New Canadian startup capital association targets early‑stage funding gap
Foreign investors now account for roughly 40 percent of venture investment in Canada, while the earliest and most critical phase of company building remains underfunded.
The Canadian Startup Capital Association (CSCA) has launched as a national effort to strengthen early-stage capital by connecting, supporting, and scaling organisations and investors across the country.
The association says Canada does not lack capital, but lacks the early-stage activation needed to connect founders and investors when it matters most.
Recent trends underline that gap.
Pre-seed deal sizes are declining, emerging managers raised just $249m in 2025, and domestic capital continues to concentrate at later stages, leaving early-stage financing thin.
Canada has the capital, founders, and emerging investors but lacks the networks to link them, said CSCA executive director Jesse Wiebe.
He said “more people need to see themselves in the capital stack” and called for early‑stage capital infrastructure that reflects the country’s diversity.
CSCA will act as a connective layer across Canada's fragmented early-stage investment landscape rather than build new programmes in isolation.
Its work centres on three priorities: activating and growing early-stage investment; building the infrastructure that strong innovation ecosystems require; and shaping the broader system so capital reaches companies earlier.
That includes converting passive wealth into active investment by supporting first-time angels, family offices, and emerging fund managers; strengthening national networks; and nurturing the next generation of investors and entrepreneurs to grow Canada's economy.
Launching with a phased approach, CSCA begins with 19 founding members with shared values and plans to expand into a broader public platform and policy presence over time.
Diversity and representation are central to the mission, with a focus on ensuring more people see themselves reflected in Canada's capital ecosystem.
Founding members include Startup TNT, Anges Quebec, Spring, The Firehood, Antler Canada, Capital M Ventures, Indigenous Venture Challenge, Redstick VC, SAIL Initiative, Front Row Ventures, Boreal Ventures, Audaxa Ventures, Trillick Ventures, UCEED, Nadarra Ventures, Manitoba Innovates, Ag-West Bio, Propel Impact, and Southeast Tech Hub (SETH).
Canada’s early-stage market is not only about adding capital but also about “who’s participating in it,” said Caroline Von Hirschberg, co‑CEO of Spring and a founding member of the Canadian Startup Capital Association.
She said Canada needs “a more diverse group of investors” and more ways for people from different communities and backgrounds to see themselves in the capital ecosystem.
Across all founding and committed member organisations, the coalition collectively represents more than 3,500 active investors, $750m+ in direct early-stage capital deployed, $3bn+ in follow-on capital raised by portfolio companies, and tens of thousands of founders supported from coast to coast.
Per the 2025 Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association's annual report, a majority of the active private investors in Canada are already in this coalition.
This is not a proposal for what could exist. It is an investment in what already does.
