NACO Proposes $750M Early-Stage VC Strategy to Plug Canada’s Capital Gap — National Angel Capital Organization (NACO)

Event summary

NACO will release recommendations for Canada's $1.75B Venture Capital Strategy, focusing on a $750M early-stage allocation.
The report follows a nine-month consultation with 250+ industry leaders and identifies a $323M annual funding shortfall in pre-seed to Series A stages.
Key proposals include a $500M matching funds program and a $250M infrastructure growth initiative for angel networks and seed fund managers.
Canada’s top three startup ecosystems lost $66B in value over the past five years amid deepening early-stage capital gaps.

The big picture

Canada’s $1.75B Venture Capital Strategy aims to correct a structural imbalance where later-stage funding has expanded while early-stage gaps widened. NACO’s recommendations target the pre-seed and seed stages, which have seen a cumulative $1.6B deficit over five years. The strategy seeks to align pension fund participation with stronger domestic pipeline capacity, addressing why CPP Investments allocates only 12% of its portfolio to Canada despite managing $714.4B in assets.

What we're watching

Governance Dynamics: How NACO’s industry-led approach will influence government policy execution.
Regulatory Headwinds: Whether the proposed $750M allocation can address regional disparities and sector-specific gaps.
Execution Risk: The pace at which Canada’s early-stage infrastructure can professionalize to attract private capital.