence has the potential to give the #Canadianeconomy a $210 billion boost, the equivalent of 8% of Gross Value Added (GVA), according to a Google report. The report - which comprised a third-party poll and a sample of #Canadianbusinesses - found that #generativeAI could save the average Canadian worker 100 hours a year. Sam Sebastian, vice president and Canada country manager of Google Cloud+, said of the report: “Canada is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this opportunity, but we have to go after it. “We have to be bold, we have to be responsible, but I think it’s a huge opportunity for this country.” Speaking during an #AI press roundtable event Tuesday, Sam suggested Toronto has the largest concentration of #AIstartups in the world, while Montreal has the largest concentration of #AIresearchers in the world. Read more via our blog: https://lnkd.in/gBkjCSp4 #startuptips #startupjourney #investing #investingwisdom #investingadvice #investingstrategy #investingtips #angelinvesting #angelinvestors #angelinvestor #angelinvestment

Canada’s #unemploymentrate has trended higher once again this month, according to the latest iteration of Statistics Canada | Statistique Canada’s November labor force survey. The survey reported that Canada’s #jobless rate rose to 5.8 per cent in November - up from 5.7 per cent in October - which is being credited to the Bank of Canada's steep #interestrate hikes and their detrimental effect on the #economy. While #employment increased in manufacturing (+28,000; +1.6%) and construction (+16,000, +1.0%), declines occurred across retail (-27,000; -0.9%), finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (-18,000; -1.3%). However, Canada’s economy added a modest 25,000 #jobs last month, falling short of the pace of population growth. Due to this, economists maintain the Bank of Canada will continue to hold its key interest rate steady. Unsurprisingly, the people of LinkedIn have some choice thoughts about Canada’s “labour-constrained economy”. David-Alexandre Brassard, chief economist at Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada), said: “The interest rates are starting to bite like we expected them to, resulting in a stunted economy. The #labourmarket holding strong illustrates that we are in a labour-constrained economy.” “#Wage pressures by themselves should not be enough to maintain inflation in unsustainable territory. On the contrary, higher interest rates seem to be sufficiently constraining and we can expect the Bank of Canada to hold their ground with no changes to the rate in next week’s announcement,” he continued. On the plus side, #hourly wages rose 4.8% (+$1.57 to $34.28) on a year-over-year basis due to staff asking for more money to combat inflation. On the topic, Charles St-Arnaud, chief economist at Credit Union Central Alberta, remarked: “The Bank of Canada will take comfort in seeing slower momentum in wage gains, but wages continue to grow at levels that are disconnected from productivity gains. “The rise in the unemployment rate suggests that some slack is gradually building up in the labor market, which should help ease some of the upside pressures on wages.” Read more via our blog: https://lnkd.in/gX7Kacqn #startuptips #startupjourney #investing #investingwisdom #investingadvice #investingstrategy #investingtips #angelinvesting #angelinvestors #angelinvestor #angelinvestment

Downtown offices are the most vacant they’ve been in a decade… and Calgary is the emptiest of them all. According to commercial real estate firm CBRE, the national downtown office vacancy rate currently stands at around 18.9 per cent, with areas including Edmonton and the Waterloo Region in Ontario experiencing some of the highest vacancy rates. Calgary’s vacancy rate has been slowly rising since the 2014 oil price crash (source: CBC), but has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic which began affecting CowTown in March 2020. As a result, a number of downtown office buildings are being converted into homes, hotels and university spaces, with the latest developments - conversion of buildings into two residential projects and one hotel - announced last week. Pierre Bertrand, principal of Bertrand Management Consulting, expressed via LinkedIn that he hopes these new residences “get rid of the ‘ghost town’ syndrome that besets downtown cores at night and weekends when all the office workers go home”. However, not everyone is as optimistic about the new developments. “So goes your downtown, so goes your city. This is troubling for cities across Canada.” wrote Jason Aebig, CEO of the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce. Likewise change management practitioner Jag Badhan warned that the new housing was “not a good thing for our economy”. “This is impacting employment and survival of small companies including mom and pop stores,” he continued. Read more via our blog: https://lnkd.in/gUy27yJS #startuptips #startupjourney #investing #investingwisdom #investingadvice #investingstrategy #investingtips #angelinvesting #angelinvestors #angelinvestor #angelinvestment

Tech layoffs across the US are motivating techies to move to the Great White North, with more than 6,000 H-1B skilled worker visa holders arriving in Canada as of October this year, according to CNBC. This comes after the Canadian government launched a pilot program on 16 July which allowed 10,000 American H-1B visa holders to apply for a three-year open work permit in Canada. The program reached capacity the following day. According to the American H-1B program, any skilled workers using this visa have 60 days to find a new employer or transfer visa status if they lose their job. Otherwise, they face being deported from Canada. Canada’s tech sector has quickly gained momentum in recent years, growing 15.7% since 2020 compared to just 11.4% in America. On the topic, Evan Sohn, chief executive officer at Aura by Bain & Company, celebrated Canada's strategic response to America’s tech layoffs, which have seen companies including Amazon and Microsoft getting rid of techies in their masses. “The Canadian government's approach underscores its position as a top destination for international talent, reflecting its competitive edge on the global stage,” Evan said via LinkedIn. “This shift raises important questions about the U.S.'s ability to retain top global talent and the future dynamics of the North American tech industry.” Read more via our blog: https://lnkd.in/gG7wVBbj #startuptips #startupjourney #investing #investingwisdom #investingadvice #investingstrategy #investingtips #angelinvesting #angelinvestors #angelinvestor #angelinvestment