Thank you, Minister Mélanie Joly, for announcing additional details on the Venture and Growth Capital Catalyst Initiative (Growth VCCI) and Canada’s Early and Growth Stage Investment Strategy, both of which were announced in Budget 2025.
Earlier this year, OBIO® welcomed the government's $200 million allocation to a new Life Sciences stream within the $1 billion Growth VCCI. OBIO® was delighted to take part in the consultation on how to roll out the life sciences stream and we look forward to seeing the final selection criteria. A dedicated VCCI Life Sciences stream is essential to addressing Canada's domestic capital gap and strengthening our ecosystem.
Announced in Budget 2025, the $1 billion Growth VCCI has three streams:
$700 million Fund-of-Funds stream focused on leveraging more private capital by incentivizing pension funds and other institutional investors. Minister Joly announced that the stream is now open for Expressions of Interest due by January 21, 2027.
$200 million Life Sciences stream, focused on VC fund managers that support innovative Canadian life sciences companies
$100 million Emerging Manager stream, focused on supporting emerging fund managers, including those that support strategic sectors; and those located outside traditional VC hubs
Minister Joly also unveiled Canada’s Early and Growth Stage Investment Strategy, a new $750 million plan to address early- and growth-stage funding gaps for scaling firms at two pivotal stages of development. The strategy has two streams:
$75 million Pre-Seed and Seed Investment Stream to support domestic investment in companies at the earliest stages of development that helps them progress to Series A and beyond
$675 million Later and Growth Stage Investment Stream to support domestic investment in companies at later stages that helps them scale and remain anchored in Canada
OBIO® welcomes the expansion of the government’s venture capital strategy to include Pre-Seed and Seed investments. In the life sciences sector, there is a great need for funds to cover the full spectrum of investments from Seed to Series B. There are two major financing gaps in the sector: pre-seed/seed to Series A and then post-Series A. Without adequate domestic capital pools, it remains tremendously difficult to keep early-stage companies anchored in Canada past their Series A rounds.
We look forward to continuing to work with the government to build a holistic program approach that addresses the diverse needs life sciences companies.