Canada’s merchandise trade surplus widened to C$5.4 billion in September 2026, even as the volume of goods exported fell sharply from the previous month.
Statistics Canada released the figures on 4 November. The surplus was up from a revised C$5.0 billion in August. The value of merchandise exports rose by 0.2% to C$78.6 billion, while imports fell by 0.3% to C$73.2 billion.
The wider balance contrasts with declines across much of the export economy. Measured in real terms, which adjust for price changes, export volumes fell by 4.0%. The value of exports declined in eight of the 11 product sections.
Energy products and metal and non-metallic mineral products supported the overall export value. When both categories are excluded, the value of exports fell by 5.6% in September. All monthly comparisons are with August, and the figures are seasonally adjusted.
Oil and gold support export values
Energy exports increased by 8.2% in September, their second monthly rise in a row. Crude oil and bitumen exports rose by 10.2%; the agency said higher prices drove the increase. Natural gas exports rose by 32.1%, while refined petroleum energy products fell by 13.9% after reaching a record high in August.
Exports of metal and non-metallic mineral products rose by 8.6%. A category covering unwrought gold, silver and platinum-group metals and their alloys increased by 16.8%. Purchases by US residents of gold held in Canada helped drive that increase, partly offsetting lower gold shipments to the United Kingdom.
Other sectors moved in the opposite direction. The value of consumer goods exports fell by 7.1%, while electronic and electrical equipment and parts dropped by 13.9%. Industrial machinery, equipment and parts fell by 9.0%, and motor vehicles and parts declined by 4.9%.
Some products within the declining categories had been targeted by new US tariffs and had risen significantly in August. The monthly figures alone do not establish how much of the September decline was caused by those tariffs.
Vehicle imports fall again
The overall drop in imports was concentrated in the motor industry. Imports of motor vehicles and parts fell by 9.1%, following a 9.3% decrease in August. Excluding that section, imports rose by 1.5% in September.
Within the motor category, imports of passenger cars and light trucks fell by 13.2%. The agency said supply problems caused unplanned production stoppages in the United States during September, resulting in fewer imports of those vehicles.
Imports of electronic and electrical equipment and parts rose by 10.3% to a record. Computer and peripheral imports increased by 29.4%, mainly because of higher imports from the United States of processing units of the type used in data centres.
In real terms, total import volumes fell by 2.5% in September. As with exports, the volume measure gives a different view from the value recorded in current Canadian dollars.
A wider US surplus
Canada’s merchandise surplus with the United States widened from C$12.1 billion in August to C$12.3 billion in September. Exports to the US rose by 0.7%, helped by crude oil and unwrought gold, while imports from the US increased by 0.4%.
Trade with the rest of the world moved differently. Exports to countries other than the US fell by 1.1%, and imports from those countries declined by 1.4%. Canada’s merchandise trade deficit with that group narrowed slightly, from C$7.1 billion to C$7.0 billion.
For the third quarter as a whole, the value of both merchandise exports and imports rose by 0.2%. The quarterly merchandise surplus was essentially unchanged at C$11.2 billion. In real terms, however, exports fell by 0.6% and imports by 1.6% over the quarter.
The agency also revised its August estimates. It had originally put that month’s merchandise surplus at C$4.2 billion; it revised August exports upwards and imports downwards, producing the C$5.0 billion comparison used in the September figures.
The data describe September activity and may be revised in future releases. Figures for October are scheduled for release on 8 December.
Featured image: AI-generated illustration.
