Venture capital activity in the nation's capital remains on track for a dismal year, according to third quarter figures released Wednesday by the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation.

Only two deals were announced in the July to September period – $18.03 million for Atreus Systems and $18 million for Critical Telecom Corp.

That brings the total for the quarter to $36.03 million and the total for the year to $112.15 million, OCRI said.

In the third quarter of 2002, VC activity added up to $64.35 million. In the first nine months of last year, the tally was $457 million.

Even last year's numbers were a far cry from the heady days of the tech boom, when nine figure deals were not uncommon.

In 2000 the region attracted a total of $1.29 billion in venture capital, followed by $1.15 billion in 2001. In 2002, area firms attracted a total of $600 million.

Estimates for 2003 put the total at $200 million, a figure that requires the fourth quarter to do twice as well as the third. The fourth quarter is traditionally a strong period for VC activity.

Even if $200 million is reached, 2003 will still rank as the worst year for VC activity since 1998, when the region attracted $124 million.