Trends In Canadian M&A

An unusually strong end of year 2015 bolstered Canadian M&A activity, and the trend continued into early 2016, writes Blake, Cassels & Graydon attorney Jamie Koumanakos. Current trends are being shaped in part by a change in government, as the newly elected Liberals ran on campaign promises of greater public support for renewable energy, increased taxes on high-income earners and planned deficit spending to spur economic growth. The impact is likely to include a boost to the renewable energy sector and movement in the direction of phasing out fossil fuel subsidies. Overall, though, energy of all types has become less dominant: In 2015, for the first time in recent memory, energy was dethroned as the most active M&A sector in terms of deal value.