Flora Fertility, a dual-headquartered Canadian and U.S. startup that provides insurance for fertility treatments, plans to launch its services in Canada by early next year, after first doing so south of the border. 

Co-CEO and co-founder Laura J. McDonald told The Logic that launching a new health insurance service in Canada is more complex than doing so in the U.S., where the firm started operating in a closed beta in September 2025.

“There are just different challenges no matter what markets you take on,” McDonald said. “As a startup, we need to prioritize one market first and then be in a position to expand.”

Founded in 2023, Flora provides coverage for fertility treatments that are often not fully covered by private or public insurance in Canada and the U.S. It charges a monthly premium for up to US$50,000 lifetime coverage for fertility treatment.

A single round of in vitro fertilization in Canada can cost up to $20,000, according to Fertility Matters Canada, a reproductive health organization. Olive Fertility, a B.C.-based clinic, estimates a round at between $20,700 and $24,700, depending on medication costs, and not including genetic testing of embryos or eventual transfers.

Despite high costs, many people are turning to fertility treatments. In Canada, an estimated one in six adults struggles with infertility. The demand for such services and the high cost caught the attention of Flora’s co-founders. Most people don’t even have $10,000 in emergency savings, said McDonald, who watched a family member undergo fertility treatment and wanted to find a way to help people ease the financial burden.

Flora raised $1.5 million in pre-seed funding in 2024 and recently announced a US$5-million seed round, which included participation from BDC. To date, the firm has raised about $9 million, according to its co-founders. 

It is always difficult to raise funds as a female founder for a female-focused business, said co-founder and co-CEO Christy Lane. Despite this, Flora received a lot of interest from investors who want to capitalize on the opportunity they see in fertility startups, said McDonald.

Flora chose to launch in the U.S., as many Canadian healthtech startups do, for several reasons. For starters, the market size is about 10 times bigger than in Canada, said McDonald, and investors want to see that kind of scale when committing funds. 

The reinsurers that Flora works with also need to know “that the town is big enough and the market is big enough for them” to want to divert dollars, McDonald said.

In the U.S., Flora chose a structure that allowed it to launch across all 50 states at the same time rather than jump through different hoops for each state. In Canada, Lane claimed, that isn’t possible.

Flora recently left its U.S. beta period behind, and is gearing up for a launch in Canada. It has hired its first full-time staff beyond its two co-founders, including a chief financial officer and chief operating officer. 

Its launch in Canada is likely to happen province by province due to the patchwork of regulations, said Lane. She reckons Flora will most likely start operating in a jurisdiction where there is no public funding available for fertility treatments, likely Alberta. 

All provinces except Alberta offer some funding, with Yukon the only territory to offer financial help. Public fertility funding—often in the form of a tax credit or grant—has become somewhat more common in recent years, with more provinces and territories offering help.

Flora doesn’t believe the uptick in public funding availability will impact its business model. What’s available is limited, said Lane. In Ontario, for example, funding covers one IVF cycle but no medications, which can cost upwards of $5,000. “Even if there were two cycles covered, that’s likely, in most cases, not going to be enough for most women and families,” she said.