Startup Genome’s latest global startup ecosystem rankings have found that some of Canada’s largest technology hubs have lost ground since last year, while others have remained strong amid a tough fundraising environment.
Startup Genome ranks the strength and quality of startup ecosystems using data from five million startups across more than 350 cities and regions globally. Its choices are based on analysis of six factors, including performance, funding, talent and experience, market reach, knowledge, and one new ly-introduced metric—the degree to which they support artificial intelligence startups.
Its 2025 report found Toronto-Waterloo and Vancouver continued their descent. Though they remained in the top 40 globally, both fell for the second consecutive year, each losing a couple spots: Toronto-Waterloo dipped from 18 to 20 as Vancouver dropped from 34 to 36 (two years ago, Toronto-Waterloo was 17 and Vancouver was 30).
Startup Genome’s report found a common denominator of relatively weak startup funding across Canadian hubs.
They were joined by Ottawa, which Startup Genome ranked in the 71–80 range on its list of the top 100 emerging ecosystems, down from when it featured 61–70 last year. Montréal, which remained the only other Canadian city to crack the top 40 globally, held on at number 39.
It was a similar story for Calgary, which stuck inside the 41–50 range for emerging ecosystems.
These results indicate Vancouver, Toronto-Waterloo, and Ottawa have some room for improvement. According to Startup Genome’s report, one of the common denominators was weak startup funding, as all three plus Montréal scored relatively poorly by this metric. Calgary was the only exception.
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As usual, this year’s top three ecosystems overall consisted of Silicon Valley, New York City, and London. Like in 2024, Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto-Waterloo, Ottawa, and Montréal were the only Canadian ecosystems that made Startup Genome’s latest rankings.
Toronto-Waterloo scored below many of its peers on performance, talent and experience, and market reach, but its lowest ranking was for funding. Meanwhile, Vancouver posted the lowest possible scores in funding and knowledge, and for Ottawa, the lowest scores were in funding and market reach.
The Canadian startup funding environment has been a hot topic of discussion in Canadian venture capital (VC) lately. At Elevate’s recent CIX Summit in Toronto, Canadian VC leaders held closed-door discussions about poor investment performance, a lack of funds willing or able to lead deals, and concerns about the “prevailing narrative” of a feeble sector becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.
RELATED: Canadian VCs arrive at annual industry gathering in need of a “wake-up call”
Those private concerns became public conversation after the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association revealed Q1 2025 was another tough quarter, featuring particularly sluggish pre-seed and seed-stage activity and a five-year low in deal count. The organization also released a separate report about the outsized role American VCs play in scaling Canadian tech startups.
In some respects, Startup Genome’s findings line up with a recent StartupBlink report that found Canada no longer ranked among the top four countries for startups globally. But from a city standpoint, they differ: StartupBlink reported that Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver posted year-over-year gains in overall rankings of ecosystem health, while Montréal and Ottawa saw declines.
As that report noted, what is clear is that Canada’s startup ecosystem remains heavily reliant on the United States for funding, which presents some long-term risks, given ongoing tensions between the two nations.