Elbows up: Spring Impact Capital calls for a giant spreadsheet of available early-stage Canadian capital

It’s all well and good to say “elbows up” in the face of American tariff aggression, but Canadian small businesses know that a trade war usually just increases costs for the business, which is then passed on to the consumer. 

A recent Bank of Canada report showed that prices for goods subject to Canada’s counter-tariffs in March of 2025 rose about six per cent more than prices of non-tariffed goods. 

Is there a way to find investment capital for small Canadian businesses to try to avoid increasing costs due to tariffs?

Spring Impact Capital’s response is a giant spreadsheet through Airtable.

The Vancouver-based capital provider says they’re creating a single go-to source that lists all early-stage capital available in Canada.

“Our goal is to help founders and leaders realize there is more capital in Canada than they likely know about or expect, and to encourage Canadian investment into Canadian organizations and communities,” said Keith Ippel, co-lead for Spring Impact Capital.
“For select businesses and ventures, this will also encourage them to stay versus considering a move to the U.S.”

To accomplish this, funders are invited to complete a form to help others find new capital.

For now, there are no exclusion criteria; all funders are welcome, offering equity, debt, grants, or other alternative approaches.

A similar site, The Funding Portal, has existed since 2011, founded by Canadian lawyer Terry Kirk, but now owned by Ryan, an American AI solutions vendor. It tracks 11,000 North American grants, incentives, bank financing, angel capital, and foundation programs.

However, users must pay to access the Funding Portal, said Ippel.  

“And it does not include all equity options,” he added.