It was feast or famine in the Atlantic Canadian venture capital arena in the first half of 2026, with New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador accounting for 96 percent of the funds raised.

The Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, released its quarterly VC data on Tuesday, showing that New Brunswick booked $31.6 million in the six months to June 30. Newfoundland reported $21 million on three deals.

Nova Scotian startups raised $2 million on two deals, and no venture capital was raised by Prince Edward Island companies.

“Atlantic Canada shows up in this half's data more than usual,” said the CVCA in a note to Entrevestor. “New Brunswick recorded $30.6 million across seven VC deals, up from $2.7 million from the same period in 2025. Newfoundland and Labrador recorded $21 million across three deals, triple its deal count from the same period in 2025.”

However, the data from the country’s main association for private capital is not all good. It revealed earlier this year that Atlantic Canadian startups raised a piddly $22.4 million in the first quarter, and now it’s showing little improvement in the second quarter with a total of $31.2 million. The second-quarter tally broke down as $23.7 million on four deals in New Brunswick, $5.5 million on two deals in Newfoundland and Labrador, and a pair of Nova Scotia deals worth $2 million.

The bright spot, of course, has been New Brunswick and its 10X growth year-on-year. The province received a boost in May when Fredericton-based cybersecurity company Lastwall closed a $16 million round led by BDC Capital’s StrongNorth Fund. The New Brunswick numbers were especially heartening given that the province only raised a total of $15 million in VC in all of 2025.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Nova Scotia data is concerning, given that it’s the region’s most populous province and often accounts for more funding than the other provinces. About a year ago, the CVCA was reporting that Nova Scotian startups had raised about $32 million in funding – 16 times as much as the 1H26 figure.

The mixed results in Atlantic Canada took place as the CVCA reported that VC funding across the country increased in dollar terms but did so on fewer deals.

The report says $2.7 billion was invested across 250 VC deals in Canada, whereas the figures were $2.3 billion on 274 deals in the same period a year earlier. The dollar value rose 17 percent while the number of deals fell 9 percent.

“Canadian investors kept capital moving through a period that would have halted most markets," said CVCA Chief Executive Benjamin Bergen in a press release. "As rounds get larger, more of the world's investors come to the table, a sign of how much Canadian companies can attract at scale. The work ahead is building more of the capacity to lead those rounds at home, so Canada captures more of the upside."