Government debt issuances soared to a record high of $71.3 billion, the most aggressive quarterly issuance since Q2 2021. Of that, the federal government accounted for $38.1 billion, while provinces and territories contributed $32.6 billion, with most of these issuances aimed at domestic buyers and structured as bonds.
Meanwhile, Canadian financial institutions entered a phase of repayment, collectively retiring $51.2 billion in debt securities, led by chartered banks retiring $52.3 billion, mostly in bonds that were initially issued during the heightened borrowing demands of the COVID-19 era and carrying maturities of two to five years.
Non-financial businesses, especially those in the transportation and warehousing sectors, continued issuing modest levels of debt, adding $16.6 billion in new debt securities.
Canadian equity markets saw net retirements total $9.5 billion in Q2 with financial firms leading in pullbacks with $9.7 billion worth of equity removed, while non-financial companies, notably in mining, marginally offset this by issuing $0.2 billion worth. This was the first time since Q1 2021 that non-financial equity issuance exceeded retirements.
Despite the pullbacks, the market value of all listed Canadian equities climbed by $390.5 billion, reaching $5.3 trillion. This surge was driven by a 7.8% rise in the S&P/TSX Composite Index throughout the quarter.