Angel investment in the U.S, is surging while early-stage firms in Canada go begging. Accorsing to Red Herring, Angel investments in the U.S. rose 15 percent to $12.7 billion.

Angel headcounts were up as well, with 130,000 investors making bets, up 3 percent from the year-ago period. Despite those increases, more dollars chased fewer deals than the prior year: A total of 24,500 ventures received angel funding in the first half of 2006, down 6 percent from the first half of 2005.

If U.S. Angels are looking for deals maybe they should shift their focus north of the border. I know more than a few firms who would embrace them.