Last October, Amiral Ventures convened a timely and insightful gathering at Espace CDPQ in Montréal: a live recording of The Flagship Podcast focused on the challenges and opportunities facing Québec’s early-stage startup ecosystem.
A Clear Picture: Where Things Stand
Panels of founders and general partners, alongside researchers, laid out a picture that’s both hopeful and urgent:
Québec startups are facing a tightened fundraising environment, with private funding sources dropping from about 60% before 2022 to 52% between 2022–2023.
At the same time, public and para-public financing continues to play a crucial role, even as its share of investment shifts.
Many in attendance emphasized that in this climate, turning to U.S. investors offers a promising path forward. Some founders have already begun doing so.
Voices from the Event
Some of the key contributors included:
Tom Birch (CDPQ, Global Managing Director of Venture Capital & Technology)
Gilles Duruflé & Simon Pelletier (Authors of the Réseau Capital report on Québec fundraising)
Ashley Werhun (Co-founder & CEO of Mentorly)
David Charbonneau (Boréal Ventures)
Felicity Meyer (BoxOne Ventures)
David Nault (Luge Capital)
Eleonore Jarry (Partner, Brightspark)
Fred Bastien (Managing Partner at Amiral Ventures)
Each speaker added a different perspective, from the macro economic trends, to the regulatory, to the on-the-ground experience of startups and investors trying to raise.
Key Takeaways
The audience sentiment reinforced that while the fundraising climate is challenging, Québec’s early-stage ecosystem is far from stagnant. The opportunity to partner with U.S. capital is seen as both strategic and necessary.
There was a shared sense that founders might need to lean more toward revenue growth and sustainable operations, rather than relying solely on investment, particularly in this environment.
Moreover, structuring investment vehicles in a way that enables cross-border capital flows was discussed as a route to help address the gap