The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) is seeking to codify increases to the amount of funds that qualified listed issuers can raise without a prospectus.
In 2022, the umbrella organization for Canada’s provincial and territorial securities regulators introduced the listed issuer financing exemption (LIFE) to let eligible Canadian exchange-listed issuers raise capital more efficiently.
Under LIFE, issuers that have been reporting issuers in a Canadian jurisdiction for at least 12 months and have filed all continuous disclosure documents could annually raise up to the greater of $5 million or 10% of the issuer’s market capitalization, to a maximum of $10 million.
A 2025 blanket order increased the fundraising limit for these issuers to $25 million, or 20% of market cap, up to $50 million over 12 months.
Now, the CSA is seeking to codify the blanket order’s fundraising limit increase.
It noted that the blanket order facilitated $3.7 billion in capital raised — eight times higher than what had occurred under the original, lower limits. Of the 349 issuers that used the blanket order, 40 raised more than $25 million.
“The exemption, especially after the limit was raised, has succeeded beyond our most optimistic expectations,” Stan Magidson, CSA chair and chair and CEO of the Alberta Securities Commission, said in a statement. “Public companies are eagerly taking advantage of it, to the benefit of their shareholders and the Canadian economy.”
The CSA is seeking feedback on the proposed amendments. The 90-day comment period closes on Oct. 21.