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Be Giant

@be-giant.bsky.social

250 followers 49 following 188 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 · 08/10/2026

Much like televisions, fridges and cars, tractors have become increasingly complex, and can’t always be repaired by their owners. Ursa Ag tractors are removing that proprietary dependence by simplifying the mechanics. www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...

Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Canadian scientist Daniel Drucker is sometimes dubbed the “father of Ozempic.” The gut hormone transformed into a global medical and cultural phenomenon. Ozempic is Canada’s best-selling drug, with sales of semaglutide injection medications totalling $3.5 billion in 2025. #glp1 #ozempic #medicine

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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

“My Canadian friends would say Canada has only one neighbour, but I think the discussion of Greenland has perhaps opened Canada up to the fact that there is another neighbourhood,” Arctic Circle Assembly chairman Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson told @daniellebochove.bsky.social www.begiant.ca/stories/peop...

How Canada can navigate a more complicated, dangerous Arctic

Arctic Circle Assembly chair Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson on opportunities and tension in the region and Canada’s new ambitions to lead

Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

In the past five years, St. John’s, Nfld., has produced two billion-dollar companies: Verafin, purchased by Nasdaq in 2021 for US$2.75 billion, and Kraken Robotics, valued at about US$1.3 billion. www.begiant.ca/stories/plac...

Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

An mRNA flu vaccine that's 27% more effective than the traditional shot is under review by Health Canada. Developed by Moderna, the vaccine, called mFlusiva, deploys the same mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines. Andrea Yu reports www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...

This new mRNA vaccine could better protect against the flu

The U.S.-approved vaccine – faster to produce and more precise than traditional flu shots – is awaiting the green light in Canada

Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

This rover speeds up carbon mineralization, a natural process where ultramafic rock absorbs CO2 from the air, by tilling mine waste to expose more surface area. Canada's mine-waste piles hold billions of tonnes of this rock each of which can absorb about half a tonne of CO2.

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Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

For a generation facing a tougher entry-level job market than their parents did, a role in the family business may look less like a fallback and more like an opportunity. Emily Latimer reports www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...

Why the next generation actually wants to inherit the family business

A massive transfer of ownership is underway as young leaders inherit family businesses – and make their own mark

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Reposted by Be Giant

André Picard @picardonhealth @picardonhealth.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Daniel Drucker, the Canadian scientist behind Ozempic, on why he never gave up. Big Pharma scoffed, but he persevered, by Dan Bilefsky www.begiant.ca/stories/peop... via @be-giant.bsky.social @sinaihealthtoronto.bsky.social

Daniel Drucker, the Canadian scientist behind Ozempic on why he never gave up

Big Pharma scoffed. But Daniel Drucker’s dogged pursuit of a secret buried in lizard genes propelled a mega medical breakthrough

Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

On a clear day, you can see Nova Scotia while standing among mountains of "red gold" from Saskatchewan. Here on the rocky coastline of Saint John, N.B. sit massive storage sheds filled with potash, the pink-hued mineral crucial to the global food supply www.begiant.ca/stories/plac...

Why Saskatchewan potash is taking a 4,300-km detour on its way to market

Trade tensions, geopolitics and the need to diversify markets have made New Brunswick a new gateway for western resources

Reposted by Be Giant

Sinai Health @sinaihealthtoronto.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

A recent feature from @be-giant.bsky.social profiles Dr. Daniel Drucker, Senior Investigator at Sinai Health’s Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, and his groundbreaking GLP-1 research that helped transform the treatment of diabetes and obesity. Read the full article: bit.ly/4e8S77a

Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Initially, Big Pharma scoffed. Colleagues were indifferent. Dan Bilefsky’s longread on how Daniel Drucker’s dogged pursuit of GLP1s – found buried in a Gila lizard's genes – propelled one of medicine's biggest breakthroughs: www.begiant.ca/stories/peop...

The Canadian scientist behind Ozempic on why he never, ever gave up

Big Pharma scoffed. But Daniel Drucker’s dogged pursuit of a secret buried in lizard genes propelled a mega medical breakthrough

Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Canada is the world’s largest potash producer and exporter, typically shipping more than 22 million tonnes a year. Some of it snakes through five provinces and four time zones over eight days on specially designed railcars before arriving in Saint John. www.begiant.ca/stories/plac...

Why Saskatchewan potash is taking a 4,300-km detour on its way to market

Trade tensions, geopolitics and the need to diversify markets have made New Brunswick a new gateway for western resources

Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

More than a quarter of a typical building’s energy is used to offset the heat that enters or escapes through its windows. @utoronto.ca researchers designed a better window www.begiant.ca/stories/idea...

The pigment-shifting window that responds to light – and could help slash energy costs

Inspired by squids, U of T researchers designed a window that lets winter light and heat in – but blocks out heat in the summer

Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

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...

Be Giant @be-giant.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

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...

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.

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...

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

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...

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

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...

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

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...

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

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...

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...

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...

Reposted by Be Giant

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...

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

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...

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

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...

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

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...

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

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...

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...

The quest to bring the ancient pawpaw fruit back to Ontario

An Indigenous-led movement is restoring the tropical-tasting, climate-resilient fruit tree

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...

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

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...

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...

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

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...

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

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...

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

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...

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

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...

Frank McKenna on the hoopla and FOMO around the first Canada Investment Summit

‘I’ve never seen anything like this‘

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...

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

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...

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

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...

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...

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

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...

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

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...

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

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...

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

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...

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

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...

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

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...

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

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

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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