Expand Your Tech Company To Canada
Maple Program & Canadian Startup Visa
Canada is a perfect landing pad for many businesses around the world who are looking to expand their businesses to North America. Launch is a designated organization of the Canadian Government’s Startup Visa Program and a designated referral partner for the Global Talent Stream program.
Launch’s Maple Program is designed to help emerging tech companies expand their business to North America. We help tech companies identify the best path for immigration for their team and their families through Startup Visa, Express Entry, Provincial Nomination, or Global Talent Stream.

Requirements
We work with companies that already have a product in the market, are financially stable, have already raised funding either internally or externally, and/or already have revenues. We primarily work with companies in the following tech sectors:

We are currently accepting applications for our 23rd Maple cohort.
Applicants must fulfil the following initial requirements before applying.
- Each applicant must individually hold at least 10% of the company’s voting rights and applicants altogether hold at least 50% of the company’s voting rights
- Applicants must have a minimum Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) of 5 in English
- Must be willing to integrate their business into the Canadian market within 12 months of application
Note: This is an initial application and doesn’t guarantee your acceptance. The full list of requirements can be found here.

Non-Profit, taking
0% equity

Located in
Downtown Vancouver

Created for entrepreneurs, by entrepeneurs
Details, Fees & Features
Our Maple Program was created to aid international companies currently at Seed, Series A or higher with their growth and expansion to North America by providing a landing pad with resources, mentorship, networking, and business matchmaking to overcome the challenges that occur when moving a business and family to Canada. Please visit our FAQ page for all the information about our Startup Visa Canada & Maple Program.
The program is broken up into 5 phases, over an aggregate span of approximately 21 to 36 months. Each phase is designed to provide enough information and resources for each of the companies to make the preparations necessary for transitioning your company to Canada.
- The 1st Phase is 1 to 2 months in nature and occurs over a series of virtual workshops and online office hours.
- The 2nd Phase’s schedule is dependent on the company’s own timeline but is expected to be completed within 3-6 months following the completion of Phase 1.
- The 3rd Phase is also completed virtually online prior to the company’s arrival into Canada and is typically 2 to 12 months in length.
- The 4th Phase occurs in Vancouver and spans around 3 months.
- The 5th Phase takes place over a 12 month period both virtually and in-person and functions as a support system as companies solidify their operations in Canada.
The program completion time varies depending on various individual factors including but not limited to border restrictions, work permit processing times, etc.
Unlike other programs, Launch takes 0% equity in your company. Instead, there is a program fee starting at $41,800* CAD broken down over 7 payments over 21-36 months (plus applicable taxes, note for companies outside of Canada, all local non-Canadian taxes will be the sole responsibility of the international company) for the program.
- Phase 1, Information: $5,000 CAD – Paid prior to the start of the program.
- Phase 2, Roadmapping: $5,000 CAD – Paid upon acceptance into Phase 2 of the program.
- Phase 3, Transition: $10,000 CAD – Paid upon acceptance into Phase 3 of the program.
- Phase 4, Landing: $16,800 CAD – 3 payments of $5,000 + $600 (Desk Fee) CAD due at the beginning of each month of Phase 4 (3 months). This excludes any additional fees that may incur during your immigration process, legal fees & additional services that may be required.
- Phase 5, Launch: $5,000 CAD – Paid upon acceptance into Phase 5 of the program.
As Launch is a not-for-profit organization, all program proceeds will be reinvested back into building the Canadian tech and talent ecosystem.
Please note that the Maple Program fees are not correlated to the success and failure of the company’s immigration status, but rather for the programming and services provided to help companies acclimate to the North America Market.
- Private workshops on immigration, incorporation in Canada, transferring IP to Canada, accounting and tax implications, and more
- Lifestyle and landing pad support for your team members and families, including banking, insurance, and housing information
- Guidance and support through your company’s immigration needs
- Office hours with some of the brightest minds in Startups and mentorship from Launch’s seasoned startup mentors and industry experts.
- Business matchmaking for your company’s needs
- Access to Launch’s unique community of over 250 founders from more than 60 countires
- Exclusive access to Launchhub, featuring:
- Access to up to $400,000 CAD of start-up perks from AWS, Microsoft, Stripe, Zendesk, HubSpot & others
- AMAs (Live sessions to ask questions to seasoned start-up mentors)
- Webinars (Live Learning Sessions with mentors and partners)
- Standups (Group discussions to meet your fellow members and build strategic connections)
- Pitch Sessions (Monthly sessions for members to participate in honing their pitches)
- Reverse pitch sessions (Live session to ask all your burning questions to investors and request introductions to them)
- Exclusive invitations to CxO Summits, gatherings of high-level executives from the best startups in North America
- Access to Traction Podcast – North America’s leading growth conference & podcast series bringing leaders from Google, Shopify, Uber and top-tier VCs.

Launch Academy is a great place for startups to get their feet on the ground. They can connect you with hundreds of other entrepreneurs, funding opportunities and resources to get started. The team is super friendly, helpful and kind with their assistance. I highly recommend working with Launch!

Hands down, Launch Academy is THE tech startup hub of Western Canada, if not all of Canada. Space, mentorship, entrepreneurship education, tech education, and accelerators are just some of the offerings and benefits of being in the space. Happy to be a part of it!

This is where my journey all began in the tech space. I am so grateful to Ray Walia, Alex Chuang, and the team at Launch for helping me become the leader I am today. The warm welcomes and people that I met there are the closest gang I’ve known for 6 years now.

If those bricks could talk! SOOOO many great companies started there thanks to you Alex Chuang Ray Walia Boris Wertz. You transformed the economy of BC, not just Vancouver/Gastown.

I was in a new country, I had a family, and money was running out fast. So the last thing on my mind was doing something as risky as pursuing an idea and building a company. Then everything changed the moment I walked through Launch Academy’s doors in June of 2014…from the moment you were in, you became a part of the Launch crew. Everything done at Launch is dedicated to supporting the Vancouver startup community.

So so proud to be part of those early days. Those were some times! So happy to see Launch still making an impact.

Thanks Launch Academy crew for your warm welcome and gift basket. We’re beyond excited to join Launch Academy family in Vancouver.

Launch is western Canada’s premier technology hub located in Vancouver, BC. We help entrepreneurs execute on their businesses through industry expertise, mentorship, lean metrics and networking opportunities. Launch’s rich alumni network consists of businesses such as Koho, FansUnite, Klue, Victory Square, Later, Thinkific, Lighthouse Labs, Picatic and more!
You can partner with Launch if you are a VC or investor looking for a trusted partner with immigration options for your portfolio companies or an immigration consultant looking for solutions for your startup clients.

Launch is western Canada’s premier technology hub located in Vancouver, BC. We help entrepreneurs execute on their businesses through industry expertise, mentorship, lean metrics and networking opportunities. Launch’s rich alumni network consists of businesses such as Koho, FansUnite, Klue, Victory Square, Later, Thinkific, Lighthouse Labs, Picatic and more!
You can partner with Launch if you are a VC or investor looking for a trusted partner with immigration options for your portfolio companies or an immigration consultant looking for solutions for your startup clients.