Canada imports essential technology, mobility, industrial materials and consumer goods, primarily from the neighbouring U.S., with significant inflows of vehicles, machinery, electronics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
In 2024, Canada was the world’s 13th-largest importer, with imports amounting to USD 540 billion. With exports of USD 549 billion, Canada recorded a trade surplus of USD 9 billion. From 2004 to 2024, Canada’s imports increased at a CAGR of 3.5%.
Canada’s imports provide the country with essential technology, mobility, electronics, industrial materials and pharmaceuticals. Canada’s three most significant imported products in 2024 all focused on mobility, namely passenger motors (USD 39 billion), goods transport vehicles (USD 19 billion) and motor vehicle parts
(USD 18 billion). Other mobility-related products among the leading imports were aircraft parts (USD 5 billion) and tractors (USD 5 billion).
These significant import volumes of transport vehicles and parts, including cars, trucks and components, especially from the U.S., enable the country’s automotive industry to serve domestic production and consumer markets.
Canada’s leading imports also include minerals and fuels (especially petroleum-based oils and crude petroleum oils), machines and electronics (especially telephones, computers, combustion engines and gas turbines), chemicals and pharmaceuticals (especially therapeutic medicaments, vaccines and rubber tyres) and metals (especially gold and precious metal scrap).
Machinery & Electronics was Canada’s largest import category in 2024 at USD 131 billion (24% of total imports), followed by Transportation at USD 99 billion (18%) and Chemicals, Plastics or Rubber at USD 79 billion (15%).
The U.S. is by far Canada’s largest import partner, with 49% of the country’s imports in 2024 emanating from its southern neighbour, followed by China (12%) and Mexico (6%).
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