Companies raised $8.3 billion across 394 deals in the first half of the year, up from $4.4 billion in 509 deals for all of 2020, according to the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA). The average deal size was $21 million, a record high. (The Logic)

Talking point: Megadeals (those at least $50 million) are driving the record activity. Toronto-based fintech Wealthsimple logged Canada’s biggest VC deal, with a $750-million growth round in May. A month later, Vancouver-based identity-verification firm Trulioo raised the second-largest round, with $476 million. The private equity sector also hit a milestone, with more exits in the first half of the year—40 valued at $4.4 billion, including five IPOs—compared to all of last year. CVCA CEO Kim Furlong credited government programs, like the Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative, and the country’s maturing tech sector for the results. CVCA’s goal is for the Canadian VC market to reach a tenth of the size of the United States’ US$130 billion, Furlong said in a statement. “We are certainly on track to reach that milestone.”