Richard Remillard | RCG Group | Oct 20, 2015

What does yesterday’s stunning federal election victory for Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau mean for the future of crowdfunding?

A first, quick reaction might be: not much.  After all, crowdfunding didn’t appear in the victorious Liberal party’s platform and wasn’t raised at all in the course of the 78-day campaign by any of the political parties.  However, this view might be too shortsighted.

The advent of a majority Liberal government means that winds of change have blown open many previously shut windows. New thinking about new ways of doing new things seems to be on the public agenda and the new governing party’s.  Everyone can start thinking big now.

In the short-term, the new government will have to decide how hard it wants to push for the new Canadian capital markets regulatory body that the previous regime was only able to take so far. Much will depend on the incoming Minister of Finance and where this item fits with his or her own personal priorities.

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• Securities crowdfunding breakthrough

Quite apart from substance, the new government has promised to adopt a consultative approach – which plays out on the broader stage with an improved dialogue with the provinces and with Aboriginal Canadians. It is up to our industry to initiate that dialogue with the new administration. Groups are already out there publicly commenting on proposed government policy and how, in some cases, it should be modified.

In a larger sense, one of the electoral themes that was lurking underground but that only surfaced episodically has to do with innovation policy.  Crowdfunding is, at heart, an innovative financing mechanism for funding innovative projects. And, it too has excited a large number of people who are excited by and energized by the potential it offers.

We need to take advantage of the new receptivity to add the crowdfunding voice to the calls that have surfaced over the past two and a half months for a comprehensive innovation policy for Canada that sets ambitious targets with a deliberate strategy for taking the country from also-ran position to first place in the world.

“Equity crowdfunding is the most exciting financial sector innovation to have come along in decades. With the proper regulatory and governmental environment, equity crowdfunding has the potential to significantly contribute to the business success of the next generation of high growth start up and early stage companies and, in so doing keep, Canada competitive in the 21st century,” said Richard Remillard, President, Remillard Consulting Group.

 

The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with both social and investment crowdfunding stakeholders across the country.  NCFA Canada provides education, research, leadership, support and networking opportunities to over 1100+ members and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding industry in Canada.  Learn more About Us or visit ncfacanada.org.