Former Google CEO lauds role of universities in Canada's innovation ecosystem

Toronto's tech boom – driven in part by artificial intelligence research at the University of Toronto – has prompted talk of a "Silicon Valley North." But those actually ensconced in the Bay Area instead paint a picture of a research-driven innovation hub that's collaborative, inclusive and uniquely Canadian. At this year's three-day Elevate technology "festival" in Toronto, Eric Schmidt, a Google board member and former CEO, lauded the way Canada's post-secondary sector is being used to power the country's innovation engine and said Canada should be home to "one or two" of the globally important companies that spring from the coming AI revolution. "You have strong universities and the government is actually small enough, and sane enough, to help universities," Schmidt told a packed auditorium at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts minutes before former U.S. vice-president and climate change crusader Al Gore took the stage. He added that Canada also benefits from close ties between post-secondary institutions and industry players.