EN 
Canada has a scaleup problem. We create entrepreneurs, but too many of them feel they need to leave to build world-class companies.
Fred Lalonde is one of the exceptions. He is the founder and CEO of Hopper, the Canadian travel-tech company that uses data, prediction and fintech to help travellers book with more confidence.
Now Lalonde is bringing that same ambition to Deep Sky, a Canadian carbon removal company.
In this episode of Disruptors, recorded in front of a live audience, John Stackhouse speaks with Fred about what it takes to build and scale from Canada – and why the country needs more founders willing and able to do it here.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
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How Hopper became one of Canada’s leading tech success stories
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Why Fred thinks entrepreneurs better be motivated by building, not just money
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Why AI, energy and advanced manufacturing are central to Canada’s next growth chapter
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What it takes to build a world-class company without leaving Canada
FAQs
Fred Lalonde is a Canadian entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Hopper, and co-founder of Deep Sky. In the episode, John Stackhouse frames Fred as one of Canada’s original disruptors, and Fred describes his path from teenage hacker to entrepreneur.
Hopper is a travel platform for flights, hotels, homes and car rentals. Hopper says 120 million travellers use its platform to plan trips, and the company is known for using data and prediction tools to help consumers decide when to book.
Deep Sky is a Canadian carbon removal company co-founded by Fred Lalonde. The company is building infrastructure to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
The episode is about Canada’s need to build more globally competitive companies from home. Leaders Fund and Specter found that in 2024, the U.S. produced 45x more high-potential startups than Canada, and nearly half of Canadian founders who raised more than US$1M were based in the U.S.
Fred says good entrepreneurs are motivated by building – by making something, putting it into the world and ideally changing it. He also stresses how hard the founder journey is, including the long timelines and high failure rate.
When asked about Canada’s growth challenge, Fred points to AI, climate and energy, and automated manufacturing resilience as areas where the country should focus.
Reuters reported that RBC plans to deploy up to C$1 billion over the coming years to form a growth fund and make equity investments in support of homegrown Canadian companies. ( a link here to the appropriate landing page would be good).
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