A plain-English guide to Canada's most retail-friendly capital markets tool — and why every TSXV investor should know how it works.
The Listed Issuer Financing Exemption — LIFE — is a Canadian securities regulation introduced to help smaller listed companies raise capital more efficiently. Instead of filing a full prospectus (which can take months and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal and accounting fees), a company files a short offering document directly with regulators and can begin selling shares to the public within days.
The key word is public. Traditional private placements — the other common way junior miners raise money — are restricted to accredited investors (high-net-worth individuals, institutions). LIFE filings are open to any Canadian investor with a brokerage account. You don't need to meet any wealth or income threshold to participate.
For companies, it's a streamlined path to capital. For retail investors, it's rare access to the same deal terms that institutions normally get first.
This is arguably the most important feature. When institutions subscribe to a standard private placement, they're subject to a four-month hold period — they cannot sell their shares for four months after closing. This is to protect the market from large blocks of discounted stock being immediately dumped.
LIFE financings work differently. Because the offering is made under a prospectus exemption designed for public distribution, shares issued to Canadian investors carry no hold period at all. The moment the deal closes, you can sell your shares on the open market like any other position.
This means LIFE shares are worth more than equivalent private placement shares, all else being equal — because there's no lock-up risk. It also means the market impact of a LIFE closing is more immediate, which is worth tracking.
A large portion of LIFE filings aren't just shares — they're units. A unit typically consists of one share and a fraction of a warrant (commonly one-half warrant, meaning you need two units to receive one whole warrant). The warrant gives you the right — but not the obligation — to buy additional shares at a fixed price (the warrant strike price) at any time within the warrant's lifespan.
Warrants in junior mining deals typically run 12–36 months and are struck 20–50% above the offering price. They have no cost at subscription — they're free upside embedded in the deal structure.
LIFE financings are distributed through registered investment dealers — the brokers and capital markets firms that manage the book for the company. To participate, you typically need to:
| Feature | LIFE Financing | Standard PP |
|---|---|---|
| Who can invest | Any Canadian investor | Accredited only |
| Hold period | None for Canadian retail | 4 months + 1 day |
| Offering document | Short LIFE document (~8 pages) | Full prospectus (months) |
| Max raise | $25M per 12-month period | No hard cap |
| Transparency | Public on SEDAR+ day of filing | Limited public disclosure |
| Speed | Closes in 2–4 weeks | Varies, often faster for small deals |
Not all LIFE financings are equal. Here's what to focus on when evaluating a filing:
Every open offering tracked in one place — offering date, price, warrant terms, lead broker, and a direct line to request an introduction.