🍻Craft beverage spotlight, Alumni features, and the Winter Olympics begins

🔔 Your campaign updates feed

🍻 Collective Arts is featured on VICE Media

Collective Arts extends into the fast growing non-alcoholic beer market. Its award winning Non Alcoholic Guava Gose, recently featured by VICE as a top pick for Dry January, showcases the brand’s ability to deliver bold flavour and creativity without compromise.

Invest in Collective Arts | $257K Raised | 52% of target

🏪 KaleMart24 is hiring

Kalemart24 is hiring a Director of Operations to help scale and optimize its growing retail and franchise network in Montréal, seeking a hands-on leader experienced in fast growing environments.

Invest in KaleMart24 | $211K Raised | 84% of target

🔔 Alumni updates

🌸 Blossom Social co-founder and COO Annika Ng spoke at the Women Scaling Startups Social about founder-driven innovation, scaling challenges, and decision fatigue, emphasizing the power of community among women leaders.

📱 Gander Social has added former CBC CEO Catherine Tait as an advisor, bringing expertise in public media and decentralized platforms to help grow publisher partnerships and strengthen local news in Canada and beyond.

🚁 AIRmarket was featured in BetaKit for its role in a wildfire tech collaboration that combines AI risk analysis, satellite data, and real time drone coordination to strengthen early detection and emergency response, supported by its work with the Alberta RTM Trials Alliance.

🤔 What’s on our minds

Canada’s Winter Olympic: A Team, Medal Hope and a Hockey Rivalry

The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics open Friday, and Canada arrives ready to compete. The Olympics are a global stage where preparation, performance systems, and national identity are on display. Elite sport is also an economic engine that drives sponsorship, media rights, sport technology, tourism visibility, and national brand power. Team Canada represents years of investment in high performance and a moment of international exposure that extends well beyond the rink or the slopes.

🎖️ By the Numbers and Top Medal Contenders

A Substack breakdown from True North Sports highlights the scale of Canada’s presence. Two hundred and seven athletes across 14 sports will compete in Italy. Notably, the team includes 108 women and 99 men, the first time a Canadian Winter Olympic delegation has featured more women than men.

Other key figures include:

• 619 total delegation members, athletes and staff combined

• 109 Olympic debutants and 98 returnees, including 47 prior medallists

• Veterans like Marie Philip Poulin and Mark McMorris bringing experience and leadership

From the Sportsnet preview of Canadians to watch, there’s strength in both traditional powerhouses and evolving disciplines. Standouts include: 

• Men’s Hockey, with NHL players back in Olympic competition

• Women’s Hockey, where games against the United States could decide gold

• Snowboard and Ski Cross, led by proven podium performers

• Short Track and Speed Skating, long time Canadian strengths

💥 Canada vs. the U.S. Hockey Rivalry

Few Olympic storylines match the intensity of Canada vs USA in hockey. The women’s teams have met in six of seven Olympic gold medal games since 1998, with moments like Hayley Wickenheiser’s post-win quote in 2002 becoming part of rivalry history. The men’s side has its own defining moment in Sidney Crosby’s Golden Goal in 2010.

The competition remains tight heading into 2026. The U.S. women bring recent momentum, while Canada counters with a seasoned, medal winning team. It is more than a battle for gold. It is two high performing nations pushing each other to higher standards, blending patriotism with respect in a way that defines Olympic sport.

📌 Looking Ahead

Canada enters these Games with depth, experience, and proven excellence. Success in Milan Cortina will reflect not only individual talent, but the national systems that develop athletes, fund innovation in sport science, and build long term competitive strength.

Moments like this also carry economic weight. Olympic success raises global visibility, strengthens national branding, and supports industries tied to sport, media, and sponsorship. When Canadian athletes perform on the world stage, it reinforces a reputation for preparation, resilience, and excellence.

 🌐 Community Responses

Thank you to our community’s participation! We will continue to highlight the community’s sentiments and give you a glimpse of what everyone is thinking.

🎙️ Hear from our founder feature

VEGAIN: Plant-based sports nutrition, perfected with Melissa L'Heureux-Haché and Edan Wolk

On a breakthrough moment: Co-founder Edan experienced firsthand the struggles of being an Elite Athlete who was severely lactose intolerant. I would feel terrible after drinking Whey protein shakes, not realizing my body was rejecting it. That moment sparked a realization: 75% of the global population is lactose intolerant, yet whey protein dominates the market. We set out to create a product that works for everybody, without compromise.

On growth milestones: We saw a massive gap in the market, no vegan brand was truly serving high-performance athletes. By creating products that are powerful, clean, and gender-neutral, we’ve built a brand that resonates far beyond the vegan community. After seeing strong initial demand from the building community, VEGAIN is now backed by Pro UFC fighters, Olympians, and the Vancouver Warriors Pro Lacrosse team.

On what sets us apart: Our innovation, Surge, is a game-changer. A clear, refreshing protein drink instead of the usual heavy shake. It’s set to revolutionize sports nutrition and beyond, making protein more accessible in grocery and convenience stores.

🎧 Want to listen to the full episode?

Spotify / YouTube / Apple

📝 From Our Desk

FrontFundr starts FY2026 strong, driving Canadian startup growth

Canada’s startups need access to capital outside of VC and angel investors. In Q1 FY2026, FrontFundr surpassed revenue targets with $500K+, added 6,000+ new users, and processed $21M+ in investments from nearly 3,000 deals.

Community-driven campaigns are driving growth. Gander Social raised nearly $2M from 2,500 Canadians, marking one of FrontFundr’s highest investor participations ever, while Edison Motors secured another $1.3M this quarter, bringing their raise to $12M of their $15M target. These campaigns show how Canadians can directly support innovative companies while sharing in their success. With full provincial coverage and new AI-powered support, FrontFundr is making private market investing accessible coast to coast. 

Read the full press release →