The U.S. is weaponizing our flow-through model for its tech industry while our leaders talk, stall, and watch the future move south.
Canada has a peculiar talent: we invent world-changing ideas and then let other countries scale them. Add another to the list: flow-through shares.
Flow-throughs are a wholly Canadian invention. They transformed our mining sector into a global exploration powerhouse by letting companies renounce eligible expenses to investors, who then deduct them from tax — pushing risk capital where banks and VCs won’t. The U.K. looked at that logic and adapted it for startups through EIS/SEIS. Result? In 2023–24 alone: EIS funnelled £1.575 billion into 3,780 companies, while SEIS delivered £242 million to 2,290 companies as the program limits were expanded. Cumulatively, EIS/SEIS have now channelled roughly £34 billion into 59,000+ British businesses. GOV.UK+2EISA+2
And Canada? We’ve left flow-throughs shackled to mining. Extending the regime to innovation could inject ~$500 million of private capital into Canadian tech almost immediately — not subsidies; investor-side risk sharing that we invented.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is moving — fast.
- Who’s moving? Donald Trump’s policy allies and U.S. investment groups like Crowdfund Capital Advisors (architects of the JOBS Act) — already shaping a U.S. “flow-through-style” regime.
- What are they doing? Copy-pasting Canada’s playbook under the banner of investor-side tax relief (think U.K. EIS/SEIS) — same functional idea: shift the tax advantage to investors to unlock billions for startups and critical industries. (For reference on the U.K. scale and mechanics, see HMRC’s annual EIS/SEIS statistics.)
- When? Now. Trump-aligned teams are actively lobbying to drive capital into U.S. tech, critical minerals, and advanced manufacturing.
- Where? Washington, D.C. — moving faster than Ottawa by miles.
- Why it matters? Because Canada invented flow-through shares and proved they work. The U.K. copied the concept and built a £34 billion growth engine. If we don’t act, Washington will brand our idea “Made in America.” EISA
We’ve seen this movie: Canada invents; others scale; we applaud from the sidelines. This time the stakes are bigger: jobs, leadership, and strategic capacity. Ottawa’s silence since mid-2025 is not benign — it’s a green light for U.S. policy entrepreneurs to sprint past us.
Bottom line: Extend flow-throughs to innovation now. Use our own tool to prime AI, biotech, clean tech, and advanced manufacturing — before America rebrands it and reaps the jobs.
If you agree, take 2 minutes: read the submission and complete the survey at CanFlowThrough.com. Let’s force Ottawa to act — before we hand another Canadian invention to the U.S.
