The Financial Post reports in its Wednesday edition that mergers and acquisitions are poised to pick up this year, according to a new report by KPMG Canada. The Post's Denise Paglinawan writes that a KPMG survey found that one-third of Canadian businesses are planning a major acquisition. The report attributes the economic optimism primarily to the federal government's "nation-building" strategy, as well as a climate of favourable monetary and fiscal policy. "The government's nation-building agenda will be a catalyst for M&A activity in 2026, especially in the private mid-market, where deal appetite returned in the latter half of 2025 after the shock of the U.S. trade war wore off," said KPMG Canada president Marco Tomassetti. The government plans to spend $115.2-billion on infrastructure projects over the next five years. That includes $54-billion for such core public assets as transit and Ai-enabled digital infrastructure. The government expects the expenditure to spur more than $1-trillion in investments from the private sector. Investments will cut acroos infrastructure, energy, critical minerals, defence and housing, as investors pursue scale, capabilities and capacity in sectors with strong growth prospects.