CPE Media & Data Company: Continuing headwinds facing Canadian VC in Q3, 2026

All dollar ($) figures in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

TORONTO, Oct. 20, 2026 /CNW/ -- Canadian venture capital (VC) investment totalled $4,714 million across 371 financings during the first nine months of 2026, representing declines of 7% from $5,073 million and 17% from 449 financings recorded in the same period last year.

U.S. investors increased their share of funding to 64%, the highest level since 2017. International investor participation remained limited, accounting for 4% of total funding.

40 Canadian VC funds raised $2.69 billion, driven primarily by Radical Ventures Breakouts Fund I, L.P.'s US$1 billion fundraise and two new BDC investment platforms. Of these, 22 private VC funds raised an aggregate of $2,223 million, averaging $101 million per fund, or $40 million when the Radical Ventures fund is excluded.

Highlights

Venture Capital Disbursements in Canada: Where Capital Flowed

• Ontario companies secured $2,876 million in venture capital funding, with companies in British Columbia, Quebec, and Alberta attracting $877 million, $533 million, and $325 million, respectively. Ontario maintained its position as the primary destination for venture capital investment, capturing 61% of total funding, an increase from 56% in 2025. 
• Toronto solidified its position, with companies within the city securing 56% of the total funding. Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, and Ottawa rounded out the top five cities, having raised at least $100 million in VC investment.
• ICT investments accounted for $2,387 million, representing 53% of total venture capital (VC) investment, a decline from 59% in 2025. Cleantech companies secured $915 million, accounting for 20% of total funding, an increase from 14% in 2025.  Life sciences companies raised $746 million, maintaining their 16% share, unchanged from 2025. Aerospace and defence companies continued to attract VC investment, securing $172 million, representing 4% of total VC funding. 
• Early-stage companies raised $2,096 million, capturing 44% of total capital deployed, remained unchanged from that in 2025. Growth- and later-stage companies attracted $488 million, representing a 10% share, down sharply from 37% in 2025. Bridge type of financing captured $1,070 million or 23% of total funding, up sharply from 9% in 2025.

Venture Capital Funding Sources and Investors in Canada: Where Capital Came From

• Investors from 33 countries or regions participated in financings involving Canadian companies, a decrease from 55 in 2025.
• U.S. investors invested $3,030 million, representing 64% of the total funding, the highest share of Canadian investments.
• Non-U.S. international investors continued to exhibit limited interest in backing Canadian companies, accounting for only 4% of the total funding.
• In total, US VC funds, corporate VCs, and investment funds collectively invested $2,751 million, representing 58% of the total funding flowed into Canadian VC-backed companies.
• Canadian governments, VC funds, and corporate VC investors collectively invested just over $1 billion ($1.074 billion), which accounts for 23% of the total funding.

Venture Capital Fundraising in Canada

• Canadian VC firms raised $2,690 million through 40 VC funds, compared to $3,517 million by 62 funds in 2025.
• Radical Ventures Breakouts Fund I, L.P., and two BDC Capital new platforms/allocation collectively raised $1.84 billion, representing 68% of total VC fund fundraising.  

Venture Capital Exits Remain Sluggish

• Canada has recorded no VC-backed IPOs since 2021.
• No significant secondary transactions were reported during the period.
• GSK plc's acquisition of 35Pharma was a notable liquidity event amid an otherwise subdued exit environment.

"The Q3, 2026 VC data continue and even amplify the difficult circumstances facing the industry today. Investment levels are down, particularly at the growth and later-stage where there has been a precipitous drop year over year. VC fundraising remains exceptionally challenging, and the IPO drought continues unabated for the fifth consecutive year. What's more, US VC investment in Canada has risen to 64%^[!], an all-time high while non-US international VC investment continues to drop like a stone to 4% versus 12% in 2025 and 19% in 2019. Ontario, particularly Toronto, has increased its dominance in VC, accounting for 61% of investments, up from 56%, while Quebec continues to severely lag with just over18% of investment dollars," commented Richard Rémillard, President, Rémillard Consulting Group (RCG) .

"The Q3,2026 data do not auger well for the final year tally for investment, fundraising and exits for the VC industry in Canada.

Worth watching going forward are two specific areas.

First, the extent to which the present downward trend in non-US VC  investments may or may not be reversed. Much effort is being expended by the public and the private sector today to increase the appeal of the VC asset class to non-US investors with the first fruits of that effort perhaps starting to appear in H1, 2027. The clock is ticking.

Second, comparable effort is being devoted to increasing the availability of growth and later-stage investment capital. Here too, there is unlikely to be any reversal of the most recent downward trend until H1, 2027 or even later."

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^! Important - No public information has been released identifying the investors in Cohere's $677.2 million SAFE bridge financing. Given the size of the financing, the absence of this information may materially affect portions of the data presented in this Q3 report. If the investors' identities are disclosed at a later date, the information will be incorporated into subsequent CPE Analytics' reports, consistent with our commitment to accurate, timely, and comprehensive data compilation and reporting.

Summary report
The full summary report is available on the financings.ca website: https://www.financings.ca/reports/

Methodology
Included

• Equity and quasi-equity investments made directly into companies.

Excluded

• Secondary transactions or investor/shareholder exit events in which no capital flowed to the company.
• Acquisitions undertaken for expansion purposes (M&As).
• PE transactions
• Financings involving foreign-headquartered or foreign-domiciled companies with Canadian subsidiaries.

Rémillard Consulting Group (RCG)
Rémillard Consulting Group (RCG) is an Ottawa-based bilingual consulting firm that provides private-sector, government, and trade association clients with research-grounded advice on business issues and public policy matters related to the Canadian financial services industry. For more information: Richard Remillard, [email protected]

CPE Analytics
CPE Analytics, a leading Canadian source of financing intelligence, offers comprehensive, verified, and unbiased insights into private and public financings, IPOs, M&As, and fundraising by professional investment firms. Its venture capital coverage includes detailed funding sources by country and investor type. CPE Analytics is the data analytics division of CPE Media & Data Company. More information: https://cpeanalytics.ca, https://financings.ca  

CPE Media & Data Company
CPE Media & Data Company, founded by Canada's most experienced private capital and financing research professionals, is a leading provider of financing news and intelligence in Canada. More information: https://cpecompany.ca/ 

Contacts
Ted Liu
CPE Media & Data Company
647-782-8818, [email protected]

Richard Rémillard
Rémillard Consulting Group (RCG)
613-715-3055, [email protected]

SOURCE CPE Media & Data Company