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Canada’s trade surplus with the world widened in June as exports rose and imports fell, with a weaker loonie boosting the Canadian dollar value of those exports, according to Statistics Canada.
A trade surplus happens when an economy exports more than it imports, and the opposite is known as a trade deficit.
Statistics Canada reported Tuesday that the value of merchandise exports in June increased 0.4 per cent from the previous month, while imports fell 0.2 per cent. The trade surplus in that period increased from C$3.7 billion to $3.9 billion.
This was also the fourth straight month that Canada saw a trade surplus with the world.
The Canadian dollar was worth, on average, about 71 cents U.S. in June, down roughly 1.7 cents from May — the biggest monthly decline since October 2022. This means a Canadian dollar may not go as far as the U.S. dollar, but when Canadian companies are paid in U.S. dollars for their merchandise, each U.S. dollar converts into more loonies.
Since most international trade is priced in U.S. dollars, the weaker loonie increased the Canadian-dollar value of exports that Statistics Canada tracks. In U.S. dollar terms, the agency says Canada’s exports actually fell two per cent in June, while imports declined 2.1 per cent.
The value of all exports in June increased to a record C$77.5 billion, up from $77.1 billion in May, with the volume of those exports increasing 1.1 per cent in the same period, the agency says. This means Canada shipped more goods even though some prices were comparably lower for international buyers.
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Out of 11 sectors Statistics Canada tracks, six saw increases in export values.
Exports of metal and non-metallic mineral products, in total value, increased the most by 16.5 per cent in June. Within the sector, the category comprising unwrought gold, silver, and platinum group metals, and their alloys increased 27.9 per cent.
There was also a sharp drop of 28.8 per cent for exports of Canadian unwrought aluminum and aluminum alloys — one of the main targets of U.S. tariffs.
In June, Canada also exported a lot of copper ores and concentrates to countries like Japan, China, Finland and South Korea. The total value of those exports hit a record of $934 million, which was 20 per cent higher than May.
In the same period, energy exports decreased by 10 per cent, including an 11 per cent drop for crude oil exports alone, as global prices fell compared to May.
Some of the notable gains in most sectors also fit into Canada’s broader push to diversify exports beyond the United States amid ongoing U.S. tariffs. Prime Minister Mark Carney has vowed to double exports to countries other than the U.S. by 2035.
Statistics Canada says exports to countries other than the U.S. increased 0.7 per cent in June, and that was mainly from exports of unwrought gold shipped to the United Kingdom.
Although Canada has a trade deficit with countries other than the U.S., that deficit narrowed to $6.1 billion in June from $7.4 billion in May.
At the same time, Canada’s imports from the U.S. increased by three per cent in June, and mainly on higher imports of computers and computer peripherals.
Nathan Janzen, assistant chief economist at Royal Bank of Canada, said in a note that an increase in imports of these computers and peripherals was likely tied to use in AI data centres being built in Canada, and represents “a positive sign for domestic Canadian investment spending.”
Tuesday’s report also comes after the federal government announced last week it will be launching a strategic exports office , aimed at helping Canadian businesses land lucrative foreign contracts.
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