In October, Canadian exports to the United States made up 67.3% of total exports, marking the lowest level outside of pandemic impact since data tracking began in 1997. The value of goods shipped to the U.S. from Canada decreased by 4.1%, while imports from the U.S. rose by 5.3%. Consequently, Canada’s trade surplus with the U.S. dropped to $4.8 billion from $8.4 billion in the previous month following tariffs imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump and calls from Prime Minister Mark Carney to diversify trade.
Overall, Canada reported a trade deficit of $583 million in October, smaller than anticipated, as imports outpaced exports. Analysts had predicted a deficit of $1.36 billion. Statistics Canada revised September’s surplus to $243 million from an initial $153 million. This deficit marked the eighth in nine months in 2025.
Imports in October increased by 3.4% following a 4.3% decline in September. Notably, imports of electronic and electrical equipment surged by 10.2%, driven by robust shipments of computers and peripherals. On the other hand, exports grew by 2.1%, buoyed by demand for precious metals like gold, silver, and platinum group metals. Excluding these metals, total exports decreased by 2.5%.
Exports to countries other than the U.S. spiked by 15.6%, reaching a new high, fueled by shipments of gold to Britain and oil to China. The data release was delayed from the initial scheduled date of December 4 due to a prolonged U.S. government shutdown, with November’s data set to be released on January 29.