With both debt and equity issuance surging, Canadian capital markets activity rose strongly in the first half, according to data from LSEG Data & Analytics.
Equity markets raised $14 billion in the first half, which was up 33% compared with the same period last year, LSEG reported.
While the value of secondary offerings was up just 2%, the market saw the return of initial public offerings (IPOs), with $1.8 billion worth of deals completed in the first half, compared with almost zero IPO activity a year ago.
The issuance of retail structured products also jumped in the first half, raising more than $1.2 billion, up 183% from the previous year.
At the same time, total debt issuance through the first six months of the year reached $193 billion, which was up by 38% from the same period in 2025, LSEG reported.
While government offerings were up 14%, domestic corporate debt issuance (excluding self-funded deals) rose by 31%, the firm said.
The increase in deal value came despite a decline in the number of deals completed in the first half.
The number of debt deals was down by 7% year over year, and the volume of equity offerings declined by 27%, LSEG said.
RBC Capital Markets led the underwriter rankings, for both debt and equity overall.
On the equity side, BMO Capital Markets ranked second in the overall league tables, up from seventh place last year. Scotiabank ranked third, up from fifth place in the first half of 2025. TD Securities and JP Morgan rounded out the top five.
Scotia ranked first in IPO underwriting, followed by BMO, Jefferies LLC, RBC and TD, which were all tied for second place.
For retail structured products, National Bank Financial led the underwriting league tables, with CIBC World Markets placing second and Scotia sitting third.
On the debt side, TD ranked second to RBC in the overall underwriting league tables, followed by Scotia, with CIBC and BMO rounding out the top five.