🚨2 new launches, FrontFundr April events and Canada's space momentum

🔔 Your campaign updates feed

🥬Elevate Farms has launched!

Elevate Farms is a Toronto-based vertical farming company that combines hydroponics and a proprietary automation system to grow fresh leafy greens year-round. Elevate acquired FrontFundr alum Fieldless Farms, uniting two Canadian companies to strengthen domestic food sovereignty and supply resilience.

Invest in Elevate Farms | $235K Raised | 47% of target

🏙️SkyReach Capital Corp has launched!

SkyReach Capital Corp. is a BC-based financial services company offering a full suite of mortgage, lending, and investment solutions. Their mortgage expertise allows them to provide tailored solutions to clients, while their lending arm simplifies the process with transparency and personalized support. 

Invest in SkyReach Capital Corp | $1.2M Raised | 24% of target

🔔 Alumni updates

📱Gander Social (sovereign canadian social media) got a shoutout at Parliament when a student asked Prime Minister why Canada is pushing to ban kids from social media instead of funding homegrown alternatives.

🔵joni (a sustainable period care company) is now available in 265 Walmart Canada locations and online. Read their story.

🍾Drink Glimmer Wine (de-alcoholized sparkling wine) is hiring for a brand champion to be the face of the company and convert curious shoppers into lifelong fans.

🤔 What’s on our minds

🌕 Canada reached the moon. Now it wants its own way there.

A Canadian just flew around the moon for the first time in history. And within days of the landing, Ottawa introduced legislation to make sure the next Canadian rocket launches from Canadian soil.

On April 10, 2026, the Artemis II crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego, completing a 10-day mission that sent humans into deep space, setting a record for the greatest distance travelled from Earth. For Canada, Jeremy Hansen became the first Canadian to journey to the far side of the moon.

Hansen's participation came from Canada's contribution of the Canadarm3 robotic arm, a direct payoff from decades of Canadian investment in space robotics. As Hansen himself reflected before launch, being the second country to send a human into deep space "is not a gift, but something we earned over decades." 

🛸 Now Canada Wants Its Own Launchpad

Canada is the only G7 country without its own launch capability, despite its achievements in space. Just days after Artemis II wrapped up, Ottawa introduced the Canadian Space Launch Act, the first-ever legislation to regulate domestic rocket launches.

Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon introduced the bill on April 21, 2026, aimed at allowing the government to regulate and oversee both launches and re-entry from Canadian territory. MacKinnon states, "Canada has reached the moon, but still lacks its own sovereign way to space." The bill is designed to fix that. Officials say the legislation could support a domestic commercial space industry worth $40 billion, with launches from Canadian facilities potentially beginning within two to three years.

Currently, $200 million is committed toward a Canadian-owned launch pad in Nova Scotia. And a second spaceport in development in Newfoundland, creating something of a domestic race to be the first to launch into orbit from Canadian soil.

🔭 What's Ahead

Canada didn't get to the moon by building a rocket. It got there by building the robotic 'limbs' that hold the gateway together, by contributing technology that made it indispensable.The Space Launch Act signals an ambition shift. As MacKinnon put it, "Canada is ready to continue its legacy as a leader in space flight." Hansen's participation in the mission reminded Canadians what's possible when they aim high. 

🌐 Community Responses

Sharing some community responses from last week’s newsletter article on BlackBerry’s comeback.

🎙️ Hear from our founder feature

Triarchy: Redefining denim, one responsible pair at a time with Adam Taubenfligel

Q: Triarchy is a family business, how did that come together?

A: My education started on a factory floor in Italy, I was working for a denim factory that produced for other fashion houses. After a while I convinced them to let me design their own collection, so I taught myself Illustrator and designed their first collection. They loved it and made plans to start production. Unfortunately the Italian economy went bust, and nothing came of it. So I took the sample sets back to Canada, sat down with my brother and sister, and said, "Do you want to turn this into a brand?" I roped them in, and here we still are.

Q:  How does sustainability show up in the way you design collections?

A: We have a simple motto: no future garbage. The fashion industry is built on chasing trends, making things out of irresponsible materials that someone will love immediately and hate in three months, and can't responsibly get rid of. That's just future garbage. Denim doesn't have to work that way though. It's an evergreen product, pretty much any fit or wash is always going to be acceptable. Even if it means we often bring smaller collections to market than other brands, what we're doing is producing it in a way that’s responsible.

Q: What's been the defining innovation for Triarchy so far?

A: Plastic-free stretch denim. The entire industry has been relying on crude oil-based stretch for decades, and we spent years pioneering an organic alternative. We're the only brand that has brought that to market. It wasn't quick, it wasn't easy, but that's the kind of work that actually moves the needle. Not recycling old garbage into new garbage, but fundamentally rethinking how the garment is made from the ground up.

🎧 Want to listen to the full episode?

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📌 FrontFundr Bulletin

FrontFundr is attending Vancouver Startup Week

FrontFundr’s Chief Growth Officer, Trieste Reading, and members of our team are excited to be attending Vancouver Startup Week ​​Opening Reception and Ecosystem Showcase!

📍 Science World
📅 April 27, 2026 | 6:30–9:00pm

For over a decade, VSW has been the heartbeat of BC’s startup community, bringing together founders to celebrate Vancouver’s global innovation scene. This year’s “Start Local, Think Global” theme captures it perfectly.

🎟️ Tickets: Grab yours at vanstartupweek.ca 

20% off your All-Access Pass using our code: FRONTFUNDR20

FrontFundr is attending Startup Canada April 29th

FrontFundr’s Founder and CEO, Peter-Paul Van Hoeken, will be attending the Startup Canada Tour in Halifax!

📍 Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21
📅 April 29, 2026 | 8:30am - 4:00 pm

You can find us at the Entrepreneur Support Zone and Ask the Expert Lounge for the Finance & Funding Strategies Session. If you're a Halifax entrepreneur, we'd love to connect and hear what you're building. 🙌

🎟️ Register now: bit.ly/startup-canada-tour-halifax