Balance of international payments, current account, goods by principal trading partners, quarterly
Quarterly Balance of Payments (BOP) goods trade receipts, payments, and net balances between Canada and 28 principal bilateral trading partners, both seasonally adjusted and unadjusted.
About this dataset
- Trade flows (Receipts, Payments, Balances)
- Seasonal adjustment status (Seasonally adjusted, Not seasonally adjusted)
- Principal trading partners (28 major bilateral partners and regional blocs)
- Reference period (Quarterly, 1997 to present)
- Trade in commercial services (covered separately in Table 12-10-0157)
- Commodity-level or industry-level breakdowns (macro aggregates only)
- Provincial/territorial breakdown
Measurement notes
- BOP basis differs from customs-based merchandise trade by applying valuation, timing, and coverage adjustments to match National Accounts conventions.
- Quarterly data aligns with System of National Accounts (SNA) quarterly GDP release schedules.
| Column | Type | Non-null % | Unique Values | Mean | Min | Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| REF_DATE | object | 100.0% | 18 | — | 2022-01 | 2026-04 |
| GEO | object | 100.0% | 1 | — | Canada | Canada |
| DGUID | object | 100.0% | 1 | — | 2016A000011124 | 2016A000011124 |
| Trade | object | 100.0% | 3 | — | Balances | Receipts |
| Seasonal adjustment | object | 100.0% | 2 | — | Not seasonally adjusted | Seasonally adjusted |
| Principal trading partners | object | 100.0% | 31 | — | Algeria | United States |
| UOM | object | 100.0% | 1 | — | Dollars | Dollars |
| UOM_ID | int64 | 100.0% | 1 | 81 | 81 | 81 |
| SCALAR_FACTOR | object | 100.0% | 1 | — | millions | millions |
| SCALAR_ID | int64 | 100.0% | 1 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| VECTOR | object | 100.0% | 186 | — | v91578402 | v91578587 |
| COORDINATE | object | 100.0% | 186 | — | 1.1.1.1 | 1.3.2.9 |
| VALUE | int64 | 100.0% | 2251 | 8,674 | -22,218 | 234,432 |
| STATUS | float64 | 0.0% | 0 | — | — | — |
| SYMBOL | float64 | 0.0% | 0 | — | — | — |
| TERMINATED | float64 | 0.0% | 0 | — | — | — |
| DECIMALS | int64 | 100.0% | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Trading Partner | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria | |||||
| Australia | |||||
| Belgium | |||||
| Brazil | |||||
| China | |||||
| European Union excluding the United Kingdom | |||||
| France | |||||
| Germany | |||||
| Hong Kong | |||||
| India | |||||
| Indonesia | |||||
| Iraq | |||||
| Italy | |||||
| Japan | |||||
| Mexico | |||||
| Netherlands | |||||
| Norway | |||||
| Other European Union countries not elsewhere classified | |||||
| Other countries not elsewhere classified | |||||
| Peru | |||||
| Russian Federation | |||||
| Saudi Arabia | |||||
| Singapore | |||||
| South Korea | |||||
| Spain | |||||
| Switzerland | |||||
| Taiwan | |||||
| Turkey | |||||
| United Kingdom | |||||
| United States |
Observations
- Peak quarterly goods surplus post-Ukraine commodity shock — NOTES.md: Energy and metals price surge
Balance of Payments (BOP) vs. Customs Basis Goods Accounting
Table 36-10-0023 reports Canadian goods trade on a Balance of Payments (BOP) basis, which differs conceptually from customs data (e.g. Table 12-10-0176). While customs data records physical crossings at border ports, BOP accounts for change in economic ownership, adjusts for inland freight to border points, and reconciles bilateral asymmetries. BOP goods trade is the direct input into Canada's GDP and National Income accounts.
Bilateral Surpluses: The United States Surplus Offset
Canada's overall goods surplus of +$12.2B in Q2 2026 is entirely driven by a massive +$32.1B surplus with the United States. Excluding the US, Canada ran a -$19.9B goods deficit with the rest of the world (led by deficits with China, Mexico, Germany, and Italy). This underscores the asymmetric macro dependence: Canada relies on its goods trade surplus with the US to fund net merchandise deficits across Asia and Europe.
Notes
Canada recorded a record $12.2B CAD goods surplus in Q2 2026, but this was entirely generated by a $32.1B surplus with the US, masking a structural $19.9B deficit with the rest of the world.
Validation Checks
External: +$12.2 billion (Statistics Canada The Daily (2026-08-27): 'Canada's balance of international payments, second quarter 2026')
Exact match: table reports +$12,204M CAD net goods balance, reversing a $6.4B deficit in Q1 2026.
External: $232.1 billion (Statistics Canada The Daily (2026-08-27): 'Canada's balance of international payments, second quarter 2026')
Exact match: table reports $232,103M CAD in Q2 2026 merchandise export receipts, driven by crude oil and energy.
External: $220.0 billion (Statistics Canada The Daily (2026-08-27): 'Canada's balance of international payments, second quarter 2026')
Exact match: table reports $219,899M CAD in quarterly goods import payments.
External: +$32.1B US surplus, -$19.9B non-US deficit (Statistics Canada Current Account Balance of Payments Matrix (Table 36-10-0023-01 / The Daily 2026-08-27))
Exact arithmetic match: US bilateral balance of +$32,108M vs total goods surplus of +$12,204M.