Raising from LPs in Canada: How Managers from Outside Canada Get Their First Meetings
If you manage a private fund outside Canada and want to meet Canadian LPs, expect one of the most sophisticated allocation systems in the world: plan for a first meeting by video, look beyond Toronto, and know that the largest plans may meet you in the United States.
Private Capital Development (PCD) has arranged one-to-one introductions with Canadian allocators for managers from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and beyond. This page sets out what we see around those meetings.
Who allocates to managers from outside Canada
The Canadian institutions that have taken first meetings with managers PCD introduced include:
- Large public pension plans, among the most sophisticated institutional investors anywhere.
- Banks and insurers.
- Québec’s own institutions, including labor-sponsored and fund-of-funds vehicles.
- Foundations and university endowments.
- Family offices.
The Canadian model shapes the meeting. Canadian pension plans were early leaders in taking alternative-asset management in-house rather than depending on third-party fund managers. Many invest directly and co-invest alongside the managers they back. For a manager, that sets the bar: a Canadian plan commits to a fund when the manager offers something it cannot do as well itself.
How a first meeting in Canada works
- Video first. Virtual first meetings are the most common today.
- LPs are distributed. Much as in the United States, Canadian LPs are spread out rather than concentrated in one city. Most are in the East, in Toronto, Montréal and Québec City, and there is a significant allocator in Alberta.
- The largest may meet you in the U.S. CPP Investments opened a San Francisco office in 2019, and its venture and growth equity program is run from there. For a U.S. venture manager, the first meeting with Canada’s largest pension investor may be in San Francisco, not Toronto.
An allocation system that sets standards
Canadian institutions have shaped how LPs everywhere work.
- They helped build the LP community. The Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) held its first members’ conference in Toronto and opened its first office there.
- They have led on blended finance, combining public and private capital to reach investments neither would make alone.
- They are now building defense capital. In September 2026 BDC, Canada’s development bank, announced a C$500 million Defence Fund to invest in venture, growth and private equity funds focused on defense and dual-use technology, including funds from allied nations with strong Canadian exposure. Canada has also moved to join the NATO Innovation Fund.
In short, Canada runs a highly sophisticated, well-managed allocation system. Come prepared for the diligence that implies.
Why the room matters in Canada
Canada’s allocators are sophisticated and well served; the largest fund managers are in front of them constantly. What a Canadian allocator values is a manager it would not otherwise meet, introduced by someone it knows. PCD’s introductions come from Randy Mitchell’s own email address, and many of the allocators who receive them are people he has met in person. Not all of them, but many.
Where PCD's role ends
PCD builds a manager's standing with Canadian allocators and arranges the introduction. It does not offer or promote a fund, and it does not solicit investment on a manager's behalf, in Canada or anywhere else. Questions about offering fund interests to investors in Canada belong with the manager's own counsel there.
If you are an allocator checking that a manager is regulated and licensed in its home market, or a manager preparing to be checked, PCD's Global Directory of Fund-Manager Regulators names the regulator and the public register to consult in each major jurisdiction, the Canadian Securities Administrators among them.
Private capital associations in Canada
- Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA) — cvca.ca. The national body for venture capital and private equity, founded 1974 in Toronto.
- Réseau Capital — reseaucapital.com. Québec’s venture and development capital association, founded 1989 in Montréal, which publishes Québec market reports with the CVCA.
The full, verified list of more than 100 associations worldwide is in PCD's Global Directory of Private Capital Associations.
Frequently asked questions
Do Canadian LPs invest in funds managed outside Canada?
Yes. Pension plans, banks, insurers, Québec institutions, foundations, endowments and family offices in Canada all take first meetings with managers from outside the country.
Why do Canadian pension plans hold managers to a high bar?
Because they were early leaders in managing alternative assets in-house. Many invest directly and co-invest, so they commit to a fund when a manager offers something they cannot do as well themselves.
Should I meet Canadian LPs in person or by video?
By video first, in most cases today. Canadian LPs are distributed across the country, mostly in the East, with a significant allocator in Alberta.
Can I meet CPP Investments in the United States?
Possibly. CPP Investments opened a San Francisco office in 2019, and its venture and growth equity program is run from there.
Do Canadian LPs invest in defense and dual-use funds from other countries?
Increasingly. In September 2026 BDC announced a C$500 million Defence Fund that can invest in defense and dual-use funds from allied nations with strong Canadian exposure, and Canada has moved to join the NATO Innovation Fund.
Looking at investors in Canada?
If you have no relationships there yet, the introduction is the part we do.
Cross-border LP introductionsEducational content only. This page was researched and drafted with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy before publication. It is general information, current as of the "Last reviewed" date shown above, and is not legal, tax or compliance advice. Private Capital Development LLC is not a law firm and is not a broker-dealer. PCD facilitates relationships between fund managers and institutional investors, on a flat-fee retainer.
Private Capital Development, a Benefit LLC, is a Maryland-based firm founded in 2018 that connects private capital fund managers with institutional allocators through personal, one-to-one introductions. Capital Mobilization is the name of its capital-introduction practice.