221 10 Ave SE #120, Calgary, AB T2G 0V9
Canada's Succession Summit
Bringing together business leaders, advisors, investors, capital providers, and policymakers to strengthen Canada's ETA ecosystem, shape policy, and help ensure a responsible intergenerational transfer of business ownership that supports Canada's long-term economic sovereignty.
- Date
- October 17, 2026
- City
- Calgary, AB
- Format
- In-person
Supported by
Canada's succession challenge requires more than buyers.
Canada is entering one of the largest ownership transitions in its history. Over the next decade, thousands of business owners will retire — trillions of dollars in assets and decades of economic activity embedded in communities across the country.
The question is not whether these transitions will occur. The question is whether Canada is prepared for them.
Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) offers one of the most promising pathways to keep businesses operating, growing, and rooted in the communities they serve — but that ecosystem remains fragmented, with uneven access to capital, expertise, and relationships.
One day, six priorities we intend to move forward.
Build stronger connections across Canada's ETA and ownership ecosystem.
Surface barriers preventing successful ownership transitions.
Share practical insights, lessons, and opportunities.
Identify priorities that can strengthen Canada's ownership infrastructure.
Expand awareness of ETA and related ownership pathways.
Create momentum for greater collaboration across regions and sectors.
Make acquisition a real path for the next generation of Canadian owners.
To bring together business leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, advisors, policymakers, and ecosystem builders to improve the conditions for business succession and ownership transitions across Canada.
Curated rooms where searchers, sellers, capital, policymakers, advisors, and academics can find each other.
Workshops and panels grounded in real Canadian transactions and structures.
Policy recommendations developed with the people closest to the work.
A Canada where business ownership transitions strengthen communities, create opportunities, and shape the policy foundations that sustain long-term economic prosperity for the next generation.
#MyVisionForCanada
Voices shaping Canada's ownership transition.
Meet our growing lineup of leaders, operators, investors, advisors, and policymakers joining us in Calgary.
Schedule
October 17, 2026 · Calgary, AB
Check-in and morning coffee.
Start the day with a national view of Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition in Canada and the policy questions that make this moment so important.
Canada is entering the largest transfer of business ownership in its history — a wave of retiring owners with too few prepared buyers to catch it. This opening conversation frames the stakes: why succession is the economic story of this moment, what's at risk if the handover goes badly, and why the people in this room are the ones positioned to shape it.
When a Canadian business sells, the value it created can either stay in the community or leave the country. This session goes inside the tax structures and policy wins that keep ownership local, from the employee ownership trust breakthrough to the financing models that let mission-driven capital acquire and steward Canadian businesses.
This panel explores what supports business owners currently have as they prepare to exit, where the biggest gaps remain, and how trust, timing, legacy, and advisory support shape transaction outcomes — and what it takes to make ownership transitions more workable and attractive for sellers across Canada.
Time to connect with fellow participants from across the ETA ecosystem — policymakers, funders, operators, advisors, educators, and ecosystem builders. An informal block that creates space for conversations that can spark collaboration long after the conference ends.
This panel examines where financing gaps are emerging in the Canadian ecosystem and why viable deals stall. From lender appetite and capital structures to the deal terms that determine whether financing actually comes together, panelists bring both the capital side and the transaction side of the table.
Canada needs stronger pathways to prepare buyers, sellers, and intermediaries with the knowledge, skills, and confidence required to navigate ETA successfully. This session explores what readiness looks like in practice, where gaps exist, and how educators, nonprofits, advisors, and ecosystem partners can help build the human capital needed.
A synthesis of the major insights, themes, and policy directions that emerged across the day.
Take the schedule with you
Download session overviewGeneral Admission
Early bird pricing until September 1
Space is limited. Have an access code? Reserve your ticket now. Otherwise, refer a leader or contact us to request a place.
Everything you need to partner with us.
Session Overview
The full day-of schedule — every session, time, and description in one page.
Sponsor Package
Tiers, audience, deliverables, and how your brand shows up at the Summit.
Media Kit
Logos, brand guidelines, photography, and approved messaging.
The Summit is made possible by leaders who believe in Canadian business.
We are deeply grateful to the partners who make this convening possible.
Hosted by Venture for Canada.
Venture for Canada is a national charity fostering entrepreneurial skills, mindset, and impact in Canadians. The Succession Summit is part of our work building the next generation of Canadian owners and operators.
Foster entrepreneurial skills and mindset in Canadians through experiential learning, training, and connection to entrepreneurial work.
A Canada where every person has the entrepreneurial skills and opportunity to build a meaningful career and contribute to a thriving economy.
Questions, partnerships, or press?
We'd love to hear from you. Reach out and someone from the Summit team will reply within two business days.