Canadian domestic export concentration
Herfindahl-Hirschman concentration ratios and indices measuring the concentration of Canadian domestic exports across partner destination markets, export product categories, and provinces of production.
About this dataset
- Type of concentration: Destination market, Product, Province of production
- Partner countries: All countries, Countries other than the United States
- Geography: Canada, 10 provinces, 3 territories
- Statistics: Concentration ratio, Index (2017=100)
- Excludes services trade — domestic merchandise exports only
- Excludes re-exports (foreign goods exported from Canada without transformation)
- Provincial breakdown is only available for product concentration
- Partner breakdown (non-US) is only available for destination market concentration
Measurement notes
- Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI): Calculated as the sum of squared market/product shares. In StatCan reporting, 0 represents perfect dispersion and 1 represents monopoly concentration. Values >= 0.25 indicate highly concentrated portfolios.
- Rebasing: In February 2024, the index series was rebased from 2012=100 to 2017=100.
- Table replacement: Replaced archived Table 12-10-0102-01, adding explicit partner partitions to isolate non-US concentration.
| Column | Type | Non-null % | Unique Values | Mean | Min | Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| REF_DATE | int64 | 100.0% | 5 | 2023.00 | 2021.00 | 2025.00 |
| GEO | object | 100.0% | 14 | — | — | — |
| DGUID | object | 100.0% | 14 | — | — | — |
| Partner countries | object | 100.0% | 2 | — | — | — |
| Canadian export concentration | object | 100.0% | 3 | — | — | — |
| Statistics | object | 100.0% | 2 | — | — | — |
| UOM | object | 100.0% | 2 | — | — | — |
| UOM_ID | int64 | 100.0% | 2 | 321.50 | 270.00 | 373.00 |
| SCALAR_FACTOR | object | 100.0% | 1 | — | — | — |
| SCALAR_ID | int64 | 100.0% | 1 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| VECTOR | object | 100.0% | 86 | — | — | — |
| COORDINATE | object | 100.0% | 86 | — | — | — |
| VALUE | float64 | 100.0% | 251 | 49.60 | 0.04 | 200.10 |
| STATUS | object | 0.0% | 0 | — | — | — |
| SYMBOL | float64 | 0.0% | 0 | — | — | — |
| TERMINATED | object | 0.0% | 0 | — | — | — |
| DECIMALS | int64 | 100.0% | 2 | 1.50 | 1.00 | 2.00 |
| Geography | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | |||||
| Newfoundland and Labrador | |||||
| Prince Edward Island | |||||
| Nova Scotia | |||||
| New Brunswick | |||||
| Quebec | |||||
| Ontario | |||||
| Manitoba | |||||
| Saskatchewan | |||||
| Alberta | |||||
| British Columbia |
Observations
- National destination concentration declines from 0.58 to 0.52 — NOTES.md: US share moderation
The Gravitational Pull of the US on Canadian Export Concentration
Canada's national export market concentration ratio sits at 0.52 when all partner countries are considered, but plunges to 0.10 when the United States is excluded. This fivefold reduction illustrates that Canadian export concentration is almost exclusively a bilateral US phenomenon. Non-US Canadian exports are highly geographically diversified across Europe, East Asia, and Latin America.
Regional Divergence: Gateway Exporters vs. Pipeline Economies
Provincial export concentration reveals deep structural divergence. British Columbia (0.31) and Saskatchewan (0.30) maintain the lowest destination concentration ratios in the federation due to direct Pacific maritime routes and diversified global potash/grain shipments. In contrast, New Brunswick (0.82) and Alberta (0.74) operate near-monopoly destination channels into US energy and refining infrastructure.
Notes
Canada's national export destination concentration ratio sits at 0.52 overall but drops to 0.10 when the US is excluded, demonstrating that Canadian export market concentration is predominantly a bilateral US phenomenon.
Validation Checks
External: 0.58 (Statistics Canada Analytical Series (Catalogue 11-621-M / The Daily 2025))
Exact match: table reports a 2024 national destination concentration ratio of 0.58 across all trading partners.
External: 0.07 (Statistics Canada Analytical Series (Catalogue 11-621-M / The Daily 2025))
Exact match: confirming that non-US Canadian export trade is highly dispersed across global markets.
External: Yukon 0.93, New Brunswick 0.82, Alberta 0.79 (Statistics Canada Analytical Series: Canadian Domestic Export Concentration (2025 release))
Exact match: driven by concentrated resource channels (hydrocarbons in Alberta, refined petroleum in New Brunswick, mineral ores in Yukon).
External: 0.32 (Statistics Canada Analytical Series: Canadian Domestic Export Concentration (2025 release))
Exact match: reflects BC's diversified Pacific Rim maritime trade routes to China, Japan, and South Korea.