Help understanding multiples in the Canadian market.

Just a little background. I posted a question here regarding capital structure of a deal I was looking at a few weeks back. My partner and I submitted a solid EOI with committed equity partners, established banking relations, industry experience and previous acquisition experience. Unfortunately, we weren't selected to proceed to the LOI round. I did communicate to the intermediary that I would prefer to submit a conservative EOI rather than have to reprice at the LOI or post LOI stage. While the business is a solid company, it is asset light and goodwill heavy. It's revenues are directly tied to commodity cycles which have been on the upswing the past few years and is a driver of the company's CAGR. Sector inflation was actually a fair bit higher than the CAGR, so real growth was likely stagnant or slightly negative. When commodity prices dip, it'll drag revenues and EBITDA down. As I'm in the industry, I still see decent growth opportunities for the business and the long term stability of this business and industry makes it attractive. Regardless we submitted an offer of 5x Ebitda(earning were 2.2M) and we didn't make the cut. The advisor also told me that the parties that were invited back had offered 6+ times and that they were not strategic acquirers. Given the cyclic nature of the industry and asset light nature of the business, I feel this is priced extremely high. My banker who looked at the deal agrees. What is happening in the Canadian acquisition market? How are deals this rich getting financed? At those prices my ROI would be stronger if I bought a couple of solid apartment buildings. I know buyers plan for growth, but why would I pay for future growth today, especially if I'm driving that growth. This could be just a one off. I'd love to hear your experiences out there.