Canadian international trade in services, August 2022

Released: 2022-10-05

Canada's monthly international trade in services deficit widened from $1.6 billion in July to $1.9 billion in August. Overall, imports of services increased 2.1% to $14.5 billion, while exports edged up 0.3% to $12.6 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 rose 11.3% to $3.2 billion in August, a seventh consecutive monthly increase. The increase in August was primarily due to more Canadians travelling to US destinations. Meanwhile, exports of travel services were down 1.5% from July to $2.2 billion in August. In August, imports (-28.6%) and exports (-8.2%) of travel services remained below their levels in February 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exports of commercial services were up 1.2% to $8.7 billion in August. Imports of commercial services were essentially unchanged at $8.2 billion, as a decline in financial services was offset by increases in the other categories of commercial services.

Imports of transportation services were down 0.8% to $3.0 billion in August, while exports of transportation services decreased 1.3% to $1.6 billion. The decreases for both imports and exports were largely the result of lower transportation services related to the shipment of goods, as lower volumes of both merchandise imports and exports were reported for August.

Chart 2 
International trade in services, imports

Chart 3 
International trade in services, exports

Chart 4 
International trade in services, balances

In August, total exports of goods declined 2.9% to $65.4 billion, and total imports of goods were down 1.7% to $63.9 billion, resulting in a surplus of $1.5 billion. Combined, the trade balance for goods and services amounted to a slight deficit position of $369 million in August, a $1.1 billion change from a surplus of $740 million in July. The combined deficit recorded was the first since December 2021 and was the result of both an increasing trade in services deficit and a decreasing trade in goods surplus.

Chart 5 
International trade in goods and services, August 2022

The services trade deficit in July, originally reported at $1.8 billion in the previous release, was revised to $1.6 billion with the release of the August 2022 reference month data. Imports of services were revised down by $181 million, mainly due to a downward revision to travel services. Exports of services were revised down by $58 million, also largely due to downward revisions to travel services.

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, 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).