> it's also that oil and gas and real estate are the "easy" money in Canada and that's where investment goes

Partially. The money made in ONG and Construction is then re-invested in American equities. And even provincial pension like Ontario Teachers and La Caisse funds prefer investing in American equities instead because their only incentive is pension solvency.

The issue is Canada is simply a tiny country with an extremely loose confederation in a world that is returning to a "winner takes all" mindset dependent on hard unification.

More tactically, using a Yozma-style approach to subsidize Canadian VC would help sow the seeds for a truly self sustaining ecosystem.

> it becomes clear to me that they'd have no time for somebody like me

Because they don't and never will. Anyone who has potential gets frustrated and leaves (ofc I've poached a couple as well).