Answers for Canadian health & life science founders

The questions founders actually ask

Full answers, free, no sign-up. These are the questions that come up most often from Canadian healthcare, health tech, medical device, pharma and life science founders raising from first cheque through Series A.

What non-dilutive funding is available for Canadian healthcare startups?SR&ED, IRAP, Mitacs, Innovative Solutions Canada and the provincial layer — what each one pays, and whether the cash arrives up front or as a reimbursement.SR&ED vs IRAP, and should I apply for grants or pitch investors first?How the two largest Canadian R&D programmes actually pay out, why they stack, and why the reimbursement model means you need cash before the free cash arrives.How do I find angel investors in Canada for a health tech startup?Where Canadian health angels actually are, why a long list is worse than a short one, and the filters that decide who can say yes.Can US and international investors invest in Canadian startups?Yes, and more do than founders assume. The three kinds of foreign investor open to Canadian companies, the one kind that is genuinely closed, and why no list of them exists.What do the regulatory classifications mean, and why do they change my investor list?Drug, device Class I–IV, diagnostics and software — the five routes, how Health Canada and the FDA differ, and why two health founders can have almost no investors in common.Do Canadian companies qualify for Y Combinator and US accelerators?Mostly yes. What YC, MedTech Innovator and MassChallenge accept from Canadian companies, and the two conditions worth checking before you apply.What is the difference between an accelerator and an incubator?Accelerators run fixed cohorts with deadlines and often money; incubators are open-ended and usually not funded. Both matter, at different moments.What does investment-ready actually mean?Traction that matches the round you are raising, a story that explains why it matters, and a pitch that earns a second meeting — and how the bar differs by sector and stage.

Looking for deadlines rather than answers? The On-Ramp is our free public calendar of accelerator, incubator and pitch competition deadlines for Canadian health founders.