INVESTMENTS REMAIN IMPACTED BY ECONOMIC AND GEOPOLITICAL UNCERTAINTY 

The second quarter of the year was largely defined by widespread uncertainty, driven by the situation in the United States. 

Since the start of the year, Quebec has recorded 60 venture capital deals totaling $524 million. While deal count remained stable compared to the first half of 2024, total funding declined. This slowdown reflects increased seed stage activity alongside lower funding at the early and later stages. With an average deal size of $8.73 million, Quebec ranks fifth among provinces for average venture capital deal size in the first half of 2025. 

In private equity, the deal count fell slightly by 4% compared to the same period in 2024. However, invested amounts rose sharply, reaching $18.3 billion across 192 deals, an increase of over 176% year over year. The semester was characterized by capital concentration in large-scale transactions, with deals over $100 million accounting for 94% of all capital invested. 

The economic and geopolitical environment remained uncertain in the second quarter of 2025, in Canada and globally. Trade tensions between Canada and the United States continued, especially due to U.S. tariffs on key Canadian products such as steel, aluminum, and vehicles. Canada’s retaliatory measures remain in place, contributing to a tense business climate. Alongside ongoing market volatility and slower economic growth, this situation continues to affect consumer and business confidence. However, some sectors are showing resilience, partially offsetting the effects of these challenges. 

Venture capital highlights:

• Seed stage rebounds in H1 2025 with 29 deals totaling $79 million. This stage accounts for 48 % of deal count and 15 % of total funding since the beginning of the year. 

• In H1 2025, Quebec represents 24 % of venture capital deals and 18 % of total capital deployed in Canada, ahead of British Columbia. Ontario remains the main driver of national VC activity. 

• Early stage and later stage investment amounts fell by 24% and 35% respectively compared to H1 2024. 

•  With $169 million invested over 28 deals, the ICT sector recorded its weakest first-half performance since 2015. 

• A $30 million growth stage investment involving SRTX Inc. was recorded this quarter, marking the first deal at this stage since 2022.
  

Private equity highlights:

• Since the start of 2025, Quebec has posted a record $18.3 billion in investments across 192 transactions. 

• With 60% of Canada’s private equity transactions, Quebec leads the country, outpacing Ontario (23%) and British Columbia (10%). It also ranks first in capital deployed, accounting for 59% compared to Ontario’s 40%. 

• The three largest disclosed private equity transactions in Q1 2025 are Garda World Security Corp ($14 billion), Héroux-Devtek Inc. ($1.4 billion), and Telus Health ($488 million). 

• Quebec posted an average deal size of $95.26 million in the first half of 2025, the second-highest in Canada. 

• The industrial and manufacturing sector continues to generate significant deal volume, with 66 transactions totaling $1.98 billion, while the “Other” sector, driven by the Garda World Security Corp transaction, remains the leader in invested capital.  

• In the first half of 2025, five of the country’s ten most active investors in private equity were based in Quebec.