Canadians are really good at inventing things, and we’re not just talking about the most delicious butter tarts on the planet.
Time magazine recently unveiled its inaugural list of the Best Inventions of 2026, featuring 300 innovations designed to make the world “better, smarter, and more fun.”
The list spans everything from health and beauty to food, toys, and accessibility, with a few head-scratchers thrown in for good measure.
Colour-changing press-on nails, a headband designed to help with PMS, a camera-equipped Dyson toothbrush, and garden fertilizer made from urine were some of the unique inventions that gave us pause. Not to mention the flip phone called the Dumbphone 2 that made the cut.
But among the futuristic gadgets and wonderfully weird inventions, several Canadian companies earned a spot on the list.
Cyclic Materials is tackling electronic waste with its REEPure technology, which extracts rare earth magnets from discarded electronics and manufacturing scrap. According to Time, the technology has been validated at the company’s commercial-scale Toronto plant, while a new campus is under construction in South Carolina.
In other words, your old electronics might have a second life after all and don’t need to take up space in that mystery drawer in your office anymore.
Montreal-based Alvéole got recognized by Time for keeping track of bees.
Alvéole
Originally launched to install beehives on commercial buildings, the company has developed Aura, a software that monitors hive health, pollen counts and pesticide prevalence across its 2,200 hives in more than 70 cities around the world.
Time notes that in 2025, the company began employing its technology on hives located on the sixth-floor rooftop of the Empire State Building.
Another Montreal company on the list was ELYSIS for operating the first-ever commercial-scale, carbon-free aluminum plant.
Its technology produces aluminum without the direct greenhouse gas emissions associated with traditional smelting.
And this isn’t just some niche industrial experiment. Time notes that ELYSIS-made aluminum can be found in Apple MacBook Pros and iPhones, BMW and Audi vehicles, Corona beer cans, and aerosol cans from companies including Ball, Unilever, and Alcoa.
Moment Energy, a B.C.-based company, also made the list for building what the publication describes as the world’s largest EV battery repurposing megafactory.
Moment Energy Inc.
The company gives retired electric vehicle batteries a second life by turning them into modular energy storage systems for places like hospitals, factories and data centres.
Though it didn’t make the top 300, a modern multitool from an Ontario company got an honourable mention.
Hacksmith Industries’ Smith Blade is a classic pocket knife with a twist. Packed into a compact, ultra-light titanium design are 21 everyday utility tools, including wire strippers, an emergency glass breaker, and a 4mm precision screwdriver system.
The Smith Blade comes from the same Cambridge-based company known for recreating some seriously tricked-out pop-culture gadgets, including Captain America’s shield, John Wick’s bulletproof suit, and a Star Wars lightsaber capable of burning at 2,200°C. You know, just your average day in the workshop.