Canadian international merchandise trade by principal trading partner, and by product section and group, customs-based, annual
Annual customs-based Canadian international merchandise exports and imports by principal trading partner (28 major bilateral partners and regional country groupings) and by North American Product Classification System (NAPCS 2022) commodity sections and groups.
About this dataset
- Trade flow: Export, Import (2 flows)
- Principal trading partner: 28 partners (United States, China, Mexico, UK, Japan, Germany, etc., plus 'Other countries')
- Commodity classification: 113 NAPCS 2022 sections and groups (All sections, C11 through C23, and detailed 3-digit product groups)
- Time: Annual frequency (1999–2025)
- No trade in services — physical merchandise goods only
- No provincial origin or destination within Canada (national Canadian total only)
- No sub-annual (monthly/quarterly) frequency (strictly annual summary)
- Partner detail is focused on 27 named principal partners plus a single 'Other countries' residual
Measurement notes
- Customs vs Balance of Payments Basis: This table records trade on a customs basis (physical clearance at borders). It differs from BOP basis by excluding inland freight adjustments, timing reconciliations, and gold ownership adjustments.
- Complete World Total by Summation: The sum of all 28 partners (27 named partners plus 'Other countries') exactly equals Canada's total customs merchandise trade.
- Bilateral Diversification Monitoring: Serves as the primary annual dataset for evaluating progress toward geographical diversification beyond the US market.
| Column | Type | Non-null % | Unique Values | Mean | Min | Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| REF_DATE | int64 | 100.0% | 5 | 2,023.0 | 2,021 | 2,025 |
| GEO | object | 100.0% | 1 | — | Canada | Canada |
| DGUID | object | 100.0% | 1 | — | 2021A000011124 | 2021A000011124 |
| Principal trading partner | object | 100.0% | 28 | — | United States | Other countries |
| North American Product Classification System (NAPCS) | object | 100.0% | 113 | — | All sections | Special transactions trade [988] |
| Trade | object | 100.0% | 2 | — | Export | Import |
| UOM | object | 100.0% | 1 | — | Dollars | Dollars |
| UOM_ID | int64 | 100.0% | 1 | 81.0 | 81 | 81 |
| SCALAR_FACTOR | object | 100.0% | 1 | — | thousands | thousands |
| SCALAR_ID | int64 | 100.0% | 1 | 3.0 | 3 | 3 |
| VECTOR | object | 100.0% | 6328 | — | v1566982663 | v1566988990 |
| COORDINATE | object | 100.0% | 6328 | — | 1.1.1.1 | 1.28.113.2 |
| VALUE | float64 | 100.0% | 22854 | 703,181.4 | 0 | 599,372,606 |
| STATUS | float64 | 0.0% | 0 | — | — | — |
| SYMBOL | float64 | 0.0% | 0 | — | — | — |
| TERMINATED | float64 | 0.0% | 0 | — | — | — |
| DECIMALS | int64 | 100.0% | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 |
| Trading Partner | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria | |||||
| Australia | |||||
| Belgium | |||||
| Brazil | |||||
| China | |||||
| France | |||||
| Germany | |||||
| Hong Kong | |||||
| India | |||||
| Indonesia | |||||
| Iraq | |||||
| Italy | |||||
| Japan | |||||
| Mexico | |||||
| Netherlands | |||||
| Norway | |||||
| Other countries | |||||
| Peru | |||||
| Russian Federation | |||||
| Saudi Arabia | |||||
| Singapore | |||||
| South Korea | |||||
| Spain | |||||
| Switzerland | |||||
| Taiwan | |||||
| Türkiye | |||||
| United Kingdom | |||||
| United States |
Observations
- Peak commodity export surge ($783.4B) — NOTES.md: Energy and resource price spike
- Deficit swing (-$10.9B) & US export share drop (72.3%) — NOTES.md: 2025 Trade balance reversal
The Structural Asymmetry of Canadian Export Concentration
While Canada's headline export share to the United States stood at 72.3% in 2025 (down from 76.3% in 2024), this aggregate figure masks profound sectoral asymmetries. Canada's most critical manufacturing and resource exports remain overwhelmingly tethered to the US market: 91.6% of Motor vehicles and parts ($73.7B of $80.4B) and 84.0% of Energy products ($159.4B of $189.9B) flowed across the southern border. Conversely, sectors with higher multilateral diversification include Farm and food products (where China, Japan, and the EU absorb substantial shares) and Metal/mineral products (where the UK represents a primary bullion clearing destination).
The 2025 Merchandise Trade Balance Deficit Reversal
In 2025, Canada recorded an annual merchandise trade deficit of $10.9B CAD, reversing the $13.6B trade surplus achieved in 2024. The deficit reversal was driven by a twin dynamic: total merchandise imports expanded by +2.8% to reach $788.9B CAD (spurred by sustained demand for consumer goods and electronic machinery), while total exports edged downward by -0.4% to $778.0B CAD, impacted by price softening in energy benchmarks and slower automotive assembly volumes.
Notes
StatCan's official annual customs merchandise trade table across 28 principal trading partners and 113 NAPCS product groups. In 2025, Canadian merchandise exports totaled $778.0B CAD while imports rose to $788.9B CAD, producing a $10.9B trade deficit. US export concentration decreased from 76.3% in 2024 to 72.3% in 2025, though automotive (91.6%) and energy (84.0%) remain overwhelmingly US-dependent.
Validation Checks
External: $780.9B CAD (Statistics Canada The Daily (2025-02-05 / annual revisions) & Canadian International Merchandise Trade Web Application)
Exact match: table sums to $780,851.6M CAD across all partners.
External: 76.3% (Statistics Canada The Daily (2025-02-05) & Trade Data Online)
Exact match: $595,942.3M out of $780,851.6M = 76.32%.
External: $778.0B CAD (Statistics Canada The Daily release & Table 12-10-0171-01 / 12-10-0172-01)
Exact match: table reports $778,001.9M CAD.
External: $788.9B CAD imports (-$10.9B balance) (Statistics Canada Canadian International Merchandise Trade database)
Exact match: imports $788,873.7M CAD, deficit $10,871.8M CAD.
External: 72.3% in 2025 (Statistics Canada Trade by Principal Trading Partner annual series)
Exact arithmetic match: $562,704.5M out of $778,001.9M = 72.33%.