Securities statistics, fourth quarter 2025
Released: 2026-03-11
Canadian governments and corporations borrowed a net $55.9 billion in the form of debt securities in the fourth quarter, down from net issuances of $88.5 billion in the previous quarter. The financing activity in the fourth quarter was largely in the form of long-term instruments and led by the government sector.
The total amount of debt securities owed by Canadian entities, in book value terms, rose by $24.1 billion in the fourth quarter to reach $6,353.3 billion. The new borrowing activity in the quarter was moderated by a downward revaluation of the stock due to the appreciation of the Canadian dollar against foreign currencies.
Chart 1
Debt securities issues by sector, stocks at book value
Strong issuances of government debt instruments
Canadian governments issued a net $53.2 billion of debt securities in the fourth quarter. The provincial and territorial governments accounted for $33.5 billion of this activity, the highest level since the second quarter of 2024.
Meanwhile, borrowing needs by the federal government in the form of debt securities declined with net issuances of $18.5 billion in the fourth quarter, the lowest quarterly amount in 2025. The activity reflected strong net issuances of bonds (+$50.7 billion), which was moderated by the largest net retirement of money market instruments (-$32.2 billion) in five years.
Chart 2
Canadian debt securities issues by sector, net issuances
Canadian non-financial corporations were net borrowers of funds in the fourth quarter, raising $13.7 billion on the credit market. On an industry basis, firms from the mining industry led the borrowing activity, primarily through Canadian-dollar instruments with proceeds largely directed toward refinancing existing debt, capital investment and acquisition activity.
Meanwhile, Canadian financial corporations repaid a net $10.9 billion of debt securities in the fourth quarter. Chartered banks accounted for the bulk of the activity, mostly resulting from the retirements of covered bonds backed by residential mortgages.
Retirements of Canadian shares exceed new issuances
Chart 3
Canadian equity securities issues by sector, net issuances
Net retirements of Canadian equity securities reached $25.9 billion in the fourth quarter, mainly attributable to merger and acquisition activities. Specifically, retirements by non-financial corporations were sizable at $16.4 billion over the quarter, while those by financial corporations totaled $9.5 billion.
Despite these retirements, the market value of listed Canadian equity securities rose $335.6 billion to reach $6,269.7 billion at the end of the fourth quarter on strong increases in prices. Canadian share prices, as measured by the Standard & Poor's (S&P)/Toronto Stock Exchange composite index, rose by 5.6% in the fourth quarter.
Year 2025 in review
Strong government borrowing activity
Canadian entities issued a net $242.5 billion in the form of debt securities in 2025, down from $281.7 billion in 2024.
The federal government borrowed a net $118.9 billion on the credit market, the highest level in five years. Borrowings in 2025 focused on refinancing maturing debt, and supporting projects and infrastructures.
Provincial and territorial governments issued a net $79.8 billion of debt securities in 2025, following net borrowings of $83.0 billion in 2024. Nearly half of the funds were raised on foreign markets in 2025, compared with 20% in 2024.
Canadian non-financial corporations issued a net $64.4 billion in debt securities in 2025, following a sizable $72.1 billion in 2024. A larger share of the funding was raised domestically compared with the previous year, with proceeds mainly supporting debt refinancing, investment and acquisition activity. Meanwhile, financial corporations repaid a net $23.4 billion in the form of debt securities in 2025, led by chartered banks.
In the Canadian equity market, new issuances exceeded retirements by $30.4 billion in 2025. Overall, the market value of outstanding Canadian equity securities was up by $1,503.7 billion in 2025. Canadian share prices, as measured by the S&P/Toronto Stock Exchange composite index, increased by a significant 28.2% in 2025.
Note to readers
This quarterly release, available about 70 days after the reference period, includes information on debt securities issues by sector, currency, maturity, type of interest rate and market of issuance, as well as by the economic sectors issuing debt securities in relation with the sectors investing in these instruments. It also includes information on Canadian equity securities by sector and industry. Statistics on Canadian portfolio investment abroad, previously released with Canada's international investment position, are now available with this release. Canadian holdings of foreign securities by type of securities, currency of denomination, country of issuer of these securities and sector of non-resident issuer are available.
Definitions and concepts used are consistent with the recommendations of the Handbook on Securities Statistics, an internationally agreed-upon framework for classifying securities instruments. Data are accessible through an easy-to-use and flexible visualization tool. The tool includes dynamic cross-tables that allow users to look at the dataset from a variety of dimensions, as well as other visualization layers that illustrate different characteristics of the data in the form of interactive tables and charts.
Definitions
Securities statistics cover issuances and holdings of negotiable financial instruments. Securities include debt instruments designed to be traded in financial markets, such as treasury bills, commercial paper and bonds, as well as equity instruments, such as listed shares.
The book value of a debt instrument reflects the value of the debt at creation, and any subsequent economic flows, such as transactions (e.g., repayment of principal), valuation changes (independent of changes in its market price) and other changes. The book value is composed of the outstanding principal amount plus any accrued interest. The market value reflects the value at which securities are acquired or disposed of in transactions between willing parties, excluding commissions, fees and taxes.
Currency valuation
The value of securities denominated in foreign currency is converted to Canadian dollars at the end of each period. When the Canadian dollar appreciates in value, the restatement of the value of these instruments in Canadian dollars lowers the recorded value. The opposite is true when the Canadian dollar depreciates.
Products
The data visualization product "Securities statistics," part of the series Statistics Canada – Data Visualization Products (71-607-X), is available online.
The document "Enhancing Canada's statistics on securities," part of Latest Developments in the Canadian Economic Accounts (13-605-X), is also available.
The Economic accounts statistics portal, accessible from the Subjects module of the Statistics Canada website, features an up-to-date portrait of national and provincial economies and their structure.
The International trade statistics portal is now available on the Statistics Canada website
Contact information
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