Columnist urges Mark Carney to prioritise small businesses and early‑stage tech in federal budget

Adam Radwanski, a business columnist whose column appears in the Star, urged Mark Carney to make support for small businesses and early‑stage technology a central priority of the next federal budget.

Radwanski framed the budget as a moment to pivot away from heavy emphasis on very large infrastructure spending and toward targeted measures that boost investment, noting that venture and growth capital for early‑stage Canadian companies hit decade‑long lows earlier in the year.

He described recent federal moves such as relief funding for small and medium‑sized businesses hit by U.S. tariffs and a $1‑billion recapitalization of a federal venture fund as helpful but insufficient in his view.

Radwanski argued the government should favour measures tailored to smaller firms and young tech companies, pointing specifically to a coordinated letter from more than 100 tech entrepreneurs and investors that recommended expanded capital‑gains tax exemptions for profits from early‑stage investments.

He presented those tax changes and other targeted instruments as ways to broaden investment across more companies and reduce Canada’s reliance on the United States for growth capital.

The column criticised the current policy emphasis on very large infrastructure projects, saying such projects have tended to support fossil‑fuel development and have reduced the government’s environmental focus.

Radwanski suggested that the same sort of urgency and imagination Mark Carney has shown on energy and infrastructure could be applied instead to smaller, economy‑wide supports that nurture startups, scaleups and regional small businesses.

Radwanski also warned against shifting the budget conversation into a mode of fiscal restraint, arguing Canada still needs measures to compete more aggressively for investment and growth. He portrayed the coming budget as an opportunity to reallocate emphasis rather than merely cutting spending or concentrating new funds in a few large projects.

Both outlets carrying the column emphasise the same policy recommendations and examples: targeted relief for SMEs, the recapitalized venture fund, the entrepreneurs’ letter on capital‑gains exemptions, and criticism of big infrastructure’s environmental tradeoffs.

The reporting does not provide specific budget line items or confirmed government commitments; it summarises Radwanski’s case and the specific proposals he highlighted.

The sources document who is pressing for the tax change (a letter from over 100 tech entrepreneurs and investors) and examples of recent federal support, but they do not include any direct response from Mark Carney or the government about whether those proposals will be adopted.

The column frames the debate as a choice between large, concentrated infrastructure spending and a suite of smaller, targeted interventions to spur early‑stage investment and broader business resilience.