Lexpert magazine features articles and columns on developments in legal practice management, deals and lawsuits of interest in Canada, the law and business issues of interest to legal professionals and businesses that purchase legal services.
Issue link: https://digital.carswellmedia.com/i/1544329
2 www.lexpert.ca Editorial C anadian dealmaking heads into 2026 with more confidence than the headlines might suggest. After a subdued start to 2025, mega deals in energy, mining, and infrastructure helped drive record transaction values, even as overall deal counts slipped. Lawyers say clients are learning to transact through uncertainty rather than wait it out. At Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, capital markets and M&A co-leader Sarah Gingrich sees that shift first-hand (p. 4). "People get used to geopo- litical uncertainty, tariff fluctuations, and market volatility. There's pent-up demand to do deals, pressure on boards and CEOs, and private equity has a lot of dry powder, creating a more friendly environment for M&A," she says. McCarthy Tétrault LLP's Jonathan See and Bennett Jones LLP's Kristopher Hanc both point to 2025 as a record year by value, powered by large-cap consolidation and inbound capital into Canadian hard assets, even as mid-market private equity remained more selective. This confidence is tempered by a more muscular state. Defence spending, trade protection measures, and investment screening are reshaping how cross-border deals are structured and timed. Dentons partner Myron Mallia-Dare (p. 9) expects Canada's defence industrial strategy and its "build-partner-buy" framework to generate "a pipeline of M&A activity across sovereign capability areas such as aerospace, digital systems, ammuni- tion, sensors, and infrastructure." At the same time, Bill C-34's changes to the Investment Canada Act and forthcoming regulations are embedding national security analysis into almost every sensitive-sector deal. "Even smaller minority investments by non- Canadian entities are attracting a lot more scrutiny under the Investment Canada Act," says Mahdi Shams of MLT Aikins LLP. Another striking development is the rapid mainstreaming of Indigenous equity. For many major projects, traditional benefits agreements are being replaced – and often eclipsed – by equal or majority Indigenous owner- ship. Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP partner Sam Adkins (p. 14) notes that "instead of seeing a 10 percent interest, you might see a 49 percent interest or 51 percent interest." This Lexpert Special Edition brings these themes together, profiling the top-ranked M&A and finance lawyers and unpacking the deals, policies, and structures shaping Canadian corporate strategy in the year ahead. M&A regains momentum – but with new contours fortuna favet fortibus ISSUE 27.01 > APRIL MANAGING EDITOR Tim Wilbur EDITOR Jessica Mach PRODUCTION PROCESS LEAD Alina Leigh PRODUCT MANAGER Coleen Lepardo PRODUCTION EDITORS Christina Jelinek, Tara Tovell WRITERS Zena Olijnyk, Kiezzsa Cruz, Ma. Carleen Bongat DESIGNERS Joenel Salvador, Noel Avendano PRESIDENT Tim Duce VP GLOBAL SALES - LEGAL Lynda Fenton DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Kevin Shields SENIOR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Steffanie Munroe BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Manasi Iyer ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Adriel Jeffery Lexpert Special Edition Magazine is published two times a year. KEY MEDIA and the KEY MEDIA logo are used under licence by KM Business Information Canada Ltd. LEXPERT is a trademark of KM Business Information Canada Ltd. KM Business Information Canada Ltd 317 Adelaide Street West, Suite 910 Toronto, ON M5V 1P9 Tel: (416) 609-8000 Fax: (416) 609-5840 Website: www.lexpert.ca All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted without written permission. Lexpert® Magazine is printed in Canada. PUBLICATION MAIL REGISTRATION NO. 41261516. ISSN1488-6553 Copyright© KM Business Information Canada Ltd All rights reserved. GST/HST#: 79989 8465 RC-0001 EDITORIAL INQUIRIES tim.wilbur@keymedia.com SUBSCRIPTIONS/ADDRESS CHANGES Contact: Donnabel Reyes at (647) 374-4536 ext. 243 or email donnabel.reyes@keymedia.com. To change your subscription address, please send your new address along with a copy of your mailing label(s) to the Subscription Dept. at the address indicated above. For all other circulation inquiries, please email Donnabel Reyes.