National summit will bring together entrepreneurs, investors, lenders, advisors 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.

TORONTO, Aug. 24, 2026 /CNW/ -- At a moment when Canada is confronting renewed questions about its economic resilience, competitiveness and sovereignty, another major economic transition is quietly approaching: thousands of SMEs are expected to change hands in the next five years, creating a $300-billion opportunity for entrepreneurs and investors ([Source: BDC]).

As a generation of Canadian business owners approaches retirement, an increasingly important question comes into focus: who will take ownership of the businesses they've spent decades building?

On October 17, 2026, Venture for Canada, in partnership with Village Wellth, will convene leaders from across the country in Calgary for the inaugural Canada's Succession Summit, a national gathering focused on strengthening the systems, policies and relationships needed to support successful business ownership transitions in Canada.

The stakes extend far beyond individual transactions. Approximately three-quarters of Canadian business owners intend to exit their businesses over the next decade, representing more than $2 trillion in business assets. How those businesses transition will have implications for jobs, communities, Canadian ownership and economic resilience for years to come.

Canada's economic and trade environment is also adding new significance to the question of business succession. As the country looks to strengthen its domestic economy, diversify its trade relationships, and build greater resilience, ensuring viable Canadian businesses can successfully transition to a new generation of owners is increasingly important to the country's ability to make decisions in its own economic interest.

Business succession is part of that conversation.

When a viable Canadian company reaches a change of ownership, the outcome can determine whether jobs remain in a community, whether decision-making stays close to the people the business serves, whether the company continues to grow, and whether the economic value built by one generation of Canadians creates opportunities for the next.

"Canada is entering one of the most significant business ownership transitions in its history," said Steven Wang, CEO of Venture for Canada. "At a time when we're having a national conversation about building a stronger and more resilient Canadian economy, we also need to think seriously about who will own the businesses that already power it. Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition gives us an important pathway to keep viable businesses operating, preserve Canadian ownership, and create opportunities for a new generation of entrepreneurs. As one of the organizations leading ETA education and programming in Canada, we see firsthand the growing interest from Canadians who want to pursue business ownership through acquisition. But preparing the next generation of owners is only one part of the equation. We also need the capital, advisors, policy, education, and ecosystem infrastructure that make successful transitions possible."

Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA), in which entrepreneurs acquire and operate existing businesses rather than starting companies from the ground up, has emerged as an important pathway for business succession. Yet Canada's ETA ecosystem remains fragmented. Access to information, capital and expertise varies significantly, relationships across the ecosystem are often disconnected, and support systems differ across regions.

Canada's Succession Summit was created to move that conversation from individual deals to the systems surrounding them.

The Summit will bring together searchers and operators, banks and other capital providers, lawyers, accountants and succession advisors, educators and ecosystem organizations, alongside municipal, provincial and federal stakeholders.

Rather than simply discussing the growth of ETA, participants will examine some of the structural questions determining whether business succession succeeds in Canada: Where are financing gaps preventing viable acquisitions? How are tax rules affecting buyers and sellers? What prevents business owners from preparing successfully for succession? Where do institutional silos stall transactions? And what skills and infrastructure are needed to prepare Canada's next generation of business owners?

Programming will include discussions on barriers to capital and the future of financing Canadian deals; institutional silos that stall transactions; the seller perspective in business transition; the tax realities facing buyers and sellers; and the skills, training and ecosystem capacity required to strengthen ETA readiness across Canada.

The growing speaker roster reflects the deliberately cross-sector nature of the conversation. Confirmed participants include Matthew Mendelsohn, CEO of Social Capital Partners; Iggy Domagalski, former President and CEO of Wajax; Kevin Guenther, Partner in the Corporate Group at Stikeman Elliott; Phil Davidson, who leads the Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition program at the Haskayne School of Business; Jeff Neufeld, CEO of Neuhoff Capital Corporation; Cordell Jacks, General Partner and co-founder of Regenerative Capital Group; Avnit Sekhon, Transaction Advisory Lead at Treewalk Consulting; Daniel Skilleter, Director of Policy at Social Capital Partners; and Liz MacRae, Co-Founder of Village Wellth. 

"We don't see succession as a challenge that can be solved by any single organization or sector," added Wang. "This is about creating the conditions for more Canadian businesses to successfully move from one generation of ownership to the next. Keeping strong businesses operating, growing and rooted in Canada is not only a succession issue. Increasingly, it is a question of economic resilience. If we get this right, we have an opportunity to preserve businesses, strengthen communities and open meaningful pathways to entrepreneurship for Canadians."

The Summit is designed to surface barriers preventing successful ownership transitions, strengthen connections across Canada's ETA ecosystem, identify priorities for stronger ownership infrastructure, and create greater collaboration across regions and sectors.

Ultimately, the goal extends beyond the event itself. Discussions at Canada's Succession Summit are intended to help inform future policy and ecosystem development and contribute to stronger pathways to Canadian business ownership.

At a time when Canada is reconsidering how it strengthens its economy from within, business succession deserves a place in that conversation. The businesses Canadians have spent decades building are economic assets. Ensuring that more of them have viable pathways to their next generation of ownership can help preserve jobs, productive capacity, knowledge and decision-making in communities across the country.

Canada's Succession Summit
October 17, 2026
Calgary, Alberta

For more information or to request an invitation, visit Canada's Succession Summit.

About Venture for Canada

Venture for Canada is a national charitable organization dedicated to seeding Canada's entrepreneurial ecosystem with the next generation of leaders, innovators and builders. Through immersive programs, work-integrated learning and partnerships with businesses, educators and ecosystem leaders, Venture for Canada equips Canadians with the entrepreneurial skills, experiences and networks needed to thrive in the future of work.

SOURCE Venture for Canada