Ottawa launches $1.75-billion venture and growth capital plan

The federal government has announced $1.75 billion for a new Venture and Growth Capital Plan intended to attract more private investment into Canadian companies at different stages of development.

The plan has two parts. A $1-billion Growth Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative includes $700 million for large fund-of-funds managers, $200 million focused on life sciences and $100 million for emerging managers. Ottawa says those commitments are expected to attract at least $2.1 billion from private investors.

A separate $750-million strategy administered by the Business Development Bank of Canada will direct $75 million toward pre-seed and seed financing and $675 million toward later-stage and growth capital. Expressions of interest for the Growth VCCI are open until January 21, 2027, at noon Pacific time.

The money is a capital-market measure, not a grant program for individual businesses. Montréal-area founders and investors will need to watch the eventual fund-manager selections and BDC deployment details to see how the financing reaches companies.

Source: Government of Canada announcement, published October 22, 2026.

Illustrative photo: Matthew Osborn / Unsplash licence. Cropped and resized.