It’s that time of year again—time to dive into the numbers, celebrate some wins, and take stock of where we stand as a region when it comes to financing. Every year, I look forward to looking at the data and pulling this story together. My biggest takeaway this year is that the Edmonton Region’s financing ecosystem is thriving and diverse– we continue to attract significant investment, break records, and demonstrate global relevance within our business ecosystem.
Last year’s finance update reported that we hit a high note with $209 million raised—a record for the Edmonton Region. So how does 2024 stack up? Based on my tracking, Edmonton Region companies raised more than $170 million across 95 deals this year. That’s tied with 2022 for the most deals since I started tracking. While the total is shy of 2023’s record, $170 million is still a solid number—and one worth celebrating.
The Canadian Venture Capital Association (CVCA) hasn’t released its final 2024 report yet, but based on its most recent report, we can make some assumptions. At the end of Q3, CVCA was tracking 14 deals totaling $55 million for Edmonton. This placed us 6th in Canada for deal count—respectable but with room to grow. I’ll keep an eye on how the year-end numbers shape up, but for now, we’re holding our own in a competitive field.
If you’ve followed my updates before, you’ll know that past data sometimes gets an upgrade as new details emerge. Case in point: our 2021 numbers have approximately doubled (Figure 1) since previously reported. A $140 million private equity investment in Sinova Global came to light, doubling 2021’s total to $393.5 million. Sinova is using the funds to build a silicon metal refinery—a critical resource for renewable energy, energy storage, and the automotive sector. It’s a reminder that what’s true today might need revisiting tomorrow and I will continue to update the numbers as I discover new data[1].
As in previous updates, the reported $170.5 million represents only a portion of the total financing raised by Edmonton Region companies in 2024. Of the 95 identified raises, valuation data is available for just 67 deals. Over time, more data may become public, potentially increasing this total, along with any newly identified deals.
In 2024, 26 Edmonton Region companies raised over $1 million, with five crossing the $10 million mark. These include:
The diversity here says a lot about the Edmonton Region’s strength across sectors—from health tech to gaming to food and agriculture.
Breaking Records in Deal Volume
If we shift our focus to the sheer number of deals (Figure 2), 2024 was a record year with 212 transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, post-IPO debt and equity, and non-equity assistance. This is the highest number we’ve seen since I started tracking these numbers.
In 2024, local companies secured an additional ~$2.4 billion in funding beyond the $170.5 million, through post-IPO debt and equity, non-equity assistance, and other financial instruments (Figure 3). This marks the second-best year on record (following 2023). Notable transactions include:
As we’ve seen in previous years, every priority sector identified by Edmonton Global saw private investment in 2024 (Figure 4), demonstrating that innovation and growth in the Edmonton Region continues to thrive across diverse industries.
One other area I’d like to highlight for 2024 is that on top of the $170 million in venture funding and $2.4 billion in other funding, $1.08 billion was allocated to at least five different funds that will benefit Edmonton Region companies including:
These funds will help shape Edmonton Region-based companies’ futures, supporting businesses and driving innovation where it matters most.
The last thing I want to touch on for 2024 was that we also saw significant activity in acquisitions–I tracked 40 inbound and 13 outbound acquisitions. The biggest inbound deal was National Bank’s $6 billion purchase of Canadian Western Bank. Also significant was the $113 million buyout of OneSoft by Irth Solutions of Columbus, Ohio.
Meanwhile, outbound deals included Capital Power’s $1.5 billion acquisition of two U.S. power plants and Stantec’s $524 million purchase of Morrison Hersfield. KBro Linen made two notable acquisitions, buying England’s Shortridge Ltd. For $41 million and Quebec’s Buanderie CM for $12 million.
2024 was another exciting year for business in the Edmonton Region with the highest number of deals on record since tracking began and a respectable $170.5 million in venture raised. The ability of local companies to raise capital across industries and company size, speaks to the ability of Edmonton Region businesses to continue to deliver globally relevant value. As always, I’ll be tracking developments throughout 2025 and sharing another update next year. Stay tuned—and keep building!
[1] The research in this, and previous updates is focused on the data available in more recent years – as such I am much more confident in the data for 2020 to 2024 than for previous years.
Jeff Bell is the Director of Research and Business Intelligence at Edmonton Global. His knowledge is a mile wide and an inch deep – and when a question arises, he enjoys digging deep into the data to provide solid defensible research that can inform strategy. Reach out to Jeff if you know of an innovative business that should be tied into his network.
