Horgan’s legacy in the tech sector depends on the actions of his successor

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As Premier John Horgan retires from politics, it is only natural to reflect on his five-year tenure leading the BC government.

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Looking at Horgan’s economic stewardship, one thing we can say is that he has presided over a thriving tech industry: in the last two years alone, the province has produced 13 billion-dollar tech companies.

But in reality, the same could be said about a lot of leaders, in a lot of jurisdictions. The world is in the midst of a profound shift; the 21st century data-driven economy is fundamentally different than the 19th and 20th century resource-based ones. Our economy is no longer driven by tangible assets, but instead by intangible assets like software, intellectual property, and data.

All around the world, you will find innovative entrepreneurs building new companies to harness the potential of this new digital economy, but in certain scenarios, tech companies thrive despite government action. So it’s worth taking a closer look at BC’s actual policy record, and what Horgan’s government has been doing to support the digital economy.

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Back in 2020, when running for re-election, Horgan promised to develop a provincial intellectual property strategy. Innovators cheered, knowing such a strategy is a much-needed ingredient for success in our new economy. Both privately and publicly, Horgan was a big champion for advancing this promise. Still, consultations began in earnest just this summer, and we wait to see whether or not the full ambitions of the strategy come to fruition.

Another of his cornerstone innovation initiatives was InBC, a $500-million strategic investment fund, which was capitalized early last year and originally scheduled to be making investments by the fall of 2021. Today, the fund is still in the process of staffing up, and InBC doesn’t expect to be making direct investments until the spring of 2023. While their recently published Investment Strategy shines some light on their proposed approach, it remains to be seen exactly what their investment philosophy will be — and if it will reflect a shrewd understanding of our new intangible economy.

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Meanwhile, the government has been slow to modernize private-sector privacy rules and regulations, despite its special committee tasked with reviewing the act concluding last year that the law needs substantial amendments. Earlier in Horgan’s tenure, we also heard whispers of a provincial data strategy, but those appear to have fizzled. And while the government has at least recognized the tech talent crunch, this year’s much-anticipated provincial economic plan’s solution to the problem was … to write another report.

Premier Horgan deserves a lot of praise for beginning to build the policy foundations that the 21st century economy demands. He and his team have worked diligently with innovators across the province to understand, and react to, the reality that new technologies and new ways of business require new policy thinking. With the premier’s leadership, the province is substantially better-placed to succeed in the 21st century economy than it was five years ago.

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But the work is far from over. Like in any industry, our tech sector’s recent successes are not a guarantee of future success. As Horgan prepares to pass on the reins of leadership, his successor will need to prioritize building the marketplace frameworks and government support structures to ensure that today’s energy turns into long-term sustainable prosperity.

This is particularly important given that the new premier will be inheriting a much-different tech sector than the one that existed even six months ago. Uncertain economic conditions, a looming recession, and Silicon Valley giants still eager to poach domestic talent all amount to significant headwinds for our homegrown innovation ecosystem.

Currently, this fall’s competition for the province’s top job is a two-way race between former Attorney-General David Eby and climate activist Anjali Appadurai. Over the next few months, both Eby and Appadurai need to be presenting their ideas for how to drive the BC economy and build on the work Horgan has started.

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The good news is that they won’t have to do it alone. Leaders in the innovation economy are ready to work in partnership with government. Just as they helped the province weather the COVID-19 storm, BC’s tech leaders have the knowledge, capabilities, network, and experience to advance the development and implementation of key wealth-generating policy frameworks, like IP strategies, data authorities, and privacy modernization .

If we can get this right, Horgan will be long, and fondly, remembered for taking the first steps to implement the building blocks BC needs to succeed in the 21st century economy and beyond.

Tessa Seager is BC director of government affairs for the Council of Canadian Innovators, a national business council representing 150 scale-up technology companies headquartered in Canada.

Letters to the editor should be sent to [email protected]. The editorial pages editor is Hardip Johal, who can be reached at [email protected].