A great fear that many investors have is that the time to market will take too long and opportunities will be missed because of insufficient funding. The American approach is to kick-start ventures with ample capital whereas in Canada, we tend to favour the bootstrapping approach, i.e. invest a little and build a little to achieve some modest results. We fear failure and don't embrace it as a learning experience as do Americans. In comparison to our southern friends, we appear conservative and risk averse. Yet, closer to home, companies are reluctant to take such up-front risks.
Innovation is the successful commercial introduction of new technology.
This calls for more investment in emerging companies with unproven products. It's not that we're inherently less prone to risk-taking than Americans. The economics of risk-taking are profoundly less attractive in Canada. Our punitive tax system discourages risk taking. In fact, tax revenues will be increased because of increased economic activity.