Hi there,

Hope your summer’s going well and you’re staying safe. I’ve had many conversations lately that go something like “Hey Justin, these wildfires keep getting worse. Who’s working on this?” So today, we’re digging into the cluster of Canadian startups building the full wildfire response stack - prevention to recovery - and what needs to happen to scale it.

Elsewhere in climate tech:

What happened: BC declared a state of emergency last week as wildfires swept through the Okanagan valley, displacing 20,000 people. It's the latest escalation in this summer's wildfire season - from the worst fire season on record in Ontario to evacuations across France and Spain.

Canada is known internationally for its firefighting capabilities, sending crews and equipment around the world. But these traditional capabilities are only part of the picture as fires become more intense. Startups are building solutions to keep up - from prevention, early detection, and response.

The wildfire stack

Crossing the capital gap: Canada’s wildfires cost more than $1.5 billion per year in direct suppression alone, but the real costs could be as high as $19 billion due to wildfire smoke and economic disruption.

Despite the large price tags, it's a market that's still taking shape, with big questions around who's buying, how long it takes to scale up, and whether investors will see a return.

Canada has committed over $857 million for wildfire-related programs since 2022, but some provinces, like Ontario and Saskatchewan, have dialed back their firefighting budgets.

Government funding tends to support operations and proven equipment - new solutions need capital for early-stage prototypes and pilots, not just deployment at scale.

Non-dilutive capital, like NorthX's Wildfire Tech funding stream, is a critical piece in crossing this early-stage gap, but programs are few and far between.

Venture funds, like Vancouver's Evok Innovations, are starting to add adaptation to their portfolios. New specialist funds like Adapt[us] Capital and US-based Convective are spinning up, based on the belief that the market has under-priced the risk of wildfires and climate-accelerated disasters.

Why it matters: Wildfire response is becoming a critical capability, where disaster response, national security, climate and economic impact all collide.

Canada's reputation as a firefighting exporter is real soft power - the kind of specialized, high-trust capability that builds international trust.

The climate impact makes the case even stronger. Wildfires released more emissions in 2023 than from any other source, burning peatlands in the north release super-polluting methane, and worse fires accelerate the cycle.

What's next: More support is needed to turn Canada's potential into scaled and deployed capabilities - particularly for new solutions that need patient capital to scale up. That could include:

We're in the early innings, and there's no obvious answer. If you're thinking about or working in this space, we'd love to connect and trade notes.

CleanPlanet Chemical (Ottawa, ON) closed US$25M in hardware-as-a-service financing to deploy its industrial solvent recycling systems across North America.

Miru (Vancouver, BC) received $11.7 million from Canada's Ocean Supercluster to develop dynamic glass that reduces solar heat gain and improves energy efficiency on vessels. Celerity Craft also received $2.9 million to develop zero-emission watercraft.

Convertus Group (London, ON) secured $135 million in project financing for a biofuel and food-grade CO2 facility in Ontario.

Canada’s Strategic Response Fund invested $70 million in Volta Energy Solutions, a global materials company, to establish a copper foil plant for EV battery cells in Canada.

Natural Products Canada received a $50 million investment from the feds to support Canadian foodtech.

Vancouver's Cultivated Food Labs developed a cocoa alternative made from faba bean hulls that can replace up to 50% of cocoa in chocolate.

Calogy Solutions won a $1.2M contract to design battery systems for Jaunt's autonomous drones.

ChopValue expanded its chopstick-to-materials manufacturing platform into Brazil.

Entropy commissioned Phase 2 of its Glacier carbon capture and power generation project in Alberta.

Novisto launched Novisto Materiality to help companies understand and report on both financial and impact materiality.

Hydrostor secured an offtake agreement with Clean Energy Alliance to supply 60 megawatts of long-duration energy storage from its Willow Rock facility in California.

Up to 50% of industrial heat is wasted. For decades, cheap electricity meant nobody bothered capturing it. That's changing as industry looks for more power, better efficiency, and lower emissions.

Local energy networks turn that waste into value, letting neighbouring facilities trade surplus heat instead of losing it. The obstacle isn't proving it works - it's getting industrial neighbours to coordinate. ⁠

We caught up with Léo Lamy-Laliberté⁠ and ⁠Daniel Bastien⁠, co-founders of ⁠Local Energy, to talk about why energy networks are catching on and how they’re using machine learning to unlock more ambitious projects.

🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube

Fossil fuels: in or out? Canada’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy is considering adding oil and gas abatement projects to its investment framework. Stakeholders are split, and some argue adding abatement would expand fossil fuel production.

Nature task force: Canada launched its Expert Taskforce on Natural Capital Accounting and Nature Financing to better measure, value and account for nature in decision-making.

Pay-as-you-go: The Ontario government says new data centres will need to pay for the full cost of their energy use. It’s an approach that’s gaining ground in Canada and the US, but the actual regulations to enforce it still need to be implemented.

EV recovery: Canada’s EV market is expected to recover in 2026, close to its 2024 peak. EVs made up 13% of new vehicle sales so far this year.

Changing winds: Climate change is climbing back up Canadians’ list of concerns after a summer full of wildfire smoke and evacuations. For ¼ of young people, it’s issue no. 1.

QUICK HITS

🗓 Industry Connect Canada 2026 | October 27, Toronto. Bringing together over 150+ leaders from the cement, steel, mining, chemical, and oil & gas sectors to collaborate on energy costs, competitiveness, and deploying bankable decarbonization projects. Use code ICCACTC25 to get 25% off registration.

🗓 RXN Hub Innovation Summit | September 23rd, Kingston, ON.

🚀 NorthX University Call for Innovation

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