In December, Canada's merchandise exports increased 4.9% and imports were up 2.3%. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade balance with the world went from a deficit of $986 million in November to a surplus of $708 million in December. This was the first merchandise trade surplus since February 2024.
Due to the implementation of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Assessment and Revenue Management (CARM) digital initiative and delays in the receipt of merchandise import data at Statistics Canada, estimates were added to the collected values in order to produce a more complete picture of Canada's import activity from October to December. Please see the Note to readers below for more information.