TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian private equity deals tumbled in the third quarter from the year-ago period, but were still far above crisis levels of just two years ago, according to an industry report on Wednesday.

Private equity deals reported in the July-September period were valued at C$1.34 billion ($1.31 billion), or 40 percent less than the C$2.249 billion in deals reported in the same period last year, according to figures compiled by the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) and Thomson Reuters, the association's research partner.

The number of deals was also down, with 39 completed in the third quarter this year compared with 48 in the same period last year. Average deal sizes were also lower, with most tending to be worth less than C$500 million.

The CVCA said private equity fund raising remained strong, despite bumpy global markets, with C$2.7 billion in new capital commitments going to Canadian buyout, mezzanine and other private equity funds. The figure compares to C$3.2 billion raised in all of 2010.

($1=$1.02 Canadian)

(Reporting by Pav Jordan; editing by Rob Wilson)

Investment Canada