Canada's international transactions in securities, June 2026
Released: 2026-08-17
Foreign investors added $40.8 billion of Canadian securities to their holdings in June, mainly acquisitions of federal government debt securities and private corporate bonds. Meanwhile, Canadian investors acquired $35.4 billion of foreign securities, primarily US corporate shares and bonds.
As a result, international transactions in securities generated a net inflow of funds of $5.4 billion into the Canadian economy in June, for a total of $55.1 billion in the second quarter.
Chart 1
Canada's international transactions in securities
Strong investment in Canadian debt securities
Foreign investors acquired $40.8 billion of Canadian securities in June, ending the second quarter with an unprecedented $100.6 billion investment. The activity in June was led by strong foreign purchases of debt securities.
In June, non-resident investors acquired $39.9 billion of Canadian debt securities. In the first half of the year, investors added a record $175.0 billion of debt securities to their holdings, up significantly from the $20.9 billion invested during the same period of 2025. Federal government debt securities accounted for most of the increase, with non-resident investors acquiring $25.4 billion in June and $80.0 billion during the first six months of 2026. In June, non-resident investors also purchased $16.2 billion of private corporate bonds, mainly instruments issued by Canadian chartered banks and denominated in US dollars and euros.
Chart 2
Foreign investment in Canadian bonds, by sector of issuer
Foreign investors acquired $901 million of Canadian shares in June, after a significant divestment of $16.1 billion in May. On a sector basis, investors mainly acquired shares from the manufacturing sector in June. These acquisitions were moderated by a divestment in shares from the trade and transportation as well as the finance and insurance sectors. Canadian share prices, as measured by the Standard & Poor's (S&P)/Toronto Stock Exchange composite index, edged up 0.3% in June.
Chart 3
Foreign investment in Canadian equity and investment fund shares
Substantial acquisitions of US corporate shares and bonds
Canadian acquisitions of foreign securities amounted to $35.4 billion in June, led by purchases of US shares and US corporate bonds.
In June, Canadian investors increased their exposure to US shares by $23.5 billion. In the first half of the year, investors bought a record $78.1 billion of US shares, compared with $35.1 billion in the same period of 2025. In both years, acquisitions largely targeted shares of large capitalization technology firms. US share prices, as measured by the S&P 500 composite index, were down 1.1% in June and rose 9.6% in the first half of 2026.
Chart 4
Canadian investment in foreign equity and investment fund shares
Meanwhile, Canadian investors added $5.3 billion of foreign bonds to their holdings, after a sizable investment of $10.3 billion in May. The activity in both months was led by purchases of US corporate bonds, largely bonds denominated in Canadian dollars. The investment in June was partially offset by a divestment of $9.9 billion in US federal government bonds.
Chart 5
Canadian investment in foreign bonds
Note to readers
The data series on international transactions in securities covers portfolio transactions in equity and investment fund shares, bonds and money market instruments for both Canadian and foreign issues. This activity excludes transactions in equity and debt instruments between affiliated enterprises. These are classified as foreign direct investment in international accounts.
Equity and investment fund shares include common and preferred equities, as well as units or shares of investment funds. For the sake of brevity, the terms "shares" and "equity and investment fund shares" have the same meaning.
Debt securities include bonds and money market instruments.
Bonds have an original term to maturity of more than one year.
Money market instruments have an original term to maturity of one year or less.
Government of Canada paper includes Treasury bills and US-dollar Canada bills.
All values in this release are net transactions unless otherwise stated.
Next release
Data on Canada's international transactions in securities for July 2026 will be released on September 17.
Products
The International trade statistics portal is available on Statistics Canada website.
The User Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (13-606-G) is also available.
The Methodological Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (13-607-X) is available.
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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