{"id":865503,"date":"2026-08-20T23:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T23:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/865503\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T23:02:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T23:02:10","slug":"the-carney-government-is-concerned-about-canadas-entrepreneurial-exodus-heres-how-to-fix-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/865503\/","title":{"rendered":"The Carney government is concerned about Canada\u2019s entrepreneurial exodus. Here\u2019s how to fix it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Build Canada, the tech-and-business-backed policy platform founded by entrepreneurs, recently caused a stir on X with a pair of infographics on Canada\u2019s entrepreneurial exodus (see here<\/a> and here<\/a>). Their CEO, Lucy Hargreaves, called it \u201ca five-alarm fire\u201d for policymakers. She\u2019s right, and it lands at a timely moment.<\/p>\n

Finance Minister Fran\u00e7ois-Philippe Champagne is asking Canadians for ideas to improve the tax system ahead of the fall federal budget. His office reached out for recommendations, and it was clear from that conversation that the Carney government sees this exodus as a pressing problem.<\/p>\n

Champagne says he doesn\u2019t want to study the issue and considers himself \u201ca man of action<\/a>.\u201d The bias for action is the right instinct. We need to move quickly on making Canada\u2019s tax system much more competitive.<\/p>\n

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Canada has endured more than a decade of weak productivity growth, compounded by tariffs, geopolitical volatility, and sluggish business investment<\/a>. Both capital and talent are voting with their feet<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What follows are tax changes that could move the needle. This isn\u2019t an exhaustive list, and it comes with a caveat upfront: in a country running sizable deficits, these changes must be paid for. Ottawa can fund them by clearing out boutique carve-outs and tax preferences or by restraining ineffective spending. Fiscal discipline shapes the design of tax reform, but it can\u2019t be an excuse for inaction. There\u2019s too much at stake.<\/p>\n

Capital gains taxes<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with capital gains, the area most directly tied to the entrepreneurial brain drain. In 2016, roughly three-quarters of Canadian founders who raised more than $1 million were based in Canada. By 2024, only about a third remained<\/a> and nearly half had moved to the U.S. Other data reinforces this trend (see here<\/a>, here<\/a>, and here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

We can\u2019t change the reality that the U.S. is a much more dynamic economy that attracts ambitious entrepreneurs. The American market is deeper, its venture capital ecosystem is more mature, and its network effects are unparalleled. Ottawa can\u2019t legislate its way past San Francisco. It can, however, stop making the decision to build here harder than it needs to be.<\/p>\n

\n Continue reading\n <\/p>\n

The Carney government is alarmed by Canada\u2019s entrepreneurial exodus. Key proposals to enhance competitiveness include overhauling capital gains taxes, personal income taxes, and corporate taxes to attract and retain entrepreneurs. Canada needs comprehensive tax reform rather than piecemeal measures, as well as the importance of addressing broader economic policies. With a focus on fiscal discipline, the government must act decisively to reverse the trend of capital and talent leaving Canada.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Build Canada, the tech-and-business-backed policy platform founded by entrepreneurs, recently caused a stir on X with a pair…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":865504,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[45,49,48,137],"class_list":["post-865503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entrepreneurship","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entrepreneurship"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=865503"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/865503\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/865504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=865503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=865503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=865503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}