Things are usually colder up north, but Canada's deal market is absolutely frigid.

By the numbers: Canadian M&A volume is down 46% from this point in 2021, an all-time record with around US$350 billion of activity, despite expectations of another strong year.

• For context, U.S. M&A is off 27% and global activity is off 20%, per Refinitiv.
• Also worth noting that this is a strategic merger issue in Canada, as the country's private equity activity is actually up 3% year-over-year.

State of play: Some of the decline can be chalked up to chance and the macro morass. But many buyers and sellers likely are waiting on the sidelines as Canadian politicians and regulators debate new antitrust laws that may be much closer to international norms than to Canada's more monopolistic standards.

• New rules were formally proposed in April, and could be finalized by as early as this summer.
• In the meantime, as something of an opening salvo, Rogers Communications was sued by Canadian competition regulators over its proposed C$20 billion takeover of Shaw Communications — a merger that would have created the second largest mobile and cable operator in Canada, a country in which consumers pay the world's highest cellular service bills.
• Rogers pledged to fight regulators, but later adopted a slightly more cooperative tone whereby it agreed not to close the merger until the impasse was settled (yes, how very Canadian of them).

In context: Reuters reports that Canadian antitrust authorities have reviewed more than 1,500 mergers since 2009, and only challenged eight. It's record: Zero wins. Two pending. Six lost or settled.

• Again, this is less about the lawyers and more about the laws they're charged with enforcing.

The bottom line: We don't spend much time discussing Canadian deal activity. And it doesn't sound like that's going to change any time soon.

Cathie Wood confirmed that ARK Invest is raising a crossover fund that will invest in both private and public tech companies, adding that ARK is the "closest to a venture capital fund in the public equity markets."

Why it's the BFD: This is the part of the cycle when tourists usually rush out, not rush in.

Elsewhere: Longtime crossover investor Coatue is raising $2 billion for a fund that will focus on structured equity rounds for private and public companies, as alternatives to down rounds for the private ones.

The bottom line: Wood has some VC disposition, in terms of long-term strategy, but she also has miserable returns as of late. ARK's flagship fund is down more than 55% in 2022, and around 62% over the past 12 months.

🚑 Tessa Therapeutics, a Singapore-based developer of treatments for hematological malignancies and solid tumors, raised $126m in new funding. Polaris Partners led, and was joined by Temasek, EDBI, Heliconia Capital and Heritas Capital. http://axios.link/W11z

🚑 Ancora Biotech, a biospecific antibodies developer, raised $60m in Series A funding co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and SR One. http://axios.link/euTF

🚑 Ever/Body, a New York-based cosmetic dermatology startup, raised $55.5m in Series C funding. Addition led, and was joined by Tiger Global, ACME Capital, Declaration Capital, Fifth Wall Ventures and Redesign Health and Imaginary Ventures. www.everbody.com

• HYCU, a Boston-based cloud data backup and recovery startup, raised $53m in Series B funding led by Acrew Capital. http://axios.link/P24O

• Maze, a Paris-based software product research startup, raised $40m in Series B funding. Felicis Ventures led, and was joined by Emergence, Amplify, Partech, Seedcamp, Atlassian Ventures, Zoom and HubSpot Ventures. http://axios.link/FhwG

🚑 Boulder Care, a Portland, Ore.-based telehealth startup focused on substance addiction, raised $36m in Series B funding from Qiming Venture Partners US, Goodwater Capital, Laerdal Million Lives Fund, First Round Capital, Greycroft, Tusk Venture Partners and Gaingels. http://axios.link/vftD

• Arduino, an open-source hardware and software company, raised $32m in Series B funding. Robert Bosch VC led, and was joined by Renesas, Anzy Partners and Arm. www.arduino.cc

🚑 H1, a New York-based startup compiling data on health care professionals, raised a $23m Series C extension at a valuation of $750m from Goldman Sachs, Menlo Ventures, Transformation Capital and Novartis Pharma AG. www.h1.co

• Luminai, a Menlo Park-based workflow automation startup, raised $16m in Series A funding led by General Catalyst. www.digitalbrain.app

• Cloverleaf, a Cincinnati-based automated coaching platform, raised $9m in Series A funding led by Origin Ventures. www.cloverleaf.me

• Tatsumeeko, a web3 game maker, raised $7.5m in seed funding, per Axios Pro. DeFiance Capital, Delphi Ventures and Bitkraft Ventures co-led, and were joined by Binance Labs, Animoca Brands, Dialectic and GuildFi. http://axios.link/XUNn

• Request Finance, a Berlin-based crypto payments startup, raised $5.5m in seed funding from Balderton Capital and Animoca Brands. http://axios.link/WE65

• Gander, an LA-based startup that uses videos to improve e-commerce experiences, raised $4.2m in seed funding co-led by Harlem Capital and Crossbeam Venture Partners. http://axios.link/bspN

⚡ SolarSquare, an Indian rooftop solar startup, raised $4m in seed funding. Good Capital led, and was joined by Lowercarbon Capital. http://axios.link/Qhy3

• Titan Casket, a Boston-based DTC casket maker, raised $3.5m in seed funding led by Reformation Partners. www.titancasket.com

• Coinbase has agreed to invest in Zipmex, a Southeast Asian crypto exchange that had been seeking funding at a $400m valuation, after deciding against a full acquisition, per The Block. http://axios.link/rrwT

🚑 New Mountain Capital agreed to buy Emmes, a Rockville, Md.-based government-centric CRO, from Behrman Capital for more than $800m, scoops Axios Pro. http://axios.link/28WN

• AffiniPay, an Austin, Texas-based portfolio company of TA Associates, agreed to buy MyCase, a San Diego-based legal practice management software company, from Apax Partners. www.mycase.com

• Apollo Global Management has expressed early interest in buying Grubhub from Just East Takeaway (Ams: TKWY), per Bloomberg.

• Baring PE Asia is in talks to buy iEnergizer (LSE: IBPO), a British digital content delivery and BPO company with a market cap just over £800m. http://axios.link/cIGk

🚑 EQT is expected to bid for iNova Pharma, an Australian drugmaker being auctioned for more than A$1b by owners Carlyle and Pacific Equity Partners, per The Australian. www.inovapharma.com

• H.I.G. Capital bought a majority stake in Virtulex Ilko, a Chilean cleaning products and kitchenware manufacturer. www.cocinailko.cl

• Howden Group, a London-based insurance broker backed by HgCapital and CDPQ, bought TigerRisk Partners, a Stamford, Conn.-based adviser to the insurance and reinsurance industries, from Flexpoint Ford. www.tigerrisk.com

• KKR made its €1.56b takeover offer for Dutch bicycle maker Accell Group (Amsterdam: ACCG) unconditional, meaning it needn’t secure 80% of shares tendered. http://axios.link/OCd2

• Made4net, a Teaneck, N.J.-based portfolio company of Thompson Street Capital Partners, bought Zethcon, a Lombard, Ill.-based provider of warehouse management system software. www.made4net.com

🚑 TPG bought medical education group International Medical University of IHH Healthcare, Asia's largest hospital group, for $306m. http://axios.link/xEbk

🍕 Alamar Foods, a Carlyle-backed master franchisor of Dominos pizza stores in the Middle East, plans to IPO in Saudi Arabia. http://axios.link/ttx4

• Soulgate, a Chinese gamified social networking app, withdrew registration for a U.S. IPO that would have come at a $1.8b fullly diluted valuation. Backers include Yuan Capital. http://axios.link/MssS

There haven't been any new SPAC mergers announced yet this week. If that holds through EOD, this will be just the second week of 2022 without one.

• The other week was Jan. 3.

• Brookfield Asset Management agreed to sell five operational road projects to India’s Indinfravit Trust for $1.2b. http://axios.link/vxwR

⚡ Laredo Energy VI, a gas driller focused on South Texas' Eagle Ford Shale, is on the block for upwards of $1b, per Bloomberg. Riverstone Credit Partners and Chambers Energy Capital took a majority stake via a debt-for-equity swap two years ago, with former owner Avista Capital Partners retaining a minority piece. http://axios.link/VCxL

• Royal FrieslandCampina, a Dutch dairy cooperative with PE backing, has shelved the auction for its infant nutrition business over valuation concerns, per Bloomberg. http://axios.link/I8yQ

• Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI), which is awaiting regulatory approval on its $68.7b takeover by Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), will open collective bargaining negotiations with workers in its Raven Software unit, as first reported by Axios.

• State Street (NYSE: STT) denied reports that it is seeking to buy or merge with Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS). http://axios.link/gVpS

• Bayside, the special situations and distressed affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, promoted Mathilde Malezieux to managing director. www.bayside.com

🚨 May inflation numbers came in hotter than expected, with the Consumer Price Index rising one full percentage point and core inflation up 0.6%. Go deeper.