Canadian international trade in services, March 2022
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Released: 2022-05-04
$11.9 billion
March 2022
2.9% 
(monthly change)
$12.9 billion
March 2022
6.5%
(monthly change)
-$1.0 billion
March 2022
$75.5 billion
March 2022
5.8%
(monthly change)
$74.0 billion
March 2022
7.5%
(monthly change)
$1.4 billion
March 2022
Canada's monthly international trade in services deficit widened from $578 million in February to $1.0 billion in March. Overall, imports of services increased 6.5% to $12.9 billion, while exports were up 2.9% 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
Imports of travel services increased 22.2% to $1.7 billion in March, surpassing the December 2021 COVID-19 pandemic period high. Exports of travel services also rose significantly, up 8.5% to $1.9 billion in March 2022. At the end of February, testing requirements for travellers entering Canada were loosened and restrictions on where international passenger flights could arrive in Canada were lifted. Despite the large increases in travel services in March, imports (-61.6%) and exports (-23.0%) of travel services remained below their levels in February 2020, before the pandemic.
Imports of commercial services were up 3.1% to $8.0 billion in March, while exports rose 1.3% to $8.4 billion. For both imports and exports, the main contributor to the increase was financial services.
Imports of transportation services rose 8.2% to $3.0 billion in March, due to higher payments of passenger fares and payments related to the marine shipment of goods. Exports of transportation services were up 5.4% to $1.4 billion, primarily due to higher receipts of passenger fares and services related to trans-border trucking.
Chart 2
International trade in services, imports
Chart 3
International trade in services, exports
Chart 4
International trade in services, balances
By comparison, total imports of goods increased 7.7% to $61.1 billion in March, and total exports of goods were up 6.3% to $63.6 billion, resulting in a surplus of $2.5 billion. Combined, the trade balance for goods and services amounted to a $1.4 billion surplus in March, down $1.1 billion from a combined surplus of $2.5 billion in February.
Chart 5
International trade in goods and services, March 2022
The services trade deficit in February, originally reported at $317 million in the previous release, was revised up to $578 million in the release for the current reference month. Imports of services were revised up by $152 million, mainly on upward revisions to travel services. Exports of services were revised down by $109 million, on downward revisions to travel services and commercial services.
Note to readers
COVID-19 and additional data sources
Circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic 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 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.
Next Release
Data on Canadian international trade in services for April will be released on June 7.
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, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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