CANADA’S largest stock exchanges are atrophying, with the number of publicly traded companies shrinking for a fourth straight year even as the country’s stock benchmark soared past the S&P 500.

Delistings and companies taken private continue to outpace initial public offerings (IPOs) on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the junior TSX Venture Exchange, a stark contrast to the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index’s 26% increase.