Canadian international merchandise trade, March 2025
Released: 2025-05-06
In March, Canada's merchandise exports decreased 0.2%, while imports were down 1.5%. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world narrowed from $1.4 billion in February to $506 million in March. The March deficit is within the typical bounds for monthly revisions applied to imports and exports in subsequent months.
Due to the implementation of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) digital initiative, estimates were added to the reference months from November 2024 to March 2025. Please see the Note to readers below for more information.
Consult the "International trade monthly interactive dashboard" to explore the most recent results of Canada's international trade in an interactive format.
Chart 1
Merchandise exports and imports
Exports decrease for a second consecutive month
Following a 5.4% decrease in February, total exports edged down 0.2% in March. Despite the two consecutive monthly declines, export levels remained relatively high in March, posting a 10.2% increase compared with the same month a year earlier. The decrease in total exports in March 2025 also coincided with the implementation of new US tariffs on Canadian goods. Exports to the United States (-6.6%) were down significantly for the month, but this decrease was almost entirely offset by a strong increase in exports to countries other than the United States (+24.8%). Overall, declines were observed in 6 of the 11 product sections. Lower prices contributed to the monthly decrease in exports; in real (or volume) terms, total exports were up 1.8% in March.
Chart 2
Contribution to the monthly change in exports, by product, March 2025
Exports of consumer goods (-4.2%) were down the most in March, with declines observed in several different product groupings. Following an increase of 9.7% in February, exports of meat products decreased 10.8% in March, mainly on lower shipments of pork to Asian countries. Exports of pharmaceutical products (-7.0%) also contributed to the decrease, mainly due to lower exports to the United States. Despite the second consecutive monthly decrease in this product section, exports were up 14.2% in March 2025 compared with March 2024.
Chart 3
Exports of consumer goods
Following a 5.3% decline in February 2025, exports of energy products decreased a further 2.2% in March. Exports of nuclear fuel and other energy products (-54.5%) were down the most in the month, mainly because of lower shipments of uranium to the Netherlands and the United States. Exports of natural gas (-13.7%) also decreased in March, because of lower prices.
Partially offsetting these declines in March were higher exports of motor vehicles and parts (+7.7%). This was almost entirely the result of higher exports of passenger cars and light trucks, which rose 11.8% in March after posting a 14.5% decline in February. Despite the drop in February, exports of passenger cars and light trucks have been on the rise in recent months and, in the context of US tariffs on Canadian goods, have increased 22.5% from November 2024 to March 2025. The rise in March preceded new US tariffs on foreign-made vehicles that were implemented at the beginning of April.
Chart 4
Exports of passenger cars and light trucks
Other product sections posted notable gains in March to partially offset the overall decline in exports. These sections included farm, fishing and intermediate food products (+3.1%); forestry products and building and packaging materials (+3.5%); and metal ores and non-metallic minerals (+6.5%).
First decrease in imports since September 2024
After increasing for five consecutive months, total imports fell 1.5% in March. The largest contributors to the decrease in March were imports of metal and non-metallic mineral products (-15.8%) and energy products (-18.8%). In real (or volume) terms, total imports edged down 0.1% in March.
Statistics on imports are primarily based on administrative data from the CBSA and are generally not subject to significant estimation. However, given delays in the receipt of import data for November 2024 through March 2025 due to the CARM digital initiative, estimated values were added to a majority of the product categories to compensate for the outstanding transactions. Users of merchandise import statistics should exercise caution when analyzing and interpreting the data and should expect significant revisions to the results for these months in future publications. Please see the Note to readers below for more information.
Tariffs on steel and aluminum implemented in March
Broad tariffs on US imports of Canadian goods were introduced in early March, with various tariff reductions and exemptions applied in the days thereafter, reducing their potential impact.
However, on March 12, a 25% tariff on US imports of Canadian steel and aluminum came into effect. Canadian exports of metal and non-metallic mineral products decreased 3.2% in March, but that was mainly the result of lower exports of unwrought gold, silver and platinum metals (-8.9%), products out of scope for the steel and aluminum tariffs. Exports of basic and semi-finished iron and steel products (-9.0%) also contributed to the decline in the product section. Meanwhile, exports of unwrought aluminum and aluminum alloys were up 4.4% in March, a fourth consecutive monthly increase.
Canada implemented its own 25% tariffs on US steel and aluminum (as well as other types of goods) the following day (March 13) in response to the US tariffs. Imports of metal and non-metallic mineral products decreased 15.8% in March. As was the case with exports, imports of unwrought gold, silver and platinum metals (-69.7%) were by far the largest contributor to the decline. Imports of basic and semi-finished iron and steel products decreased 4.8% in March, while imports of basic and semi-finished products of aluminum and aluminum alloys posted an increase of 14.9%.
Exports to the United States fall
With the implementation of the new tariffs in March, exports to the United States decreased 6.6%, a second consecutive monthly decline following the strong ramp up in exports to the United States that led to a record in January. Despite the recent decreases, Canadian exports to the United States were 2.5% higher in March 2025 compared with November 2024. Meanwhile, imports from the United States fell 2.9% in March. Canada's merchandise trade surplus with the United States went from $10.8 billion in February to $8.4 billion in March.
Meanwhile, exports to countries other than the United States jump
Following a 12.4% decrease in February, exports to countries other than the United States rose 24.8% in March, representing the second-largest percentage increase on record. Exports to the United Kingdom (unwrought gold), the Netherlands (crude oil), Hong Kong (crude oil) and Germany (various products) increased the most for the month. Meanwhile, imports from countries other than the United States were up 1.0% in March. Canada's trade deficit with countries other than the United States narrowed from a record $12.2 billion in February to $9.0 billion in March.
Chart 5
International merchandise trade balance
Focus on Canada and the United States
In 2024, Canada's domestic exports on a customs basis totalled $721.1 billion, with 75.9% of these shipments destined to the United States. Other leading destinations for Canada's domestic exports included China (4.1%), the United Kingdom (3.7%) and Japan (2.1%).
Recent trade tensions with the United States have brought the diversification of Canada's exports into focus. Statistics Canada publishes several measures of Canadian domestic export concentration, including export concentration by destination market, which measures the degree to which Canada's exports are concentrated among its trading partners. An index (the Herfindahl-Hirschman index) is calculated to express this level of concentration, with possible values ranging between 0 and 1. A value close to 1 means a significant share of exports is associated with a narrow selection of trading partners, and a value close to 0 means a more even distribution of exports among trading partners.
The concentration ratio by destination market for Canada's domestic exports was 0.58 in 2024, down slightly from 0.59 the year before. Going back to 1988, this measure has been as high as 0.75 in the early 2000s, and as low as 0.53 in 2020, a year significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Typically, a ratio at or above 0.25 is considered to represent "high" concentration. Canada's strong trade ties with the United States are behind the level of concentration in Canada's domestic exports. Among countries other than the United States, Canadian export concentration by destination market was 0.07 in 2024.
The concentration ratio by destination market can vary considerably between Canada's provinces and territories. Newfoundland and Labrador (0.29) and British Columbia (0.32) had the lowest concentration of domestic exports in 2024. Yukon had the highest concentration at 0.93, followed by New Brunswick (0.82) and Alberta (0.79). Concentration ratios in central Canada were close to the national figure, with Quebec posting an index of 0.57 and Ontario posting an index of 0.60. See chart 6 for complete results for Canada's provinces and territories in 2024.
In addition to offering annual results for domestic export concentration by destination market, table 12-10-0129-01 also features measures of concentration by product (the degree to which Canada's exports are concentrated within a narrow set of products) and by province of production (the degree to which Canada's exports are concentrated within a narrow set of origin provinces).
For more data and insights on areas touched by the socio-economic relationship between Canada and the United States, see the Focus on Canada and the United States webpage.
Chart 6
Domestic export concentration by market of destination (Herfindahl-Hirschman index), 2024
Exports and imports reach a record high in the first quarter of 2025
Total exports rose 6.0% in the first quarter of 2025 to reach a record high of $214.0 billion. This follows a strong increase of 4.6% observed in the last quarter of 2024. Exports of energy products (+7.5%) and motor vehicles and parts (+13.2%) were the largest contributors to the growth in the first quarter of 2025.
Meanwhile, quarterly imports increased 5.2% to a record $212.8 billion in the first quarter. Higher imports of motor vehicles and parts (+9.1%), industrial machinery, equipment and parts (+10.6%) and consumer goods (+4.9%) contributed the most to the quarterly increase. Canada's quarterly merchandise trade balance went from a deficit of $461 million in the last quarter of 2024 to a surplus of $1.2 billion in the first quarter of 2025.
With regard to quarterly results in constant dollars (calculated using 2017 chained dollars), real exports were up 2.5% in the first quarter, while real imports increased 2.3%.
Revisions to February merchandise export and import data
Imports in February, originally reported at $71.6 billion in the previous release, were revised to $71.4 billion in the current reference month's release. Exports in February, originally reported at $70.1 billion in the previous release, were revised to $70.0 billion in the current reference month's release.
Monthly trade in services
In March, monthly service exports were up 0.3% to $17.7 billion. Meanwhile, imports of services decreased 0.9% to $18.1 billion.
When international trade in goods and services are combined, exports edged down 0.1% to $87.6 billion in March, while imports decreased 1.3% to $88.5 billion. As a result, Canada's total trade deficit with the world went from $2.1 billion in February to $942 million in March.
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Note to readers
Information on concepts and methods used for the monthly release of Canada's international merchandise trade is now available online. Please see "Notes on the monthly release of Canadian international merchandise trade" for more details.
For a detailed overview of the Canadian International Merchandise Trade program, please see "Guide to Canadian International Merchandise Trade Statistics."
Important notice to users of import statistics following the implementation of CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM)
Statistics Canada's primary data source used in the compilation of import statistics is undergoing a major transition as a result of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) digital initiative, implemented on October 21, 2024. Despite improved coverage since the last publication of Canadian International Merchandise Trade statistics, delays in the receipt of import data at Statistics Canada continue to impact the completeness and quality of import statistics.
Analysis indicates that additional data volumes will be received after Statistics Canada's deadline for monthly collection for the reference months of November 2024 through March 2025. While strategies for producing estimates to account for the late receipt of data have been enhanced to maximize the comprehensiveness of merchandise trade indicators for these months, Statistics Canada's ability to respond to these issues is limited.
Canadian International Merchandise Trade statistics are produced on both a customs basis and a balance-of-payments basis. Customs basis statistics are highly detailed and multidimensional, while more aggregated balance-of-payments basis statistics are aligned with Canada's macroeconomic accounting framework and are the source for key indicators related to merchandise trade. Within the customs basis statistics, the use of estimates is limited compared with the balance-of-payments basis statistics, relying on placeholder estimates within the special transactions category to partially account for data expected to be received at a later date. Within balance-of-payments basis statistics, estimation is more comprehensive in order to produce a more complete picture of Canada's import activity throughout the various categories for the affected months.
In light of the issues that are temporarily impacting the completeness and quality of international merchandise trade statistics, users should exercise caution and expect material revisions until the situation stabilizes. This is particularly true for import statistics on a customs basis, where estimation is more limited. While revisions to balance-of-payments basis statistics may be less apparent at the total import level, values by category will still be subject to material revisions as actual data replace estimates. Statistics Canada will provide further updates as new information becomes available.
Real-time data table
The real-time data table 12-10-0165-01 will be updated on May 20.
Next release
Data on Canadian international merchandise trade for April will be released on June 5.
Products
The International trade statistics portal is now available on the Statistics Canada website.
The product "International trade monthly interactive dashboard" (71-607-X) is now available. This interactive dashboard is a comprehensive analytical tool that presents monthly changes in Canada's international merchandise trade data on a balance-of-payments basis, fully supporting the information presented every month in the Daily release.
The product "The International Trade Explorer" (71-607-X) is now available online.
The updated "Canada and the World Statistics Hub" (13-609-X) is available online. This product illustrates the nature and extent of Canada's economic and financial relationship with the world using interactive charts and tables. It provides easy access to information on trade, investment, employment and travel between Canada and a number of countries, including the United States, Mexico, China, Japan, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.
The product "Canada's international trade and investment country fact sheet" (71-607-X) is also available.
The online Canadian International Merchandise Trade Database is no longer available. It has been replaced by the Canadian International Merchandise Trade Web Application (71-607-X), a modern tool that provides trade data users with a number of enhancements.
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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