Venture Capital Fundraising Concerns in Canada
According to 2011 year-end figures from the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, a four-year high of $1.5 billion from VC was disbursed to Canadian startups last year. Although this was the highest level since 2008, this was far short of the $2.1 billion invested in 2007. New funds for VC hit $1 billion […]
2012 Alberta Budget- SR&ED Tax Credit Enhanced
The Alberta Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) program provides a tax credit to Alberta corporations for eligible expenditures incurred after December 31, 2008. The credit is worth 10% of a company’s eligible SR&ED expenditures in Alberta up to a $4 million expenditure limit, for a maximum credit of $400,000, and it is refundable for […]
Steven Harper on Possibility of Canada-China Free Trade Agreement
There has been quite a bit of buzz recently about the possibility of shipping Canada’s western oil to China. Could this opportunity pave the way for a future Canada-China free trade agreement? According to a recent interview with CBC Radio’s The House, Harper was asked about China’s Premier Wen Jiabao’s suggestion that Canada and China […]
Exciting Times to be a Canadian Entrepreneur
With Propel ICT in New Brunswick announcing their first startup cohort of 11 startup companies, and the accelerator program launches of FounderFuel in Montreal, and GrowLab in Vancouver in the past year, entrepreneurship is at an all-time high across Canada. There is a plethora of innovation in Canada these days. And one thing you can […]
Entrepreneurial Financing in Atlantic Canada Expanding Rapidly
According to the Globe and Mail, Atlantic Canada has immense entrepreneurial opportunities and has shown recent growth in entrepreneurial financing. Halifax alone has more than 1,200 financial services firms with 14,000 employees. Atlantic Canada has a huge advantage in shipments to Europe because of its year-round deep-water ports that are closer to Europe than any other […]
Canada Leads G8 in Population Growth
According to the latest Canadian census results by Statistics Canada, Canada has shown strong and steady growth in every part of Canada and has reached a total population of 33.5 million. An open approach to immigration is the major contributor towards the growth spurt. However, the numbers did reveal a westward shift in the population. […]
Software Development and SR&ED
Software development is a key industry when it comes to R&D in Canada – in 2008 there were over 55,000 computer systems design and related companies operating in Canada, and that number continues to grow. Between smartphone apps and cloud computing, with infinite applications in every industry, we need to keep ahead. The government is […]
Harper signals Canada’s looming R&D revamp
Canadian Prime Minister Harper reiterated possible amendments to the Canadian SR&ED program at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland on Thursday. “We believe that Canada’s less than optimal results for those investments is a significant problem for our country,” Mr. Harper stated. Suggested changes, as previously mentioned by the Globe and Mail, follow from the much-discussed […]
New Hiring Credit for Small Business (HCSB)
The HCSB is a one-time credit of up to $1,000 based on the increase in an employer’s employment insurance (EI) premiums paid for 2011 over those paid for 2010. This hiring credit will be available to employers whose total EI premiums were at or below $10,000 in 2010. Employers must file their 2011 T4 information […]
Email Fraud Alert from the CRA
The Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) posted an Email Fraud Alert yesterday, cautioning taxpayers to be aware of a phishing scam posing as CRA communication. Phishing is an attempt to acquire secure, personal information from individuals or businesses, such as user names or credit card information, by posing as trustworthy entity in electronic or other communication. […]