Ian Michael writes on the cross-border M&A view from Canada in Lexology's Getting the Deal Through. He looks at the year that was is 2020 and the first quarter of 2021 and key considerations for companies looking ahead.

Ian says that, "As sharp as the drop in M&A was in Canada in 2020, the rise in the final quarter of 2020 and the first three months of 2021 has been even more intense. Rarely has there been a year when the story of deal activity has to be told on such a quarter-by-quarter basis."

Ian looks at important trends in Canadian M&A by-the-numbers, political events affecting cross-border deal making, and legal aspects of:

• material adverse effect (MAE) clauses;
• environmental, social, governance (ESG);
• the Canadian energy sector;
• the rise SPACs and what this might mean for Canadian companies; and
• M&A resilience and adaptability.