Canadian international trade in services, November 2021
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Released: 2022-01-06
$11.7 billion
November 2021
2.9% 
(monthly change)
$11.9 billion
November 2021
0.3%
(monthly change)
-$0.2 billion
November 2021
$70.3 billion
November 2021
3.7%
(monthly change)
$67.4 billion
November 2021
2.0%
(monthly change)
$2.9 billion
November 2021
Canada's monthly international trade in services deficit narrowed from $520 million in October to $230 million in November. Overall, exports of services increased 2.9% to $11.7 billion while imports were up 0.3% to $11.9 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
International trade in services
Travel services continued to recover in November as imports increased 21.1% to $1.4 billion, an eighth consecutive monthly increase, and exports rose 9.0% to $1.8 billion. The United States opened its land borders to all fully vaccinated travellers on November 8. All fully vaccinated non-Canadian resident travellers have been eligible to enter Canada since September 7. Despite recent increases, both imports (-68.6%) and exports (-26.3%) of travel services were still below their pre-pandemic February 2020 levels in November.
Imports of commercial services declined 2.5% to $7.9 billion in November, entirely due to lower imports of financial services. Meanwhile, exports of commercial services were up 1.6% to $8.4 billion.
Exports of transportation services were up 3.2% to $1.4 billion in November, mainly due to higher receipts of passenger fares. Imports of transportation services edged down 0.2% to $2.5 billion. Transportation services remained 2.8% below their February 2020 level for exports, and 3.5% below their February 2020 level for imports.
Chart 2
International trade in services, exports
Chart 3
International trade in services, imports
Chart 4
International trade in services, balances
By comparison, total exports of goods increased 3.8% to $58.6 billion in November, and total imports of goods were up 2.4% to $55.4 billion, resulting in a goods surplus of $3.1 billion. Combined, the trade balance for goods and services amounted to a $2.9 billion surplus in November, a $1.2 billion increase from October.
Chart 5
International trade in goods and services, November 2021
The services trade deficit for October, first reported at $562 million, was revised down to $520 million with this month's release. Imports of services were revised down by $88 million, on downward revisions to commercial services, travel services, and transportation services. Exports of services were revised down by $46 million, on downward revisions to travel services and transportation services.
Note to readers
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 (13-609-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 (13-607-X) is available.
The User Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (13-606-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; infostats@statcan.gc.ca).
To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Alec Forbes (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca), International Accounts and Trade Division.
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