2010 was a banner year for Canada’s capital markets, says PricewaterhouseCoopers in a new a report.

Despite a backdrop of global macro weakness, Canada’s public debt capital has been plentiful and investor demand for equities has been very healthy.

PwC offers 20 statistics to back up its claim that there’s never been a better time to participate in Canadian capital markets:

1. 475%: annual increase in number of corporate IPOs on the TSX in 2010.

2. 119%: annual increase in equity capital raised year to date in 2010 by TSX-V listed companies.

3. 2,813: number announced M&A deals in 2010 involving a Canadian entity. 2,937: number of announced Canadian deals at all-time peak in 2007.

4. $67.1 billion: Aggregate year to date value of corporate debt new issues; $64.4 billion: aggregate value in 2009; $38.5 billion: aggregate value in 2000.

5. 13%: appreciation of the TSX since December 9, 2009. 9%: appreciation of the S&P 500 during the same period.

6. $76 billion: estimated size of assets under management by Canadian PE and VC players.

7. 28%: annual increase in venture capital dollars invested in Canada in 2010. 10.5%: three year net return on first quartile Canadian VC investments; -2.7%: three year return on the Nasdaq.

8. 27%: year to date appreciation in price of gold. 12%: year to date appreciation in WTI crude.

9. 48.6%: proportion of TSX (by market cap) represented by the energy and mining sectors in 2010; 27%: proportion of TSX (by market cap) represented by the energy and mining sectors in 2002.

10. $5 billion: Amount paid by Onex & Canada Pension Plan to acquire British manufacturer Tomkins; #1 rank of deal on North American PE league tables (by size).

11. $1.5 billion: high yield debt issued in Canada year to date 2010; 86: number of high yield issuers in Canada; non-existent: Canadian high yield market in 2000.

12. 1st: global rank of TSX for number of mining and energy companies publicly traded.

13. 80%: percentage of global equity financings in the mining sector completed in Canada.

14. 72%: proportion of cross border activity involving a Canadian entity taking control of a foreign entity.

15. $660 million: size of Smart Technologies IPO, the largest Canadian tech IPO in a decade.

16. $1,156: Q3 2010 cash flow per share publicly traded Canadian companies; $633: cash flow per share, comparable quarter, 2002.

17. $4.65 billion: amount paid by China’s state-owned Sinopec to acquire a 9.03% interest in Syncrude Canada; #1: deal rank in league table of acquisitions in North America by China (by size).

18. 27,000: number of times “Saskatchewan” mentioned in the global media year to date 2010. 2,750, number of times Saskatchewan mentioned in 2000.

19. $1,156: Q3 2010 cash flow per share publicly traded Canadian companies, $633: cash flow per share, comparable quarter, 2002.

20. 2x: EBITDA multiple expansion for North American middle market M&A deals ($100 – $500 million).

The three external risks most likely to disturb Canada’s growth trajectory through 2011 are U.S. monetary policies related to quantitative easing, Europe’s sovereign debt crisis, and food inflation, says Kristian Knibutat, PwC’s national deals leader.

PwC deal data includes announced M&A transactions involving at least one Canadian entity. The source of thae data is Capital IQ.

IE