Canadian Private Capital Markets Pivot Toward Infrastructure and Operational Efficiency
Alvarez & Marsal reports a shift in Canadian private equity, with investors favoring large-scale deals and infrastructure assets amid increased economic scrutiny.
Canadian private equity activity in 2026 is characterized by fewer transactions but larger, high-conviction commitments. While general deal flow remains below historical highs, the market value has been bolstered by significant transactions, such as the $14 billion recapitalization of Garda World Security and the $12 billion privatization of CI Financial.
According to an analysis by Alvarez & Marsal, investors are increasingly prioritizing operational value creation over the financial engineering tactics that dominated previous cycles. Persistent macroeconomic volatility has forced firms to adopt more rigorous due diligence processes, moving away from broad confirmatory exercises toward hypothesis-driven evaluations of commercial and operational risks.
The energy and infrastructure sectors have become primary targets for capital deployment. This shift is supported by substantial government spending, including a $115 billion federal infrastructure budget and regulatory reforms designed to streamline project approval timelines. With the national infrastructure pipeline reaching approximately $343 billion in 2026, firms are actively seeking assets with stable, regulated pricing and resilient demand profiles.