How have the TSX and TSXV performed over the past year?

2022 was an extremely difficult year in terms of financing activity and new listings, but the equity capital markets started to improve by the end of 2023, and 2024 kicked off on an upward trend with First Quantum closing a C$1 billion equity bought deal, the largest in Canada’s history. This was followed by continued improvement in the mining financing space, particularly amongst the larger issuers, and, as the year progressed, we started to see the increased activity spread to the junior, early-stage mining companies. By the end of August 2024, we already had 30 new listings, a significant increase from the 20 we saw throughout 2023, and an incredible achievement considering our nearest competitor has only seen 15 new listings so far in 2024. The pandemic, geopolitical tensions, and a high inflationary environment had a great impact on the global mining sector and the financing market has not yet returned to the levels we saw in 2021, but the upward trend we have experienced in 2024 thus far has been encouraging, and the interest rate cuts by Canada, Europe and now the US, as well as increasing commodity prices, have given the mining sector reasons to be optimistic going forward. What is the TMX Group’s stance on the Canadian government’s decisions to restrict certain foreign investments into its domestic mining sector?

The government’s restrictions on investments by foreign SOEs are a major concern, especially because of the opaque and unilateral manner in which the federal government has been operating in this regard. All Canadians would agree with the intent to protect our national interest in the critical minerals supply chain. The execution, however, has only served to create confusion with its lack of clarity and consistency, with many of the cases involving projects that are located outside of Canada. We have already seen companies taking steps to protect themselves from the Canadian government by redomiciling, while keeping their TSX/V listing. We continue our lobbying efforts with the government in trying to protect our leadership position in the mining sector and for the betterment of Canadian capital markets. What opportunities do you see for the TSX globally, and where will you be focusing your efforts moving forward?

TSX has one of the largest portfolios of international clients of any exchange globally. Our strategy has always been global, to the extent that we have hired full-time boots-on-the-ground representatives in several global markets to engage with existing clients and meet potential new clients. We are seeing significant traction from Australia in particular, as more Australian-based mining companies are diversifying and growing their projects into the Americas. Recently, some exchanges have reported more delistings than IPOs - is this a trend the TSX/TSXV is experiencing?

No, we have not observed such a trend of more delistings than new listings. There has certainly been a shortage of large IPOs over the past three years. Fortunately, we see more new listings with 30 new listings so far in 2024. The majority of these new listings are junior companies. Was the mining sector well represented in the 2024 TSX30 list?

In 2024, there was an increased focus on certain commodities, particularly uranium with one of the outstanding companies being Cameco. Other trends on the list included other critical minerals focused companies. With record gold prices, precious metals companies stood out as well. Do you have a final message?

TSX continues to enjoy leadership in the mining sector, and although it has been a challenging year, especially for junior mining companies; we are encouraged by the observed increased financing activities and improving macroeconomic environment. The market is now starting to step out of many of the challenges it was facing, and we are doing as much as we can to help our existing and prospective clients stay in front of investors and prepare themselves for the opportunities we expect in the coming months. 2025 will be a pivotal year and everything is lining up for the mining sector to outperform.