Initial public offering activity on the Toronto Stock Exchange came to a halt in the third quarter, reveals a new PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP survey.

For the first time in the history of PwC’s survey on Canadian equity markets, no new issues took place on Canada’s senior equities exchange during the quarter. The previous record low was four new issues with a value of $254 million in the third quarter of 2007.

The TSX Venture, meanwhile, saw 14 new issues in the three-month period ending Sept. 30, with total proceeds of just more than $66 million. During the same period in 2007, the TSXV recorded 15 new issues valued at $79 million.

The downward trend in the number and value of IPOs on Canada’s equity markets began more than a year ago, PwC said in a release.

“It would be tempting to blame the disruption in the global credit markets and the volatility in equity markets for these results, but in fact this is part of a long-term trend that started late in 2006,” said Ross Sinclair, national leader for PwC’s IPO and income trust services, in the release. “We didn’t get here overnight.”

For the first nine months of 2008, a total of 53 new issues were launched on all of Canada’s exchanges for a total value of $680 million. In comparison, 63 IPOs were introduced in the same period of 2007, with proceeds totalling $1.2 billion. The comparable figures for 2006 were 95 new issues with a value of $4.7 billion.

Although it would be hard for the trend go lower, Sinclair said this might not yet be the bottom of the market for new equity issues.

“A market is a meeting point for a willing buyer and a willing seller, and until some degree of stability returns, and we regain some certainty and predictability, we won’t have a market,” he said. “It won’t be until some point in 2009 before we see anything like the necessary conditions.”