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Evidenced by the successful closings of the first two significant Canadian IPOs since 2007, worth a total of almost $1.5 billion combined, the National Post's Daryl-Lynn Carlson reported that Canadian investors appeared to be showing renewed confidence in new offerings.  The lawyers involved in both IPOs, issued by Genworth M.I. Canada and Capital Power Corporation, noted that they had started seeing a lot more interest in potential IPOs, a fact confirmed by their peers at other firms, including Miller Thomson's Jay Hoffman.

While Mr. Hoffman pointed to heightened activity in the months leading up to September within the junior resource and mining sector on the TSX Venture Exchange, he was quick to note that the IPO market's growing strength was clearest in the US, where there had been a noticeable rise in the number of filings from companies in alternative energy and social networking technology.  Along with the significant pick-up of announced IPOs, he also noted other positive signs, such as a moderate decrease in market volatility and relatively favourable credit conditions.     

Asked his views on what the future held, Mr. Hoffman felt that companies were likely remaining on the sidelines to be sure that the economy would continue to strengthen, and that while everything was looking more promising, a healthy IPO market in Canada was "still a long way off".