The Evolution of Technology in Canada Infographic

Canada has a remarkable history of innovation. Over the years, we’ve witnessed invention breakthroughs ranging from the lightbulb to digital banking methods that simplify financial transactions.

We’ve created an infographic to help you easily overview all these Canadian achievements. We’ll dive into all the details here in this article.

Timeline of Notable Inventions

But first, let’s take a look at the are the biggest innovation milestones we’ve had in Canada:

1874 – The electric light bulb was invented by Canadians Henry Woodward¹ and Mathew Evans. This was the model that Thomas Edison improved significantly so we could use it for retail.

1915 – Reginald Fessenden² developed sonar technology that played a critical role in submarine detection in WW1 and WW2.

1938 – Donald Hings invented the walkie talkie³ as an engineer at CM&S in Toronto. These portable radios were widely used during World War II and beyond.

1952 – The first electric wheelchair was created by George Klein, who was working at the National Research Council of Canada at the time.

1963 – Instant replay technology was introduced by CBC producers⁴ operating out of Toronto. This completely changed how live sports were broadcasted.

1967 – The IMAX film system was invented by the National Film Board of Canada⁵. 

1981 – Canadarm, a robotic arm developed by the National Research Council of Canada⁶, was delivered to NASA and used extensively in space missions for 30 years.

1996 – The 56K modem, which significantly increased internet download speeds, was invented by Toronto-born Brent Townshend.⁷

1999 – The original BlackBerry, capable of email, was released by Research In Motion⁸, followed by the first smartphone in 2002.

Canadian Innovation Hubs

Canada is home to some of the most innovative tech and startup ecosystems in the world. Most of them are concentrated in the bigger cities like Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa. Here are some major tech hubs:

Toronto: Canada’s “Silicon Valley of the North”

Toronto is basically the Silicon Valley of Canada⁹. Here you’ll find the offices of huge companies like Google, IBM, Microsoft, Amazon, and many more. The Vector Institute and the Creative Destruction Lab have created a strong foundation for AI innovation as well.

Montreal: Leading Canada’s AI Revolution

Montreal has become one of the world’s foremost AI hubs, much thanks to pioneers like Yoshua Bengio. It is home to the Montreal Institute for Learning Algorithms (MILA), the world’s largest academic research group in deep learning. Facebook, Microsoft, Samsung and other tech giants have set up new AI labs in Montreal. So there’s a huge concentration of talent in this city.

Vancouver: At the Forefront of Sustainability

Vancouver is known for being a hub for cleantech and sustainability-focused companies. It actually has the highest density of cleantech companies in Canada. Many startups here are advancing innovations in renewable energy tech, EV batteries, green construction technologies, sustainable solutions and more.

Ottawa: Cybersecurity Stronghold

Ottawa is home to most federal government offices. This naturally means that we’ll find most cybersecurity advancements in this city. There are over 1,800 ICT firms in the city, including major cybersecurity companies like Trend Micro, IBM Security, and Check Point Software.

Key Technological Breakthroughs

Canada has been the home of major advancements¹⁰ in quantum computing, AI healthcare, electric vehicle batteries, agricultural technology and more.

Pioneering Quantum Networks

Canada is at the forefront of quantum information science¹¹, with significant contributions from researchers like Dr. Thomas Jennewein of the University of Waterloo. Dr. Jennewein is a leading expert in quantum communication and quantum key distribution. His work focuses on advancing long-distance quantum communication through various mediums, including optical fibers, free space, and satellite-based links.

AI-Powered Healthcare

Toronto-based startup Winterlight Labs has developed AI speech pattern recognition technology to assist with detecting and tracking Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive impairments earlier and with better accuracy. Their voice-based tests can identify linguistic biomarkers linked to cognitive decline to provide better diagnostics and monitoring. There is still research and development left to do, but what they have achieved so far¹² looks promising.

Next-Gen EV Battery Tech

The Montreal-area company NanoXplore is developing graphene-powered lithium-ion batteries that can take electric cars to the next level. Graphene is a material that has the potential to improve battery charging speed, lifespan, temperature resilience and safety of the batteries. So the future looks promising for EVs thanks to NanoXplore’s innovations.

Smarter Agricultural Solutions

Vancouver-based Terramera is transforming agriculture through an innovative technology platform¹³ integrating AI and robotics to optimize pesticide use and crop yield. Their precision application solutions enhance efficiency, aiming to reduce synthetic pesticide use significantly. Terramera is committed to reducing or eliminating 80% of the synthetic pesticide load in agriculture globally by 2030. This goal aims to boost sustainability with less environmental impact and chemical residues while maintaining output levels for the food supply chain.

For a mid-sized advanced economy, Canada packs quite a punch when it comes to technological innovation across pretty much all sectors.

The Evolution of Payment Methods in Canada

Fintech is another sector where Canadian companies have achieved impressive innovations. Let’s explore.

1950s – Were the introduction of the first VISA and MasterCard credit cards

1. BankAmericard (later Visa):
   • Launched in 1958 by Bank of America
   • Became Visa in 1976
2. Interbank Card Association (later Mastercard):
   • Formed in 1966
   • Became Mastercard in 1979

1960- The first credit cards become available in Canada

On August 19, 1968 TD Bank launched its first credit card ¹⁴in Canada, called Chargex. It was part of an initiative known as “Project C” within the bank. This launch marked TD’s entry into the consumer credit card market in Canada and was a significant milestone in Canadian banking history.

These cards brought convenience to everyone so they didn’t have to carry around cash. It was much safer and easier to make big transactions. Imagine how nervous you’d be carrying a million CAD of cash in your suitcase.

1980s – In 1984, five major Canadian banks launched the Interac association. Unlike credit cards, Interac allowed direct debits from consumers’ bank accounts, making digital banking even easier. It also added an extra layer of security by enabling users to separate their main funds from those available for smaller transactions.

2000s – The 2000s were the years of mass eCheck adoption¹⁵. Canadians loved the good old check, but eChecks offered much more. Overall, eChecks are a great development for the casino industry, since they allow for bigger transfers without all the limits.

2010s – The mobile payments revolution kicked into high gear this decade with smartphone-enabled transactions through methods like:

• NFC Wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay¹⁶. These are amazing¹⁷ because you can pay in stores just by blipping your phone. Plus they carry a much smaller risk when paying online, so you don’t have to expose your card details.
• Cryptocurrency wallets like MetaMask and Coinbase¹⁸. These allow you to transfer large amounts of money with almost negligible fees.
• QR payment¹⁹ apps like Zimpler that take security to a whole new level.

2020s – Newer payment models:

• Virtual Credit Cards: One-use disposable credit card credentials for each transaction protecting consumers against merchant data breaches.
• Direct Mobile Billing: Carrier-integrated payments deducted directly from mobile plan bills.

Make sure you check out the infographic we made to get a quick visual overview of groundbreaking innovations in Canada.

Sources/Citations used for this infographic:

1. Lightbulb 1874 https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/woodward-and-evans-light-bulb ↩︎
2. Sonar 1915 https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sonar ↩︎
3. Walkie-talkie 1938 https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/donald-lewes-hings ↩︎
4. Instant replay 1955 https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/highlights-of-an-iconic-show-a-short-history-of-hockey-night-in-canada/article15623942/#:~:text=1955%3A%20The%20creation%20of%20instant,and%20techniques%20still%20used%20today. ↩︎
5. IMAX 1967 https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/imax-systems-corporation ↩︎
6. Canadarm 1981 https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/canadarm/ ↩︎
7. 56k modem 1996 https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/brent-townshend ↩︎
8. BlackBerry 1999 https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/blackberry-limited ↩︎
9. Silicon valley of the north Montreal https://techtalent.ca/canadian-tech-cities/ ↩︎
10. Recent Technological Advances – https://kpmg.com/ca/en/home/insights/2022/11/global-technology-report-canada.html ↩︎
11. Quantum Computing – a major step forward in the development of practical quantum communication networks https://uwaterloo.ca/news/media/world-one-step-closer-secure-quantum-communication-global-0 ↩︎
12. AI Healthcare Innovations – detecting and tracking Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive impairments using AI to recognise speech patterns. https://www.ualberta.ca/folio/2023/05/ml-model-able-to-detect-signs-of-alzheimers-across-languages.html ↩︎
13. Smart Agricultural Technologies – Vancouver-based Terramera is leveraging AI and robotics to transform agricultural practices. https://www.terramera.com/our-approach-2 ↩︎
14. TD Launched Canada’s first credit card– https://stories.td.com/ca/en/article/happy-birthday-chargex-the-credit-card-turns-50 ↩︎
15. eCheck Adoption in 2000s, https://echeckcasinos.ca/ ↩︎
16. E-wallet – Google/Apple Pay – NFC payments, contactless payments https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/canada-mobile-payments-market ↩︎
17. Rapid growth of Apple Pay: https://www.nuveipartner.com/post/whats-driving-the-rapid-growth-of-apple-pay-and-google-pay-in-north-america ↩︎
18. Cryptocurrency – Decentralised transactions https://madeinca.ca/cryptocurrency-canada-statistics/ ↩︎
19. QR card – Eateries for contactless payment https://www.cpacanada.ca/news/pivot-magazine/qr-code ↩︎