Canadian DOGE Fantasy Draft

Best people to shrink size of Canadian Government & Unlock Efficiency

Last week’s article discussed what Argentinian President Javier Millei had accomplished during his first twelve months in office and what Elon Musk & Vivek Ramaswamy’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) could look like when President Trump begins his second term (article here). DOGE has attracted a fair number of critics but many people are optimistic that it could be very positive.

Prominent investor Marc Andreeson, went on Joe Rogan and parroted the perspective of seemingly everybody in the tech world, that this exercise was necessary and would accelerate progress within government and the broader economy. This view was not exclusive among Americans, quickly many in other countries began expressing a desire for politicians within their own country to attempt a similar exercise.

(Link to original Linkedin post)

Across the developed world, there is a feeling that governments have gotten too large, regulations overly burdensome. Not only does this cost tax payers a lot of money, it makes it difficult to do business. This is exemplified by the US fiscal deficit approaching 7% of GDP, among the highest since WWII, while most advanced economies are sitting between 2-4%. Canada is presently hovering closer to 1.5%, positioning it well relative to other large economies. The issue with Canada relates to it’s growth rate; with only 1.1% Real GDP growth in 2024, Canada is performing in line with France, Australia and the UK but well below the US (2.6%).

While I’m certain that a Canadian equivalent of DOGE, could find plenty of useless spending (we don’t need to make this about Trudeau’s ridiculous outfits), their emphasis should be on measures to grow that don’t involve running large deficits. Today, I nominate who I think would be the best people to run the Canadian DOGE.

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The Nominees

(In no particular order)

Disclaimer: I’m purposefully selecting people I do not know personally. If you do know me and are offended to have been left off this list, feel free to express your pleasure in the comments. Amounts are in CAD unless otherwise specified

A quick refresher:

• There are ~350,000 Canadian federal government employees (excluding military),

• The federal governments annual budget is around $500B per year

  • Half of spending goes to the provinces for programs, such as healthcare. Next big item is payments to individuals such as retirement, unemployment and/or child benefits etc. These programs represent about 30% of the budget.

• Canadian GDP is around $3 trillion ($2T USD) per year

  • Real GDP growth since Trudeau took office in 2015 has been around 1.8% (Excluding 2020-2022), which slightly lags the OECD average.

1. Kaz Nejatian (COO, Shopify)

There is nobody in Canada, or really, in any other country, quite like Elon Musk. Since we lack someone with experience launching multiple multi-billion-dollar companies across unrelated industries, let’s instead turn to one of Canada’s most successful tech companies: Shopify.

Founded in 2006 in Ottawa, Shopify powers e-commerce for millions of online stores worldwide. With annual revenues approaching $10 billion and 10,000 employees, Shopify generates an impressive $1 million per employee. The company was a pandemic darling, at one point reaching a market capitalization exceeding $200 billion (USD).

Founder and CEO Tobias Lütke is widely regarded as one of the greatest product visionaries in tech. Meanwhile, President Harley Finkelstein, a highly visible figure, regularly appears on CNBC and renowned podcasts. However, someone who flies relatively under the radar is Kaz Nejatian, Shopify's COO. He joined Shopify in 2019, just before the global pandemic. Kaz had previously worked as a lawyer, founded a fintech company, and served at Facebook, focusing on payments.

Kaz joined at an especially critical time as during the pandemic, Shopify experienced explosive growth as brick-and-mortar stores shut down. Once the lockdowns ended and they were no longer mission critical, they had right-size the org as the market adjusted. Since then, the company has become laser-focused on efficiency, implementing measures like showing the cost of meetings on calendar invites to foster greater accountability and increase product velocity.

The company spends $4.5 billion ($3.3B USD) per year, comparable to the budgets of federal departments like Citizenship and Immigration, Fisheries and Oceans, or Public Works and Government Services. One might imagine that if the Shopify team were tasked with the same mandates, they could achieve them for significantly less.

Kaz has previous government experience, having worked for Immigration Canada, where he helped design and implement Canada’s Startup Visa between 2011 and 2012. With his track record at Shopify—guiding the company through a critical period, improving profitability, scaling effectively, and accelerating product releases—Kaz would be a welcome presence in any government looking to streamline efficiency while delivering better results. I would imagine that Harley and Tobias would also be happy to pitch in.

2. Partners from Brookfield Asset Management

While the US version of DOGE is assembling an Avengers like crew of startup and Venture Capital people, this seems more like an job for Private Equity folks. Venture backed companies are generally less concerned with margins, as their focus is on market leadership and growth. Private equity owned companies are more mature and almost entirely focused on maximizing efficiency.

While most of the mega Private Equity firms originate from the US such as KKR, Bain & Blackstone, there are some great funds in Canada as well. Brookfield Asset Management is one of the largest asset managers in the world with nearly $1T (USD) assets under management. While they are active in many asset classes, they have a sizeable private equity portfolio worth over $100B.

Brookfield has recently made major acquisitions such as Nielson Holdings ($16B USD) and Johnson Controls' Power Solutions ($13B USD). They exhibited their abilities to streamline operations, with the turnaround of GrafTech International. They acquired the business in 2015, when GrafTech was only doing $45M USD in EBITDA. Within 3 years, they divested non-core assets, consolidated manufacturing facilities, improved quality and vertically integrated the business. These changes resulted in 2018 EBITDA of $1.2B USD.

While the government is much larger, surely Brookfield’s team could find easy wins to spend less while providing similar or better service levels. I’m sure partners from other firms such as ONEX & Novacap would be happy to lend a hand too.

3. John Ruffolo (Founder & Managing Partner, Maverix Private Equity)

To compliment the PE folks specialized on turnarounds and leveraged buyouts, to further spur the growth efforts, Canada DOGE should enlist somebody who has seen many companies effectively scale up and achieve ambitious growth targets. Achieving this without sacrificing margins or the spirit that made the company successful, is an even more impressive feat. Therefore I propose John Ruffolo.

Ruffolo is very well known in the Canadian tech scene having founded and led OMERS Ventures between 2011-2018. During his time at OMERS, he made many investments in companies which would later reach unicorn status or IPO (including Shopify). After leaving OMERS, he founded Maverix Private Equity, also takes minority positions in promising growing companies.

Fortunately, as I was writing this, Ruffolo went ahead and published his own thoughts on the matter in this article . He suggests that the next government enacts the following changes:

1. Fix Ottawa’s Spending Problem

   1. Start by cutting then focusing on how spending can enhance productivity and competitiveness globally

2. Reform the Tax System

   1. Lower taxes and with less complexity

3. Develop and execute a prosperity agenda

   1. Spurn innovation in the digital economy

Sounds like if called upon, he would serve.

4. Chamath Palihapitiya (Social Capital & All-in Podcast)

Before he became a podcaster and well known Silicon Valley investor with a collection of exquisite sweaters, or even an executive at Facebook or AOL, Chamath was a kid from Hamilton, Ontario. While born in Sri Lanka, Chamath spent his youth in Canada, shortly after graduating from Waterloo, he left for the promises of California.

As an investor, he has was early in SpaceX, Slack, Tesla and until last year was a minority owner in the Golden State Warriors. His activities have helped him forge relationships with leaders in the tech, finance and sports worlds. As such, Chamath knows Elon Musk and the people involved with the US version of DOGE, so he will be able to get an inside look of what’s being attempted in the US, and apply the best practices for Canada.

This would serve as a compliment to the efforts by the other people on this list. Given many of the views he has espoused on the all-in podcast, he would certainly be in favor of pro-growth policies but appreciates the value of the social safety net Canada offers and would be less willing to compromise. While the focus on the exercise should be on improving government efficiency, we want to ensure that Canadian’s can still get the assistance that they need.

Just make sure not to invest in his SPACs.

5. Kevin “Mr. Wonderful” O’Leary & Robert Herjavec

Anyone familiar with Shark Tank or Dragons' Den knows these two gentlemen. Robert Herjavec is the affable investor who often loses deals to Mark Cuban, while Kevin O’Leary, or "Mr. Wonderful," is the sharp-tongued one known for pushing contestants to accept perpetual royalty deals.

Herjavec immigrated to Toronto as a child with his family, fleeing Communist Yugoslavia. His experience has shaped his belief in the importance of preserving Canada’s freedoms, fostering opportunity, and minimizing burdensome government regulations. After founding and selling a cybersecurity company in the 1990s, Herjavec launched The Herjavec Group in 2003, which is now valued at over $1 billion USD. Having recently stepped down as CEO, Robert has the time and expertise to mentor future generations of entrepreneurs.

He could even bring along his fellow Shark and Dragon, Kevin O’Leary. Originally from Montreal, O’Leary co-founded a technology company that he sold to Mattel in 1999, securing his initial fortune and recognition. He leveraged this success into ventures like Shark Tank, becoming a regular commentator on CNBC and other news outlets. A vocal critic of Justin Trudeau and the Liberal government, O’Leary ran for the leadership of the Conservative Party in 2017. Although he withdrew early, his platform focused on fiscal responsibility, including lowering taxes and reducing government spending. This plays well with the goals and motivations of DOGE and the rest of the roster I suggest get involved with the Canadian version.

The idea of a Canadian DOGE might seem ambitious, but with the right leadership, it could redefine how our government operates—cutting waste, boosting efficiency, and fostering economic growth without compromising the safety net Canadians value. By leveraging the expertise of leaders like Kaz Nejatian, Brookfield's private equity team, John Ruffolo, Chamath Palihapitiya, Robert Herjavec and even Mr. Wonderful, Canada could chart a new course toward smarter governance.

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