In 2023, venture capital in Canada witnessed a cumulative investment of $6.9 billion across 660 deals, with the fourth quarter attracting $1.4B over 142 deals, a year-end report from the Canadian Venture Capital Association shows.
These data demonstrate “a return to pre-pandemic momentum despite a year-over-year slowdown caused largely by rising interest rates and economic uncertainties,” according to CVCA.
Leveraging data from the CVCA Intelligence platform, the organization’s quarterly market overview reports offer analyses of the Canadian market, providing a panoramic view of private capital trends.
“The Canadian VC market has reacted with moderation to the challenging factors creating headwinds for the sector,” stated Kim Furlong, Chief Executive Officer of CVCA. “With capital tightening and being selectively allocated to high-potential sectors . . . 2023 showcased the industry’s resilience.”
Alberta ranked fourth nationwide for deals done and dollars invested. The province sits behind Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia.
Entering the year with momentum, Alberta posted more than $700M invested across nearly 90 deals through 2023, according to CVCA.
“After a record investment in 2022, Alberta had another strong year with $707M invested across 86 deals in 2023,” the report reads.
Breaking it down by city, Calgary and Edmonton rank fourth and fifth in Canada, behind Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto.
Calgary saw $500M invested across 64 deals, while Edmonton saw $188M invested across 21 deals in 2023.
Powering another strong year for the region were a couple of major investments.
Edmonton-headquartered Jobber kicked things off early with a US$100 million round led by global growth equity investor General Atlantic.
And then, toward the end of the year, federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced that Calgary’s Eavor (pronounced “Ever”) received $90 million from the federal government to help it scale its geothermal closed-loop technology at a commercial level.
Moving forward, “there is cautious optimism in the market,” says Furlong, who believes that Canada can “navigate the current financial landscape’s complexities while continuing to support innovation.”
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