Canadian venture capital investments totaled C$315 million ($325 million) in the first quarter, roughly in line with the year-ago period, as the sector continued to struggle in an extended funding drought. According to data compiled by the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) and research partner Thomson Reuters, dollar flows went to 111 innovative companies in the January-March period, with investments per firm averaging C$2.8 million. New commitments to venture capital fund-raising totaled C$217 million in the quarter, compared with C$386 million in the same period a year ago. "High-growth technology firms in Canada continue to be starved of the value-added risk investment needed to realize their potential, and to compete with comparable high-growth firms on a global basis," CVCA President Gregory Smith, a managing partner at Brookfield Financial in Toronto, said in a statement. The report found deal-making in Ontario and Western Canada contributed the most to venture capital investing in the quarter. Dollar flows to the province of Quebec declined.
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