Canada Sees Us Now. Let’s Make It Count.

From the Founder

June 5, 2025

To the founders, the builders, and the believers —

Last week, the Prime Minister issued the 2025 Mandate Letter to his cabinet.

Most people skim past these kinds of announcements. But if you’re building a company in this country — if you’re pouring your energy into innovation, job creation, or building a better future — this one deserves your full attention.

Because, for once, they said it out loud:
Canada’s future rests on talent, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

Finally.

We’ve been living this truth for years — bootstrapping, hiring before funding, pulling off the impossible with three freelancers and a shared Notion doc. We’ve built products from dorm rooms, garages, small towns, and second bedrooms — all while navigating outdated systems that weren’t designed for startups or speed.

And now? There’s a clear signal:
The government sees us.

Not just as a niche sector — but as the engine of the modern Canadian economy.

That matters. Because innovation doesn’t just live in Toronto or Vancouver. It’s happening in Indigenous communities launching climate solutions. In immigrant-led teams reimagining supply chains. In young founders tackling housing, healthcare, and workforce gaps head-on — not with theories, but with tech stacks and scrappy execution.

So yes, this letter is a start. A real one.
But we also know the truth:

Talent without pathways is waste.
Innovation without investment is theatre.
Mandates without action are noise.

It’s not enough to name the vision. We need to build the scaffolding to support it.
That means:

• Funding that reaches the early stages, not just post-traction

• Talent strategies that include non-traditional pathways, not just degrees

• Procurement models that make space for startups, not just incumbents

• A national mindset that celebrates risk-takers instead of penalizing failure

This is our moment to make sure startup builders don’t get left behind while everyone else gets future-proofed.

At Founded in Canada, we’re doubling down on what builders in this country need — spotlighting the bold ones, surfacing real founder stories, and building the connective tissue across provinces, sectors, and backgrounds.

Here’s where we’re starting:

• Explore the FiC Directory – Find founder-friendly orgs, programs, and funding. No logins, no paywalls. Just clarity.

• Check the Luma Calendar – Stay in the loop on upcoming startup events across Canada. No FOMO, just founder-relevant action.

• Sign up for the Newsletter – Your weekly roundup of new grants, events, and programs that matter.

• Join the Waitlist – Get early access to platform features and community drops made just for builders like you.

Because if Canada is serious about innovation, we can’t just talk about AI and clean tech — we need to talk about how we empower the humans behind them.

We’re all in.
And if you’re reading this, we hope you are too.

Keep building,
Kendra Garagan
Founder, Founded in Canada