For the first time, Canada’s venture capital strategy starts at pre-seed

$75 million dedicated stream will back Canadian founders at pre-seed and seed

TORONTO, Oct. 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) welcomes today’s announcement by the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry, that, for the first time, Canada’s venture capital strategy starts at pre-seed.

Through Canada’s Early and Growth Stage Investment Strategy, the Government of Canada will direct $75 million to domestic investment in innovative companies at pre-seed and seed, strengthening the pipeline of Canadian startups progressing to Series A and beyond. 

“For the first time, Canada’s venture capital strategy starts at pre-seed. For too long, our startups have rolled out of the country like acorns and grown into massive oaks elsewhere. When their first investors are Canadian, companies can more readily take root here. We commend the Government of Canada for building a strategy that backs Canadian founders from their first cheque. This is how we will build more homegrown global champions.”

Claudio Rojas, CEO, National Angel Capital Organization

Access to risk capital is among the most powerful factors in whether a company stays in Canada. In 2015, seven in ten Canadian-founded startups that raised US$1 million or more were based in Canada, according to Leaders Fund. By 2024, it was one in three. The first cheque often decides where a company builds its future. For the founders starting Canada’s next generation of high-growth companies, today’s announcement opens the door to the first domestic capital they need to grow and scale here at home.

Today’s announcement at Waabi, a Toronto company building artificial intelligence for self-driving trucks, is a reminder of what founders can build here. Canada’s next great companies are being started right now, in every part of the country, and large cities do not have a monopoly on great founders. In St. John’s, local angel investors backed Verafin, a developer of fraud detection and anti-money laundering software that grew into a US$2.75 billion company. Across the country, angel investors are the first to back founders, bringing capital, mentorship and the experience of having built companies themselves.

“St. John’s shows what happens when local angels write the first cheque. Verafin grew from an acorn into an oak, and its acorns have taken root across the city. A new generation of angels is now backing companies like CoLab, which makes engineering design review software, and Spellbook, which builds AI tools for lawyers. That is the cycle of growth this strategy can start in every region,” said Rojas.

As the first dedicated stream for the earliest stages, the $75 million is the start of a journey. Federal venture capital support took a major step with the Venture Capital Action Plan in 2013 and expanded through successive programs, and NACO expects the same path here.

“In the coming weeks, we will convene angel networks and early-stage investment organizations from across the country to help shape this strategy. Our members specialize in backing founders at pre-seed and seed. Their expertise will help this capital reach Canada’s moonshot companies at the speed required to win the global competition for high-growth companies,” said Rojas.

Background

In summer 2025, NACO’s pre-budget submission recommended an early-stage matching funds program for pre-seed and seed. In fall 2025, NACO’s Unified Capital Strategy report called for innovation policy that recognizes the full capital continuum, starting at the first cheque. In March 2026, NACO and Startup Genome’s Canada’s Funding Gaps report documented the gap at the earliest stages, and NACO’s Seeding Growth white paper, developed through a national consultation with more than 250 ecosystem leaders, set out how the early-stage envelope could be designed. NACO’s Budget 2026 submission renewed these recommendations.

Claudio Rojas is available for interviews.

About NACO

The National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) is Canada’s national network of more than 4,000 angel investors and more than 100 angel networks and early-stage investment organizations. Since 2010, NACO members have invested over $1.92 billion in more than 3,000 Canadian companies.

Learn more at nacocanada.com.

Media contact: Claudio Rojas, CEO, National Angel Capital Organization media@nacocanada.com