Canada ranks top five in terms of venture capital investment as a percentage of GDP, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The federal government recently emphasized the impact that it has had on Canada’s VC ecosystem, including on job creation.
Since 2016, the federal government has invested over $800 million to support Canadian founders and innovation through the Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative, creating impact pegged at $3.4 billion.
Canada’s technology sector has always been a target of the VCCI, given venture capital’s association with startups, and startups’ association with tech.
Under VCCI 2021, for example, the Government of Canada sought to “increase the availability of capital for promising Canadian technology companies.”
So far, the VCCI claims to have supported the creation of more than 20,000 jobs across Canada, according to a recent announcement from the government, although they did not specify how many of those roles were within the tech field.
The announcement was made by federal minister Rechie Valdez at this month’s Kauffman Fellows Summit, an annual conference for venture capitalists, in Montreal.
“Our government believes that anyone who has a dream of launching a startup and bringing their innovative ideas to life should be able to do so, no matter who they are or where they come from,” Valdez stated. “We’re helping make this a reality by making more capital available to VC firms.”
The government’s latest budget devotes $200 million to renewing the VCCI.
“The VCCI is already jump-starting the development of a new generation of bright and diverse Canadian entrepreneurs and innovators, and it is creating thousands of new Canadian jobs on top of this,” the minister said.
