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Canadian international trade in services, August 2021

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Released: 2021-10-05

Canada's monthly international trade in services deficit widened from $119 million in July to $361 million in August. Overall, imports of services increased 3.7% to $10.1 billion, and exports were up 1.3% to $9.7 billion.

To explore the most recent results of Canada's international trade in services in an interactive format, see the International trade monthly interactive dashboard.

Chart 1  Chart 1: International trade in services
International trade in services

Imports of travel services rose 45.5% to $1.0 billion in August, a fifth consecutive monthly increase. Meanwhile, exports of travel services increased 9.2% to $983 million. The August travel services growth in imports was mainly due to an increase in Canadian resident travellers returning from non-US destinations, while the growth in exports was mainly due to an increase in the number of US residents arriving in Canada during the month.

Imports of transportation services increased 4.2% to $1.9 billion in August, while exports were up 2.7% to $1.2 billion. These increases were both largely attributable to higher payments and receipts of passenger fares, related to the growth in the number of international travellers.

On August 9, fully vaccinated United States residents became eligible to enter Canada for non-essential reasons, including tourism. Despite recent increases, imports of travel services in August were still 77.4% below their pre-pandemic level of February 2020, and exports of travel services were 54.2% below their February 2020 level. The corresponding figures for transportation services were 23.7% below their February 2020 level for imports and 13.2% below their February 2020 level for exports.

Imports of commercial services were down 0.5% to $7.0 billion, and exports of commercial services edged up 0.1% to $7.5 billion in August.

Chart 2  Chart 2: International trade in services, imports
International trade in services, imports

Chart 3  Chart 3: International trade in services, exports
International trade in services, exports

Chart 4  Chart 4: International trade in services, balances
International trade in services, balances

By comparison, total exports of goods were up 0.8% to $54.4 billion, while total imports of goods declined 1.4% to $52.5 billion in August, resulting in a goods surplus of $1.9 billion. Combined, the trade balance for goods and services amounted to a $1.6 billion surplus in August, a $1.0 billion increase from a surplus of $0.6 billion in July.

Chart 5  Chart 5: International trade in goods and services, August 2021
International trade in goods and services, August 2021

The services trade deficit for July, first reported at $301 million, was revised down to $119 million with this month's release. Imports of services were revised down by $258 million on downward revisions to travel services and commercial services. Exports of services for July were revised down by $76 million on downward revisions to commercial services and travel services.



  Note to readers

Revisions

With the November 4 release of September reference month data, revisions will be made to the Canadian international trade in services data for the period of 2018 to 2021. These revisions will reflect data from the newest annual benchmark surveys and the annual international trade in services release for 2020, which will be published on October 15. These revisions will also be integrated into Canada's national and international accounts at the end of November 2021.

COVID-19 and additional data sources

Circumstances surrounding COVID-19 pose issues for the production of monthly international trade in services statistics, particularly for travel and transportation services.

To better capture the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Statistics Canada is incorporating data from the Canada Border Services Agency's primary inspection kiosks into its monthly international trade-in-services program. These are electronic customs declaration kiosks that have been installed in most major Canadian airports. While these data represent only a subset of total travellers, they provide relevant and timely insights.

Further information on the estimation methodology is available upon request.

Products

The updated Canada and the World Statistics Hub (Catalogue number13-609-X) is available online. It illustrates the nature and extent of Canada's economic and financial relationship with the world using interactive charts and tables. This product provides easy access to information on trade, investment, employment and travel between Canada and a number of countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Mexico, China, Japan, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain.

The Methodological Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (Catalogue number13-607-X) is available.

The User Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (Catalogue number13-606-G) is also available. This publication will be updated to maintain its relevance.

Contact information

For more information, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca).

To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Alec Forbes (613-668-6454; alec.forbes@canada.ca), International Accounts and Trade Division.

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