With COVID resurging and the climate crisis intensifying, 2021 is ending on a precarious note. But there are also reasons to be optimistic (or at least somewhat optimistic). Across Canada, scientists and entrepreneurs are innovating in ways that will help people strike a better work-life balance, live sustainably and stay healthy. Here are seven trends in Canadas thriving innovation economy to watch in the year ahead.

Farm-to-table becomes lab-to-table

With the supply-chain crisis expected to push family grocery bills up by an estimated $966 next year, Canada needs to find new ways to sustainably feed itself. According to Dana McCauley of the Canadian Food Innovation Network, when it comes to food, the really exciting stuff right now is happening in labs.

She points to companies, such as Vancouvers Wamame, which has produced the worlds first plant-based version of Wagyu beef and is leading a consortium to create other meatless meats. Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Guelph have discovered how to make plant-based cheese stretch, which could soon put a tastier and oozier vegan mozzarella on the menu.

Companies are taking advantage of advances in engineering yeast, algae and other microbes to create foods like animal-free milk. But researchers are also working on technologies to grow real meat from cell cultures, which are touted as being cruelty-free and better for the environment. Scientists at McMaster University recently found a way to better control the fat and muscle content of cultured meat, bringing the possibility of lab-grown steak a step closer.

McCauley points out that these techniques can also be used to grow specialized plant products, cutting down food miles: In future, instead of coming from Madagascar, maybe my vanilla will come from Montreal.

Hybrid working becomes a test of corporate culture

When the Omicron wave recedes, executives will again be mulling their return-to-the-office plans. But with 80 per cent of workers not keen on returning to their desks full time, a period of experimentation with various forms of part-office part-remote hybrid working lies ahead. Kyra Jones, head of talent at Communitech, says that successful companies will use this as an inflection point to reimagine how work is done, where work is done and what work looks like.

Toronto-based enterprise software company Sensei Labs is among a growing number of tech companies that have adopted work-from-anywhere policies. Staff are free to log on from the office, at home, in a coffee shop or even further afield. We have a very international team, many of them have family in places like Brazil, or India or Ukraine and we encourage them to go work from there for an extended period, says CEO Jay Goldman. The company also suggests which days each team might go into the office, so staff who want to be in part-time know when theyll be most likely to see their closest colleagues.

But its not just HR policies that are evolving, technology is too. Tools are now emerging designed with long-term remote working in mind. Vizetto, for instance, has created a virtual chalkboard to encourage collaborative meetings. WorkTango, an employee feedback platform, has created quick pulse surveys to make it easier for managers to check how workers are feeling. Regardless of the technology, however, hybrid working will continue to be tricky terrain for managers to navigate. Unsurprisingly, Jones says demand for leadership training courses is surging.

Lithium is the new oil

After production delays in 2021, electric-vehicle manufacturers are hoping to make up lost ground and they are all racing to secure supplies of lithium for the batteries. Amanda Hall, CEO of lithium-extraction firm Summit Nanotech, predicts global production will increase by about a third next year. But suppliers will still struggle to keep up with demand.

The downside is that soaring lithium prices could lead to sticker shock at the dealership if costs are passed on to electric-vehicle buyers. The upside: the focus on lithium is putting pressure on miners to clean up their operations.

The major investors in the world are saying we wont support unsustainable practices anymore, says Hall, who recently won Canadas $1-million Women in Cleantech Challenge for developing an extraction system that generates 90 per cent less waste than traditional chemical methods. Australia, one of the worst polluters, is looking at using electric vehicles and renewable energy in its lithium mines. As Canada considers plans for developing mineral mining in places like northern Ontario, expect environmental safeguards to come under close scrutiny here, too.

Stem cell therapies advance in clinical trials

For two decades, researchers have been experimenting with stem cells to repair damaged tissues and treat diseases. Now, those studies are leaving the lab and moving into clinical trials to see how they perform in real patients.

The long-standing investment in regenerative medicine is going to start to bear fruit but to a limited extent for a limited number of patients, says Michael Sefton, executive director of the University of Torontos Medicine by Design program.

In Vancouver, biotech firm ViaCyte is testing a device that implants pancreatic stem cells into diabetes patients, which should grow into insulin-producing cells and reduce the need for injections. And BlueRock Therapeutics, which has labs in Toronto, has started a trial using stem cells to replace damaged neurons in patients with Parkinsons Disease. If successful, these therapies could transform patients lives.

But Sefton cautions that we are still some way from seeing stem-cell treatments like these in clinical use: I think in 10 years they may be common, at least in large academic centres.

Investment in biotech picks up

After record investment poured into biotech at the start of the pandemic, 2021 was a bumpy year for the sector. Stocks of major pharmaceutical companies languished even as the industry was cranking out billions of doses of life-saving vaccines in record time.

But according to Dan Legault, CEO of Toronto-based Antibe Therapeutics, investment in biotech should pick up again in the coming year.

The pullback was too fast and too strong, he says. Legault puts the investment chill down to a lack of major mergers or acquisitions of late but says that with several promising developments on the horizon there is still huge money looking to invest in the sector.

Self-driving trucks inch closer to the road

While driverless cars may be taking longer than expected, developers of autonomous freight vehicles are stepping on the gas.

Michael Tremblay, CEO of Invest Ottawa, which operates a testing centre for driverless vehicles called AreaX.O, says interest in self-driving delivery vehicles is growing as trucking companies struggle to recruit drivers. Theres a real business need for it, he says.

At facilities like AreaX.O, researchers are now connecting up convoys of small test vehicles under the supervision of single drivers, which is seen as a potential stepping stone to fully autonomous trucks. They are also adapting driverless systems to Canadas harsh climate, including looking at centimetre-accurate GPS to enable vehicles to navigate when snow covers road markings, and testing special coatings to prevent sensors getting iced up.

For now, in Ontario, autonomous vehicles are confined to study tracks and pilot projects, and regulatory changes will be needed before driverless trucks hit our highways. But Tremblay points out that the core technology is available right now. Its a question of having society accept it.

In the meantime, researchers have discovered another uniquely Canadian challenge: geese. They dont behave the way youd expect them to they go right out in front of the vehicle, says Tremblay.

The end of writers block (maybe)

AI assistants can already help organize your life. Soon, they may be able to unlock your artistic side, too.

AI platforms have advanced to the point where they are surprisingly creative Rolling Stone recently deemed a computer-generated rock song to have an anthemic chorus.

According to Olga Vechtomova, a researcher at the University of Waterloo, its now possible to channel that creativity into a kind of electronic muse for artists. Vechtomovas lab has produced an AI model that listens to music and suggests lyrics that fit its rhythm and style. The aim is less to write the song than it is to spark musicians imaginations.

Its power is in its ability to surprise and be unpredictable, says Vechtomova. Ive seen it come up with novel metaphors and turns of phrase that would never occur to me.

There are already several platforms like LyricStudio, which uses AI to generate song lines based on topics and rhymes. Such tools are likely to proliferate in the next year or two.

But will we ever see an AI produce a masterpiece? Vechtomova has her doubts, not least because wed first need to figure out what genius actually is.

Try to set the objective to generate something thats musically brilliant we just cant define that.

David Paterson writes about technology for MaRS. Torstar, the parent company of the Toronto Star, has partnered with MaRS to highlight innovation in Canadian companies.

Disclaimer This content was produced as part of a partnership and therefore it may not meet the standards of impartial or independent journalism.

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