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Be Giant

@be-giant.bsky.social
240 followers 49 following 177 posts

Reporting on the thinkers, builders and problem-solvers shaping Canada's future. Non-profit. Non-partisan. Sign up for our weekly newsletter: begiant.ca/newsletter

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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 12h
Every time someone runs a tap, dishwasher or flushes we're sending heat down the drain, so why not use it? In Vancouver, the Sen̓áḵw development project is tapping into a sewer line to provide carbon-free heating and cooling @novakovicto.bsky.social www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 18h
This pigment-shifting window responds to light – and could help slash energy costs. Inspired by squids, @utoronto.ca researchers designed a window that lets winter light and heat in – but blocks out heat in the summer @kelseyarolfe.bsky.social www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Recycling Alternative’s trucks promise to collect flexible plastics in Vancouver. Getting them on the road has been a bumpy ride. @ainsliecruickshank.bsky.social www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
begiant.ca
The ‘Lego’ truck that’s trying to fix Vancouver’s recycling problem
Recycling Alternative’s trucks promise to collect flexible plastics in Vancouver. Getting them on the road has been a bumpy ride
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Reposted by Be Giant
Danielle Bochove @daniellebochove.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
After years of interviews about Canada’s productivity woes it was a pleasure to discover a few positive surprises.
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Since 2001, U.S. productivity grew more than 3x faster than Canada's – but the numbers hide nuance. Canada spreads economic gains more evenly than the neighbours down south, and manufacturers are outperforming. @daniellebochove.bsky.social reports. www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
begiant.ca
The surprising truth about Canadian productivity
It’s not the disaster we've been told it is, and Canada’s better than the U.S. at spreading the wealth from economic gains
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
In space, health care and even recycling, the mood is ‘go bigger and move faster,’ according to insiders Nrth Festival (formerly known as Elevate): www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
begiant.ca
Five bold swings to advance the Canadian economy
In space, health care and even recycling, the mood is ‘go bigger and move faster,’ according to insiders at Nrth Festival
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
What does it take to win the XPRIZE Wildfire? This summer, @omarmouallem.bsky.social went to the finals in Alaska to find out. “But nothing about the week went as planned, including my story,” he writes. www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
begiant.ca
How to win an XPRIZE
Anduril Industries received $2.2 million for its wildfire tech, but no one won the grand prize – and that might be the point
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
”It was all anybody was talking about,” professor Matt Dinan says of his “pedagogical breakthrough” – getting his class at St. Thomas University obsessed with Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. Katrina Onstad www.begiant.ca/stories/peop...
begiant.ca
The unexpected way to get students to pay attention
A Canadian professor thinks the secret to protecting young people from the algorithm is teaching them how to ask bigger questions
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Farmer Lorne Scott's land is thick with trees, shrubs and grasses: growing wild. Alongside his cultivated wheat and oats, a quarter of his land blooms with aspen, snowberry, starflower, Solomon’s seal and northern bedstraw. @jokinen.bsky.social www.begiant.ca/stories/plac...
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
"We don’t want AI to be intimidating," says Digital Moment CEO Indra Kubicek. The Montreal organization has so far trained 8000 teachers on how to incorporate AI into curriculums in primary and secondary schools. www.begiant.ca/stories/peop...
begiant.ca
The case for urgently training 400,000 Canadian teachers on AI
Children are using AI before they even know what it is, one digital executive says. And teachers are struggling to keep up
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Would you live in a highrise built out of wood? These days it feels like buildings are mainly built with emissions-intensive concrete. But there's a climate-friendly alternative that Canada is poised to lead: mass timber. novakovicto.bsky.social www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
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Kat Tancock @kattancock.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Got to dip into a little rocket science (and a lot of acronyms) for this new story for @be-giant.bsky.social. www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
begiant.ca
The Canadian tech hitching a ride on NASA’s lunar mission
How a lunar lawn dart and its ‘CubeSat‘ companion will help expand our understanding of the moon’s geology
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
How do you study the moon? Hit it with a lawn dart and watch the dust. Canada's MAPPER CubeSat will photograph the dust cloud kicked up when MAPLE, a space-age lawn dart, hits the moon. It's set to launch in 2028. www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
begiant.ca
The Canadian tech hitching a ride on NASA’s lunar mission
How a lunar lawn dart and its ‘CubeSat‘ companion will help expand our understanding of the moon’s geology
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
There may be years of work ahead before quantum delivers on its promises, but that hasn’t stopped Xanadu's Christian Weedbrook from thinking big. He has loudly and repeatedly stated his ambition to build the world’s first quantum computing data centre by 2030 www.begiant.ca/stories/peop...
begiant.ca
Why Xanadu’s CEO wants to build a quantum computing data centre in Toronto
Christian Weedbrook on the high-stakes race to create the world’s first scalable quantum computer on home soil
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Sarah McLean didn’t find out until a few days before the Canada Investment Summit that the project she’s been working on for five years – Spaceport Nova Scotia – had made the cut. “I was lucky to get the last hotel room in Toronto.” @stephenmaher.bsky.social www.begiant.ca/stories/peop...
begiant.ca
The anatomy of a Canadian space company’s pitch to global financial heavyweights
‘The vibe was really exciting.’ How Maritime Launch Services promoted itself to investors at the Canada Investment Summit
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
From the big themes (safety and trust) to the unexpected (AI drones that clean skyscraper windows), here’s what tech leaders at All In had to say about why AI adoption in Canada lags – and how soon the robots are coming @patchenbarss.bsky.social www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
begiant.ca
Couldn’t get to Canada’s biggest AI conference? We got you
Here’s the six things we learned at All In about how to navigate an AI-fuelled future
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Happy National Pawpaw Day! Pawpaws taste far more tropical than you’d expect from a North American fruit, and used to grow in abundance in southwestern Ontario. An Indigenous-led movement is pushing to bring them back. Our deep dive into this fascinating fruit tree: www.begiant.ca/stories/plac...
begiant.ca
The quest to bring the ancient pawpaw fruit back to Ontario
An Indigenous-led movement is restoring the tropical-tasting, climate-resilient fruit tree
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Canadian AI sovereignty depends on both the rapid deployment of infrastructure and on using the country’s leadership in safe AI models to allay fears surrounding the technology. That was the message from several industry leaders at All In, writes @patriquin.bsky.social www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
begiant.ca
How leaders of Canadian-made AI are working to dampen fears – and maximize opportunity
All In, Canada's largest AI conference, sparked conversations about concerns around the tech and a safer path forward
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Elissa Strome of CIFAR spoke to @patchenbarss.bsky.social Barss ahead of the All In conference on what the future of an AI-driven Canada looks like: www.begiant.ca/stories/peop... www.begiant.ca/stories/peop...
begiant.ca
An AI expert on Canada’s tech independence and how to prepare for an unknown job market
Ahead of Canada’s biggest annual AI conference, Elissa Strome tells us how machine learning is changing the way we do business
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
In the words of one attendee, it was the start of an era of “Canada unleashed.” From a mega tax break to steps to privatizing airports to making new friends in Europe, 8 of the ideas that won the day at the Canada Investment Summit. @stephenmaher.bsky.social www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
begiant.ca
Eight ways Canada can turbocharge growth
At the Canada Investment Summit, investors and policymakers plotted a path forward that includes airports, mines and the military
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
“Our biggest challenge right now is that the program is so popular.” Canadian bike-sharing companies are coming up with inventive, experimental and unconventional solutions to the consistently crunchy problems that plague bike-share providers across the continent. www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
begiant.ca
Canada’s bike-share ridership is surging. But more popularity means more problems
Bike-share companies are deploying inventive solutions to tackle everything from no bikes to overflowing docks
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Big names with deep wallets are hitting Toronto today. It’s all part of a plan to pull in a trillion dollars of new investment in Canada. Lisa Hrabluk has your guide to the Canada Investment Summit: www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
begiant.ca
The A-listers, big deals and sales strategies to watch at the starry, spendy Canada Investment Summit
Big names with deep wallets are hitting Toronto, all part of a plan to pull in a trillion dollars of new investment
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The work of Dr. Shaf Keshavjee and his team at Toronto’s @uhn.ca sounds like science fiction: growing lungs from stem cells; repairing lungs using gene therapy; turning type-A blood lungs into type-O lungs. Its implications could be huge www.begiant.ca/stories/peop...
begiant.ca
Dr. Shaf Keshavjee’s dream: first, fix lung transplants. Then get rid of the need for them entirely
The pioneering Toronto surgeon‘s team is edging ever closer to being able to repair a patient’s own lungs inside their body
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
“I get an inbound [email] every day asking, ‘Can you get me into this meeting or that,’ and I’m just a small fry,” Frank McKenna says of the inaugural Canada Investment Summit. www.begiant.ca/stories/peop...
begiant.ca
Frank McKenna on the hoopla and FOMO around the first Canada Investment Summit
‘I’ve never seen anything like this‘
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Fields Medal winner Jacob Tsimerman has co-founded a new AI safety institute. He’s treating the work as a race against time and the pace of AI’s increasing capabilities. www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
begiant.ca
Canada’s star mathematician races to help establish safe superintelligence
Jacob Tsimerman's new institute will sidestep academic peer review to publish new ideas and insights as quickly as possible
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
The Canada Investment Summit – a two-day pitch fest at Toronto's luxurious Four Seasons Hotel – is a crucial step in Mark Carney’s plan to unlock a trillion dollars of new investment in Canada. Here’s how it came together. @stephenmaher.bsky.social: www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
begiant.ca
Inside the making of Canada’s biggest investment summit
The pivotal two-day pitch fest was assembled across continents and industries – and is likely to return next year
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Electrifying a fleet of school buses is a costly endeavour. But a pilot project out of B.C. could provide a way for companies to offset the cost and help power the electric grid for the rest of the community. 🚌 www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Saskatchewan farmer Lorne Scott is committing a quietly radical act: letting more than a quarter of his farm grow wild, “for nature.” More from @jokinen.bsky.social: www.begiant.ca/stories/plac...
begiant.ca
Why this Saskatchewan farmer is letting his land grow wild
Lorne Scott grows wheat and oats, but sees just as much value in grassland preservation
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Wind and solar provide most of Summerside’s energy needs. Here’s how it plans to get the rest of the way there www.begiant.ca/stories/plac...
begiant.ca
This P.E.I. city is closing in on 100% renewable power
Wind and solar provide most of Summerside’s energy needs. Here’s how it plans to get the rest of the way there
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
“There’s both a push and a pull,” to come to Western University and to move to Canada from the University of Michigan, international expert in civil and environmental engineering Seth Guikema says. www.begiant.ca/stories/peop...
begiant.ca
Why this renowned American researcher is leaving the U.S. to work in Canada instead
Seth Guikema is one of 64 research chairs going to Canada as part of a $1.7-billion federal effort to attract international talent
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
After a lumpectomy – breast-conserving surgery to remove a cancerous tumour – surgeons often tell patients they think they got it all. But 1 in 5 surgeries doesn’t go that way. Toronto-based company Perimeter Medical is working on a possible solution. www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
begiant.ca
For breast cancer patients, the agonizing wait for a post-surgery ‘all clear’ could soon be over
A Toronto company is helping surgeons analyze their work before the patient even wakes up
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Locked away in repositories scattered across Canada are millions of metres of drill core that have quietly been gathering dust. Much of it has never been digitized or catalogued in a single place. www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
begiant.ca
A new rock library could hold the key to Canada’s next critical mineral discovery
Some of the world’s biggest mining companies are coming together to unleash a solution for an issue at the centre of the trade war
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
An international expert in civil and environmental engineering, Seth Guikema is one of 64 research chairs coming to Canada as part of a $1.7-billion federal effort to attract international talent. We caught up with Guikema as he prepared to move to @westernu.ca www.begiant.ca/stories/peop...
begiant.ca
Why this renowned American researcher is leaving the U.S. to work in Canada instead
Seth Guikema is one of 64 academics coming to Canada as part of a $1.7-billion federal effort to attract international talent
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Why did the trade talks between the U.S. and Canada collapse? It might be because of this political strategy: Brinkmanship. What is that, you ask? Let this Jenga tower explain. www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Toronto scientist Cedric Attias studies how adjusting pitchers’ position could help protect players’ UCLs – without completely sacrificing speed. By @kaitlynmcgrath.bsky.social: www.begiant.ca/stories/peop...
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Canada's in an all-out trade war with the U.S. Janice Stein, founding director of the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy at @utoronto.ca, on how we got here – and where we go next. www.begiant.ca/stories/idea... #cdnpol #CanadaUSTrade
begiant.ca
The Canada-U.S. trade war and what happens when brinkmanship blows up
Professor Janice Stein on how history’s geopolitical lessons can inform Canada’s next steps
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
A beautiful public building is “doing two jobs at once. It’s public art but it gets to be architecture at the same time,” architect Pat Hanson of Toronto-based firm gh3* says. www.begiant.ca/stories/peop...
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Cedric Attias led a unique study that found ways to reduce the risk of an elbow injury while pitching, without compromising velocity. He’s now working remotely as a biomechanist for the Seattle Mariners. From @kaitlynmcgrath.bsky.social: www.begiant.ca/stories/peop...
begiant.ca
Meet the Toronto scientist helping MLB pitchers avoid career-ending elbow injuries
In grad school, Cedric Attias led a study on how different pitching styles put pressure on the UCL. Now, he works for the Mariners
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
An invasive tiger mosquito was just found in Ontario’s Niagara region, according to Niagara Public Health. A crew of mosquito spotters has been working to help track the spread of tiger mosquitoes in Ontario; the insects are already established in Windsor-Essex www.begiant.ca/stories/peop...
begiant.ca
Tiger mosquitoes are spreading in Canada – and citizen scientists are helping track them
The invasive mosquitoes are already established in Windsor-Essex. Volunteers are helping to figure out where they're headed next
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
An invasive tiger mosquito was just found in Ontario’s Niagara region, according to Niagara Public Health. A crew of mosquito spotters has been working to help track the spread of tiger mosquitoes in Ontario; they're already established in Windsor-Essex www.begiant.ca/stories/peop...
begiant.ca
Tiger mosquitoes are spreading in Canada – and citizen scientists are helping track them
The invasive mosquitoes are already established in Windsor-Essex. Volunteers are helping to figure out where they're headed next
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Drunken forests, caused by thawing permafrost, have become a major point of study for scientists keeping a close eye on the Far North, which, according to recent studies, is warming four times more quickly than the rest of the world. www.begiant.ca/stories/plac...
begiant.ca
What drunken forests can teach us about Canada’s thawing permafrost
It may look like they’re recovering from a wild night out, but these trees are a climate change red alarm
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Across North America, 911 lines are overloaded, and wait times can be long. But a Canadian startup says it can speed up response times and help save lives using its AI 911 voice agent as a filter to help dispatchers address real emergencies more quickly. www.begiant.ca/stories/peop...
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
These trees look like they had a wild night out. They're called drunken forests. As permafrost thaws, the ground becomes unstable and boggy, causing trees to tilt or even sink. By rebeccaga0.bsky.social www.begiant.ca/stories/plac...
A drunken forest near Churchill, Manitoba, beside a thermokarst pond – formed by thawing permafrost with the words What drunken forests can teach us about Canada’s thawing permafrost
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Canada wants industrial sovereignty. But it stopped making its own I-beams in 1999 – and now tariffs have made the question more urgent. Jennifer Wells’ longread: www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
begiant.ca
They’re the backbone of so many buildings. So why doesn’t Canada make its own steel I-beams?
We stopped in 1999. Tariffs have made the question more urgent
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Tiger mosquitoes are one of the world’s most successful invasive species. They've established themselves in a part of Ontario, and are being watched closely due to their potential to spread disease. How a team of citizen scientists are helping track them down: www.begiant.ca/stories/peop...
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Canada makes a lot of steel. But it doesn’t make a key steel product: I-beams. Now, Sault Ste. Marie company Algoma, Canada’s sole independent steelmaker, hopes to once again make steel beams in Canada. www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
Construction workers taking their lunch on an I-beam during the construction of Rockefeller Plaza in New York. and the words They’re the backbone of so many buildings. So why doesn’t Canada make its own steel I-beams?
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
"The numbers were going down." Winnipeg’s Lutheran Church of the Cross will become a 30-unit residential complex for seniors. @novakovicto.bsky.social on how nearly a third of Canada’s 27,000 faith buildings could close by 2035–and how some could become housing instead www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
begiant.ca
The push to turn Canada’s shuttered churches into housing
About one-third of Canada’s 27,000 places of worship will likely shut down by 2035. They won’t be empty for long
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Researchers at the @westernuntp.bsky.social at @westernu.ca developed an AI tool that can help them quickly scan satellite imagery for telltale signs of tornadoes. Here's how they're finding Canada's hidden tornadoes www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Nearly a third of Canada’s 27,000 faith buildings are projected to close by 2035. @novakovicto.bsky.social on how shrinking congregations and emptying churches could translate into surprisingly transformative opportunities to tackle the housing crisis: www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...
begiant.ca
The push to turn Canada’s shuttered churches into housing
About one-third of Canada’s 27,000 places of worship will likely shut down by 2035. They won’t be empty for long
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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
First Verafin, then Kraken Robotics. Hot on their heels are CoLab Software, billed as the world’s first design engagement system for large engineering teams, and Spellbook, which builds generative AI systems for lawyers. What's behind Newfoundland’s 🦄 success? www.begiant.ca/stories/plac...
begiant.ca
Why Newfoundland and Labrador has more tech unicorns per capita than any other province
At least one factor is Maritime entrepreneurs’ ‘psychotic level of optimism,’ says TechNL CEO Andrea King
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