By David Perry
$500 Million in new capital investment would be a significant boost for Canada’s tech firms, especially those in early stage. The hunt for capital is a key factor in success or failure so a new option would be significant.
Old idea with a new application
The option is called Flow-Through Shares (FTS) and in fact the idea is Canadian-made and has been used by the mining industry for 71 years, generating in recent years more than $800 million annually for mining exploration. The exploration expenses flow through to investors who then receive a tax break up to 100% of their investment. FTS was also used by oil and gas sector and is still used by renewable energy firms.
Exploration is to mining what R&D is to tech. Now this tried and true investment incentive could be in the next federal budget as Canadians are finding ways to respond to the Trump efforts to upend trade.
What FTS could do for tech
Canada Flow-Through Shares (
www.CanFlowThrough.com ) is a national campaign to to convince the Liberal government to extend FTS to tech companies, especially smaller firms. We calculate that in year one, FTS would spark the following impact.
- $500 Million in new investment
- $1.25 Billion in new economic activity
- $375 million in new tax revenue
The Liberals already issued an election promise to extend FTS to AI, biotech, advanced manufacturing and quantum computing. We hope to get extended even further and believe the measure is expected to be in the upcoming budget. We have been told PM Carney personally backs this and is well aware of the success of FTS. In our recent pre-budget submission we highlighted the many benefits of FTS:
1. Attract Domestic Capital – FTS enables Canadians to invest in Canadian innovation, reducing dependence on U.S. venture capital and keeping ownership at home.
2. Accelerate Innovation – By channeling resources into R&D, startups in AI, quantum computing, clean tech, and life sciences can scale more rapidly.
3. Job Creation – Tech jobs pay 54% above the Canadian average. Expanding FTS means more high-value employment across Canada.
4. Fiscal Responsibility – Unlike deficit spending, FTS leverages private investment reducing pressure on public spending.
5. Global Competitiveness – Canada will mirror the success of the U.K.’s Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), which generated nearly £30B in private investment and supported over 53,000 startups.
Add your voice to the FTS campaign
Co-founders of the campaign are Paul LaBarge, one the nations top lawyers in the tech sector and tax law, the other is David Perry one of Canada’s top talent recruiters specializing in tech C-Class talent.
We have the support of the likes of…
- Billionaire tech leader, Terry Matthews
- Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe
- Two former CEO’S of Invest Ottawa, Claude Haw and Michael Tremblay
- Jenna Sudds, Liberal Member of Parliament for Kanata
- Alex Tapscott of NinePartners investment firm of Toronto.
If you go to our website you can also add your voice to the campaign with a public statement of support, and we urger you to click on the link on our site and take our survey and voice your opinions.
Be the spark that gets government moving on this strategic investment in our economy and our country!
About David Perry: David Perry recruits the tech execs who scale companies fast. As Managing Partner of Perry-Martel, he’s placed C-Class leaders across North America. Author of Hiring Greatness, Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters, and Executive Recruiting for Dummies, David’s known for bold, battle-tested tactics that get results when the stakes are highest. He has been active with several Canadian tech organizations working to boost the sector.
