Calgary entrepreneur Shawn Freeman has launched BuyCanadianSoftware.ca — a new online hub that spotlights Canadian-built software across categories like collaboration, cybersecurity, project management, CRM, and more.
The goal: keep data, dollars, and innovation here at home by making it easier than ever to find and adopt local tech solutions.
Why it matters now:
- Economic impact: Every dollar spent on Canadian tech supports Canadian jobs and strengthens the national innovation ecosystem.
- Privacy & sovereignty: Canadian platforms keep data under Canadian laws and protections.
- Resilience: Relying solely on U.S. tools carries risks — from policy shifts to outages. Diversifying builds digital resilience.
- Innovation: Canada is home to world-class builders who too often fly under the radar; this hub gives them visibility.
Freeman said he launched buycanadiansoftware.ca to help users discover Canadian-developed alternatives to popular international software tools.
“The idea is to highlight, when people are looking for software, that it’s good to find a company that’s headquartered in Canada,” Freeman said. “Everybody obviously thinks about buying groceries and clothing locally, but they often forget that software is also developed here too.”
Freeman said the platform is a free resource where Canadian tech companies can list their software and identify their U.S. competitors, making it easier for consumers to find local replacements.
“You can go and put it on there—just tell us who your U.S. competitor would be so that folks know if they’re using a certain tool today, what they could get as a replacement that’s Canadian-grown,” he said.
He also pointed to broader economic and policy considerations, including tariffs and the push for increased investment in Canadian technology companies.
“The more that we can support them locally, the better—supporting our local innovation and our economy,” Freeman said. “There’s data sovereignty and privacy concerns as well, depending on the type of software. Sometimes we have better service, and the software is just better.”
Freeman said he believes in rallying behind Canadian businesses but acknowledged the importance of global partnerships where appropriate.
“We should do as much of it as we can,” he said. “Obviously, if there are countries that can do things better in a certain area, then we’ll partner with them and buy their products.”
Canada’s tech sector has been growing steadily over the last five to 10 years, Freeman noted, with more companies reaching billion-dollar valuations.
“We’ve had more and more companies get to the billion-dollar status—more unicorns,” he said. “Those are great success stories and they just attract more and more investment into Canada and help new ones get up and running better.”
Despite that growth, Freeman said there is still room to improve.
“I think there’s been a really good push, but we can do more.”
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