Nivard's Dominion List tallies Canada's lost tech value

A new database aims to put a number on what Canada loses when its founders build in the US. The Dominion List, created by venture capitalist Antoine Nivard earlier this year, catalogues 552 companies and 53 unicorns founded or co-founded by Canadians that have raised more than $600 billion USD. The list counts a Canadian connection through citizenship, birthplace, or education.

Nivard told BetaKit he started the database after Y Combinator briefly removed Canada from its list of accepted incorporation countries. That move stoked outrage about a talent drain that Canadian tech publication BetaKit has tracked for years. The conversation intensified this week when Jesse Rodgers of Builders Club reshared stats from the list, calling it a "damning" portrait of where Canada underdelivers. Build Canada CEO Lucy Hargreaves called it a "five-alarm fire for policymakers."

The data fits a pattern. The Business Development Bank of Canada has called the country's early-stage funding gap an "economic sovereignty" issue. The CCI found Canadian startups often sell to foreign buyers when it's time to scale. The CFIN reported barely any Canadian capital in foodtech beyond the seed stage.

Nivard said the policy conversation should not focus on stopping the drain. "Venture outcomes at this scale are one of Canada's great exports, and it should be a point of pride rather than a grievance," he wrote in an email. Instead, he argued the list gives Canada a chance to support founders who want to move home and those who want to stay.

Policymakers have taken note. The question is what the fall budget will do to keep the next class of founders at home.