Foreign-controlled enterprises in Canada, by financial characteristics and selected country of control
Active Corporations Returns Act (CRA) series tracking corporate assets, operating revenues, and operating profits under foreign control across 24 NAICS industries and 26 countries of control from 2010 to 2024.
About this dataset
- 24 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) industries and summary sectors
- 6 financial characteristics: Assets, Percentage of total assets, Operating revenues, Percentage of total operating revenues, Operating profits, Percentage of total operating profit
- 26 countries and regional macroeconomic blocs of control
- Annual reference periods from 2010 to 2024
- Federal and provincial Government Business Enterprises (GBEs, excluded starting reference year 2020)
- Management of Companies and Enterprises (NAICS 55 holding companies excluded)
- Funds and other financial vehicles (NAICS 526), religious/political organizations, and public administration
- Unincorporated sole proprietorships and partnerships
- Employment headcounts or physical merchandise trade volumes (balance sheet and income statement metrics only)
Measurement notes
- Foreign control is assigned based on majority voting ownership (over 50%) or effective managerial control of the enterprise.
- Assets provide a long-term stock perspective of corporate ownership, whereas operating revenues and profits measure annual flow activity.
- Table 33-10-0570-01 is the active successor to archived Table 33-10-0084-01, incorporating back-cast estimates from 2010 to 2019 to reflect GBE exclusion.
- Reference years carry a standard two-year administrative tax reconciliation lag (e.g. 2024 data released in June 2026).
| Column | Type | Non-null | Unique | Mean | Min | Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| REF_DATE | int64 | 100.0% | 15 | 2,017.0 | 2,010.0 | 2,024.0 |
| GEO | object | 100.0% | 1 | — | Canada | Canada |
| DGUID | object | 100.0% | 1 | — | 2021A000011124 | 2021A000011124 |
| North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) | object | 100.0% | 24 | — | Accommodation and food services [72] | Wholesale trade [41] |
| Financial characteristics | object | 100.0% | 6 | — | Assets | Percentage of total operating revenues |
| Country of control | object | 100.0% | 26 | — | Australia | United States of America |
| UOM | object | 100.0% | 2 | — | Dollars | Percent |
| UOM_ID | int64 | 100.0% | 2 | 160.0 | 81.0 | 239.0 |
| SCALAR_FACTOR | object | 100.0% | 2 | — | millions | units |
| SCALAR_ID | int64 | 100.0% | 2 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 6.0 |
| VECTOR | object | 100.0% | 3744 | — | v1462653996 | v1462657739 |
| COORDINATE | object | 100.0% | 3744 | — | 1.1.1.1 | 1.9.6.9 |
| VALUE | float64 | 61.6% | 10086 | 53,326.6 | -15,120.0 | 18,794,136.0 |
| STATUS | object | 38.4% | 3 | — | 0s | x |
| SYMBOL | float64 | 0.0% | 0 | — | — | — |
| TERMINATED | float64 | 0.0% | 0 | — | — | — |
| DECIMALS | int64 | 100.0% | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| NAICS Industry | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and food services [72] | |||||||||||||||
| Administrative and support, waste management and remediation services [56] | |||||||||||||||
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting [11] | |||||||||||||||
| Arts, entertainment and recreation [71] | |||||||||||||||
| Construction [23] | |||||||||||||||
| Depository credit intermediation | |||||||||||||||
| Educational, health care and social assistance services [61-62] | |||||||||||||||
| Information and cultural industries [51] | |||||||||||||||
| Insurance carriers and related activities [524] | |||||||||||||||
| Manufacturing [31-33] | |||||||||||||||
| Mining and quarrying (except oil and gas) and support activities [21B] | |||||||||||||||
| Non-depository credit intermediation [5222] | |||||||||||||||
| Oil and gas extraction and support services [21A] | |||||||||||||||
| Other financial industries | |||||||||||||||
| Professional, scientific and technical services [54] | |||||||||||||||
| Real estate and rental and leasing [53] | |||||||||||||||
| Repair, maintenance and personal services [811-813] | |||||||||||||||
| Retail trade [44-45] | |||||||||||||||
| Total finance and insurance industries | |||||||||||||||
| Total non-financial industries (excluding management of companies and enterprises) | |||||||||||||||
| Total, all industries (excluding management of companies and enterprises) | |||||||||||||||
| Transportation and warehousing [48-49] | |||||||||||||||
| Utilities [22] | |||||||||||||||
| Wholesale trade [41] |
Observations
- 2014–2015 energy price collapse compresses foreign profit share — NOTES.md: Energy collapse profit compression
- GBE exclusion methodology takes effect; pandemic shock — NOTES.md: GBE exclusion methodology
- Foreign asset share reaches historic low of 13.9% ($2.62T CAD) — NOTES.md: 2024 historic low asset share
- CNOOC-Nexen transaction boosts Chinese energy assets — NOTES.md: CNOOC-Nexen energy acquisition
- Japan overtakes United Kingdom as #2 foreign asset holder — NOTES.md: Japan overtakes UK
- US-controlled assets surpass $1.46 trillion CAD (55.9% share) — NOTES.md: US assets reach record level
Long-Term Foreign Asset Share Decline: Domestic Corporate Expansion
Between 2010 and 2024, the share of Canadian corporate assets owned by foreign-controlled enterprises declined from 21.2% to 13.9% (-7.3 percentage points). This downward trend does not signify foreign capital flight—foreign-controlled assets expanded from $1.52 trillion to $2.62 trillion CAD (+71.9%). Instead, Canadian-controlled enterprise assets grew significantly faster (expanding from $5.67 trillion to $16.17 trillion CAD, +185.3%), propelled by domestic chartered banks, insurance conglomerates, domestic real estate, and infrastructure investments.
Tradable Goods Asymmetry: Persistent Foreign Dominance in Factories and Wholesale
While foreign control represents only 13.9% of aggregate corporate assets, foreign control remains entrenched in Canada's export and industrial foundation. In 2024, foreign-controlled firms accounted for 50.3% of Canadian manufacturing operating revenues ($525.2B CAD) and 44.5% of wholesale trade revenues ($447.6B CAD). In contrast, domestic enterprises maintain overwhelming control over non-tradable sectors such as deposit-taking credit intermediation (96.5% Canadian), construction (94.6% Canadian), and educational/healthcare services (98.2% Canadian).
Japan Surpasses the United Kingdom as Canada's #2 Foreign Asset Holder
A notable structural shift in Canada's foreign investment landscape occurred between 2020 and 2024: Japan expanded its Canadian corporate asset base to $225.8B CAD (8.6% of all foreign assets), officially overtaking the United Kingdom ($172.6B CAD / 6.6%) as Canada's second-largest foreign corporate investor. Japanese investments in automotive manufacturing, critical minerals, and wholesale supply chains expanded by 68.0% over the decade, while UK asset shares compressed following Brexit and energy portfolio realignments.
Methodological Scope and Government Business Enterprise (GBE) Exclusion
Table 33-10-0570-01 is the active successor to archived Table 33-10-0084-01 under the Corporations Returns Act (CRA, Survey 2503). Beginning with reference year 2020, Statistics Canada removed federal and provincial Government Business Enterprises (GBEs, e.g. Hydro-Québec, Ontario Power Generation, LCBO) from the corporate universe to harmonize with international macroeconomic standards. The series includes historical back-cast estimates from 2010 to 2019 to provide a consistent, continuous 15-year time series. NAICS 55 (holding companies) remains excluded by statute to eliminate double-counting.
Notes
Foreign corporate asset share fell to a record low of 13.9% in 2024 ($2.62T CAD) as domestic assets outpaced foreign growth, though foreign firms still generate 50.3% of manufacturing revenue ($525.2B CAD) and Japan overtook the UK as the #2 foreign asset holder ($225.8B CAD).
Validation Checks
External: 13.9% ($2.6 trillion out of $18.8 trillion) (Statistics Canada The Daily (2026-06-24): 'Foreign control in the Canadian economy, 2024')
Exact match: table reports $18,794,136M total assets and $2,619,609M foreign assets (13.94%).
External: Decreased by 7.3 percentage points (21.2% to 13.9%) (Statistics Canada The Daily (2026-06-24): 'Foreign control in the Canadian economy, 2024')
Exact arithmetic match: 21.2% in 2010 minus 13.9% in 2024 equals 7.3 percentage point decline.
External: US: 55.9%, Japan: 8.6%, UK: 6.6% (Statistics Canada The Daily (2026-06-24): 'Foreign control in the Canadian economy, 2024')
Exact match: US assets $1,464,544M / $2,619,609M = 55.91%; Japan $225,765M = 8.62%; UK $172,630M = 6.59%.
External: Americas: 57.5%, Europe: 23.7%, Asia: 17.2% (Statistics Canada The Daily (2026-06-24): 'Foreign control in the Canadian economy, 2024')
Exact match: Total Americas assets $1,507,175M (57.53%), Total Europe $620,832M (23.70%), Total Asia $449,601M (17.16%).
External: Wholesale: 48.9%, Manufacturing: 43.5%, Oil & gas: 32.3%, Mining: 31.8% (Statistics Canada The Daily (2026-06-24): 'Foreign control in the Canadian economy, 2024')
Exact match: table reports Wholesale 48.9%, Manufacturing 43.5%, Oil & gas 32.3%, Mining & quarrying 31.8%.