National Angel Capital Organization Calls for Unified Capital Strategy to Strengthen Canada’s Innovation and Investment Infrastructure

TORONTO, Oct. 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) today released its Report on a Unified Capital Strategy for a Sovereign Innovation Economy, calling for coordinated national action to unlock billions in private investment and strengthen Canada’s innovation economy.

Download the full report: digital.builtbyangels.com/view/327527710

The report outlines a pathway to mobilize up to $15 billion in private capital and create up to 72,000 high-value jobs through a unified national strategy. It warns that fragmented, narrow policies have left Canada’s innovation economy structurally vulnerable, with early-stage companies starved of the capital they need to compete globally.

Despite world-class talent and research capabilities, Canada invests considerably less in innovation than its global peers. Achieving venture capital (VC) intensity on par with Israel within five years would radically transform the structure of Canada’s economy, amplifying productivity and fueling broad-based prosperity. Closing this VC gap is essential to advancing Canada’s economic autonomy and long-term prosperity.

Photo Caption: Claudio Rojas, CEO of National Angel Capital Organization at NACO Summit 2025

“Canada stands at a pivotal moment to reinforce economic sovereignty and technological leadership, objectives increasingly critical as defence and dual-use innovations grow central to our national security and global competitiveness,” said Claudio Rojas, CEO of National Angel Capital Organization. “Achieving a sovereign and resilient economy—where intellectual property, ownership, and talent remain anchored domestically—requires closing significant gaps in early-stage risk capital that are particularly acute for ventures focused on defence, dual-use technologies, and other strategic sectors such as AI, quantum, cleantech, and digital health.”

Four Pillars of a Unified Capital Strategy

The report proposes four interconnected policy tools designed to operate as a single, high-impact system:

1. National Investment Tax Credit (NITC) – to increase private capital supply through a 30% investor tax credit for innovation-focused Canadian companies.
2. Sovereign Capital Catalyst Initiative (SCCI) – to coordinate public and private co-investment across all stages of company growth.
3. Strategic Capital Gains Deferral (SCGD) – to reward reinvestment of gains into Canadian innovation and frontier technologies.
4. Entrepreneurial Capital Investment Program (ECIP) – to establish the national infrastructure required to sustain early-stage networks, angel groups, and regional funds.

Collectively, these measures form a fiscally efficient, evidence-based strategy to reverse the decline in new company formation and strengthen Canada’s economic autonomy.

A National Imperative

The report cautions that without decisive, coordinated action, Canada risks losing a generational opportunity to anchor its most promising firms and technologies at home. “NACO’s Unified Capital Strategy Report shows based on international precedents that bold federal action can be a powerful unifier of otherwise fragmented provincial programs”, said Mary Long-Irwin, Board Chair of NACO. “By aligning capital flow with critical areas of national priority such as defence, dual-use, and artificial intelligence, we can catalyze an era of unprecedented economic growth.”

Without decisive action, the report warns, continued capital leakage will erode productivity, weaken supply chain resilience, and compromise Canada’s innovation sovereignty.

About National Angel Capital Organization (NACO)

Established in 2002, NACO is Canada’s professional association representing over 4,000 angel investors, serving as the national umbrella for more than 100 member organizations—including angel groups, venture funds, incubators, and accelerators. Collectively, NACO members have invested more than CAD $1.8 billion into over 2,000 Canadian ventures.

Angel investors are individuals or funds deploying capital at the earliest stages of growth. They include limited partners (LPs) investing in venture funds, family offices backing pre-seed and seed-stage ventures, and individuals investing directly or through angel groups.

High-growth companies backed by angel investment that went on to achieve significant global scale include Slack (British Columbia), Verafin (Newfoundland and Labrador), Wealthsimple (Ontario), Hopper (Québec), and Jobber and Neo Financial (Alberta). Recent standouts include CoLab (NL) and 7shifts (Saskatchewan). These successes illustrate how angel investment drives Canada’s pipeline of innovative ventures, fueling future global success stories.

Learn more at nacocanada.com

For media inquiries, contact:
Claudio Rojas, CEO, National Angel Capital Organization
Email: media@nacocanada.com

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/39b447d0-2695-414d-bec1-439ce1768aac

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5844a2a6-2af3-41ca-94ae-294e5dc488bf

NACO Report on a Unified Capital Strategy

Report on a Unified Capital Strategy for a Sovereign Innovation Economy, calling for urgent, coordinated policy action to unlock billions in private investment and secure Canada’s innovation future.

Claudio Rojas, CEO of National Angel Capital Organization at NACO Summit 2025

Claudio Rojas, CEO of National Angel Capital Organization at NACO Summit 2025

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