Private equity investors have ploughed $56.5 billion into Canadian companies so far this year, nearly double the previous full-year record in 2014.

There was $25.4 billion invested across 151 deals in the third quarter alone, compared to $3.6 billion in 143 deals during the same period last year, according to new data from the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA).

The spike in investments was driven by a wave of megadeals that accounted for 91 per cent of all money deployed so far this year. Nine transactions over $1 billion closed in the first nine months of 2025, a record for Canada, with four of them completed in the third quarter. A typical quarter would see one or two transactions in the megadeal category, said CVCA director of data and product David Kornacki, which the organization defines as at least $500 million in value. 

While Kornacki said it’s common for a handful of large deals to drive investment dollars in a given period, the number and size of big investments in 2025 are unprecedented in Canada. “We haven’t seen these levels before,” he said. So far, there have been four deals over $5 billion, the biggest being a $14 billion recapitalization in Montreal-based GardaWorld.

The record-breaking jump may reflect pent-up demand for deal-making after two slow years in which rising interest rates and high valuations kept investors on the sidelines, Kornacki said. As pricing stabilized, firms with large capital reserves returned to the market in force. 

The report also shows a wave of take-private deals—including CI Financial and Innergex Renewable Energy—as large Canadian companies use private money to fund their growth instead of relying on public markets. Going private gives companies more flexibility, said Kornacki, by freeing them from the short-term performance pressures of public reporting cycles. 

While big deals dominate, Kornacki said middle-market private equity also looks “healthy.” Transactions under $25 million accounted for 86 per cent of deals, in line with pre-pandemic levels and “underscoring the critical role of private capital in supporting small and medium-sized businesses across the country,” the report said. 

A separate report from CVCA shows venture capital is also favouring fewer but larger deals. Startups and scaleups raised $1.8 billion across 123 investments in the third quarter, compared to $1.7 billion across 137 deals in Q2. The number of megadeals so far this year doubled in the third quarter, with nine investments worth at least $50 million.

Cohere’s $689-million growth round was the biggest venture investment in Canada so far this year, followed by two secondary financing rounds: $500 million in Jane Software and $337 million in StackAdapt. The secondary deals—in which early investors sell their company shares to new buyers—have become more common in startup financing, said Kornacki, as a way to return money to investors while allowing companies to stay private for longer. 

There were no initial public offerings for either private equity- or venture-backed companies in the third quarter, with growth-stage companies instead opting for private capital. Kornacki said the appeal of going public could return if strong stock markets persist. Toronto-based quantum firm Xanadu, for instance, has announced plans to go public by merging with a blank-cheque company. “It’s something that comes in cycles,” Kornacki said. “I expect this to perhaps come down and then come back up again in a number of years, but only time will tell.”