TMX chief calls for reduced barriers to stock listings amid fewer public companies

CALGARY · The chief executive of TMX Group Ltd. says he wants a continued reduction in regulatory and cost barriers for companies listing on Canada's main stock exchange. John McKenzie made the comments at a conference hosted by the Alberta Securities Commission on Tuesday. He was asked about a drop in the number of issuers trading on the TSX. McKenzie said the trend is not unique to Canada and is partly due to growth being concentrated in a few large companies.

"We have actually a lot of growth in market capitalization. We have fewer, bigger companies, which in some ways is great," McKenzie said. "But at the same time, if we hollow out that middle of the market, it makes it more difficult for small big-cap companies to find the capital they need to scale up to become the next Enbridge or Shopify or RBC. We want to make sure that the ecosystem still exists." According to TMX Group's September market intelligence report, there were 337 new listings on the TSX and its junior venture exchange in the first nine months of 2026. Only 101 of those were actual operating companies, with the rest being investment products like exchange traded funds. Five years ago, in the same nine month period, total listings were comparable at 338, but there were 176 companies.

McKenzie said there is growing recognition that the burdens placed on multibillion dollar companies should not apply equally to a firm worth $20 million with fewer resources. He praised a pilot project allowing certain small issuers to report semi annually instead of quarterly and the passport system that reduces duplication across provincial securities regulators. "Those are really important initiatives that we can be pushing ahead to keep the momentum going forward," McKenzie said. "And I'm really glad to note that, you know, on the regulatory side, on the policy side, the doors are open to have those conversations in a way they hadn't always." McKenzie is also advocating for capital gains reform to encourage Canadians to invest more at home. Deborah Yedlin, president and CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, noted there are 32 names on the Toronto Stock Exchange valued at more than $1 billion, the most since 2016. However, the number of firms with a market value below $1 billion is now 87, down from 351 in 2012.

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Hugh Sanderson, head of investment banking at ATB Cormark Capital Markets, said the way companies raise financing has changed. He told a panel discussion that the private equity market is much bigger than it was two decades ago. "I would expect because of that structural change alone that there would be less public companies," he said. Sanderson said in the energy sector there is more passive money and less specialization, and that environmental, social and governance policies may have for a time dampened investor appetite for speculative energy names.

Sanderson used to work at FirstEnergy Capital, a boutique energy focused investment bank in Calgary that was sold to GMP Capital in 2016. He said in its heyday, FirstEnergy would be involved in 300 equity financings in a year. "I don't see us going back all the way to that," Sanderson said. But he added the outlook is getting brighter for small companies to level up.

Chris Seasons, a partner in the investment committee at ARC Financial and former head of Devon Canada, said there is no lack of entrepreneurial spirit in the oilpatch, but building new large scale companies is another question. "Are there people prepared to build a 500,000 or one million barrel a day company? Because a lot of folks who are entrepreneurial, love the business ... that's not fun for a lot of people," Seasons said. "It's a unique person that wants to build a large entity."

With files from The Canadian Press, The Globe and Mail and Narcity