Canadian governments and corporations borrowed a net $36.7 billion in the form of debt securities in the second quarter of 2025. This is the lowest borrowing activity since the third quarter of 2023. The activity in the second quarter of 2025 reflected strong net issuances by governments being moderated by net repayments by financial corporations.
The stock of Canadian debt securities, in book value terms, reached $6,203.1 billion at the end of the second quarter, down $18.7 billion from the previous quarter. The depreciation of the US dollar against the Canadian dollar contributed to the downward revaluation of the stock over the second quarter, as about one-fifth of the stock of Canadian debt securities is denominated in US dollars.
To explore the most recent results of the Securities Statistics program in an interactive format, see the data visualization product "Securities statistics."
Strong issuances of government debt instruments
Net issuances of government debt securities reached $71.3 billion in the second quarter; this is the highest value recorded since the second quarter of 2021. The federal government issued a net $38.1 billion in the second quarter of 2025, a level similar to that of the previous quarter. Meanwhile, provincial and territorial governments issued a net $32.6 billion over the same period. Borrowing activity by governments targeted the Canadian market and was mainly in the form of bonds.
In contrast, Canadian financial corporations repaid a net $51.2 billion of their debt securities over the second quarter, led by chartered banks. Specifically, Canadian chartered banks retired a net $52.3 billion worth of debt securities. Most of the net retirement activity came from instruments with an original maturity of two to five years, namely bonds issued during a period marked by high borrowing needs in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Non-financial corporations issued $16.6 billion worth of debt securities over the second quarter, led by firms in the transportation and warehousing industry.
Retirements of Canadian shares exceed new issuances
ASAP Net retirements of Canadian equity securities reached $9.5 billion in the second quarter. Financial corporations retired $9.7 billion worth of equity securities, while non-financial corporations, led by firms in the mining industry, issued a net $0.2 billion of equity securities. This is the first time since the first quarter of 2021 that new issuances by non-financial corporations exceeded retirements.
The total outstanding market value of listed Canadian equity securities grew by $390.5 billion to reach $5,310.7 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2025. Canadian share prices, as measured by the Standard & Poor's/Toronto Stock Exchange composite index, rose by 7.8% over the same period.
Canadian holdings of foreign securities increase
Canadian holdings of foreign securities, in market value terms, reached $4,231.5 billion at the end of the second quarter, up $122.3 billion from the previous quarter. The increase was due to a strong growth in foreign equity prices, notably US stock prices, and was moderated by the downward revaluation from the appreciation of the Canadian dollar against the US dollar. Holdings of foreign shares stood at $3,194.9 billion, while holdings of foreign debt securities reached $1,036.6 billion. At the end of the second quarter, 71.6% of all foreign securities held by Canadian investors were in the form of US instruments.
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Note to readers
This quarterly release, available about 70 days after the reference period, includes information on debt securities issues by sector, currency, maturity, type of interest rate and market of issuance, as well as by the economic sectors issuing debt securities in relation with the sectors investing in these instruments. It also includes information on Canadian equity securities by sector and industry. Statistics on Canadian portfolio investment abroad, previously released with Canada's international investment position, are now available with this release. Canadian holdings of foreign securities by type of securities, currency of denomination, country of issuer of these securities and sector of non-resident issuer are available.
Definitions and concepts used are consistent with the recommendations of the Handbook on Securities Statistics, an internationally agreed-upon framework for classifying securities instruments. Data are accessible through an easy-to-use and flexible visualization tool. The tool includes dynamic cross-tables that allow users to look at the dataset from a variety of dimensions, as well as other visualization layers that illustrate different characteristics of the data in the form of interactive tables and charts.
Definitions
Securities statistics cover issuances and holdings of negotiable financial instruments. Securities include debt instruments designed to be traded in financial markets, such as treasury bills, commercial paper and bonds, as well as equity instruments, such as listed shares.
The book value of a debt instrument reflects the value of the debt at creation, and any subsequent economic flows, such as transactions (e.g., repayment of principal), valuation changes (independent of changes in its market price) and other changes. The book value is composed of the outstanding principal amount plus any accrued interest. The market value reflects the value at which securities are acquired or disposed of in transactions between willing parties, excluding commissions, fees and taxes.
Currency valuation
The value of securities denominated in foreign currency is converted to Canadian dollars at the end of each period. When the Canadian dollar appreciates in value, the restatement of the value of these instruments in Canadian dollars lowers the recorded value. The opposite is true when the Canadian dollar depreciates.