CANADIAN IMPORTS FROM CHINA01 / 03
C$6.32BBOP · seasonally adjusted
Imports by country of export
Imports by country of export
+6.3% MoM · +18.4% YoY
01 / QUESTION FINDER · Aug 2026
What do you want to investigate?
Standard view
CURRENT INVESTIGATION
WORKSPACE PARAMETERS
Generate Report ↗
PARTIALLY ANSWERABLE
What we can establish
What remains unknown
What would answer it
Canada · domestic exports to China · all merchandise
C$3.81BCustoms · unadjustedDifferent basis from BOP headline
+C$1.33B+53.8% YoYversus the same month last year
Energy products account for the largest share of Canada's annual export increase to China.
Movements in other sections may offset some of the gain.
RESEARCH VIEW / HISTORICAL EVIDENCE
The movement, in full historical context.
A longer view of the same geography, commodity and trade direction.
Latest verified month
Loading verified historical evidence…
Verified monthly observationsNominal CAD · customs · unadjusted
12-month momentum—
Two consecutive full years required.
Same-month reference—
Compared with prior observations for this calendar month.
Persistence—
Three annual same-month comparisons required.
WHAT THE RECORD ESTABLISHES
Hover to inspect recorded monthly values. Keyboard: focus the chart and use ← / →, Home, or End.
Historical trade values describe recorded movements; they do not by themselves establish causes, quantities, or economic impact.
ANALYST OUTPUT / SOURCE-LINKED
Research brief
Building the evidence-based reading for this question.
THE FINDING
Select a question to begin.
Measured evidence
Historical interpretation
Unknowns & next evidence
Statistical basis and limitations will appear here.
Statistics Canada · table 12-10-0175-01 ↗02 / TRADE OVERVIEW
Trade Overview
Read the national totals, trace the largest annual changes, and locate provincial trade concentration.
TOTAL CANADIAN EXPORTS TO CHINA02 / 03
C$4.26BBOP · seasonally adjusted
Exports by destination
Exports by destination
+1.5% MoM · +55.5% YoY
CANADA'S TRADE BALANCE03 / 03
−C$2.06BBOP · seasonally adjusted
Exports minus imports
Exports minus imports
Merchandise trade deficit
Provincial figures: customs basis · different from this headline.WHAT CHANGED
Largest annual trade movements
Imports from China ↑ / ↓ YoY
- Electronic & electrical equipment+C$331M
- Consumer goods+C$316M
- Motor vehicles & parts+C$236M
Domestic exports to China ↑ / ↓ YoY
- Energy products+C$576M
- Farm & food products+C$424M
- Metal ores & minerals+C$150M
PROVINCIAL RECORDS
Provincial trade concentration
Customs-assigned trade, not final destinationAug 2026
- OntarioC$4.83B
- British ColumbiaC$2.56B
- QuebecC$2.09B
- AlbertaC$2.09B
03 / CHINA INDICATORS
China Indicators
Examine production, consumption and input costs, then test their relevance to your business.
CHINA / BUSINESS EXPOSURE
Three ways China's economy touches your business.
Choose your position to see the signals worth investigating.
YOUR INVESTIGATION / DEMAND
Start with demand. Then test your product category.
China's retail and industrial indicators describe broad market conditions. Compare them with Canada's recorded exports by product and province to assess where your business may be exposed.
China conditions → Canadian exportsInvestigate export flows
YOUR INVESTIGATION / COSTS
Find the inputs that matter to your landed cost.
Review China's production and input-price indicators, then check supplier quotations, exchange rates, freight and duties for the products you actually buy.
China input prices → transaction costsCheck tariffs and access
YOUR INVESTIGATION / COMPETITION
Locate the sectors where supply may change the picture.
Examine China's industrial activity by sector, then compare Canadian import movements and industry exposure before evaluating competitive pressure.
China production → Canadian market exposureReview industry intelligence
UNDERLYING EVIDENCE
Four economic indicators
Source-linked measurements · reporting periods vary
Verifying current indicator values and reporting periods…
01 / FACTORY ACTIVITY
China manufacturing PMI
—
Index · 50 = no change
The 50 line separates reported expansion from contraction. A PMI reading is a survey indicator, not an output growth rate.
LOOK CLOSERNew orders and sector activity are more informative than the headline alone.
Read source analysis ↗
02 / INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY
Industrial production
—
Year over year
Overall production can conceal very different conditions in manufacturing, high-tech output and mining.
LOOK CLOSERWhich sectors affect your material demand or competitive exposure?
Read source analysis ↗
03 / DOMESTIC DEMAND
Retail sales
—
Year over year
Aggregate consumer spending can obscure large differences between product categories and sales channels.
LOOK CLOSERDo the categories relevant to your exports follow the overall trend?
Read source analysis ↗
04 / INPUT COSTS
Production-input price basket
—
Tracked prices declined
The count shows how many monitored inputs became cheaper. It says nothing about the size of an overall price change.
LOOK CLOSERWhich quoted inputs actually affect your sourcing costs?
Read source analysis ↗
Evidence boundariesThese figures describe conditions inside China and have different reporting periods. PMI is an index, not a growth rate; the input-price figure counts products, not total price change. None alone establishes causation or a measured Canadian business outcome.
04 / TRADE MONITOR
TRADE MONITOR
What is moving between Canada and China?
Explore measured merchandise movements by commodity, province, direction and reporting month. The national trade summary appears below as statistical context.
NEW DEPTH / CANADA–CHINA
What is actually moving?
Customs · unadjusted · imports by country of origin. Explore Canada–China merchandise trade by province and 12 broad commodity sections. These figures are not directly comparable with the BOP national context below.
The verified commodity dataset has not been loaded. National BOP context remains available below.
Total selected trade—
Year-over-year change—
Largest absolute yearly mover—
| Commodity section | Value | Share | YoY % | YoY Δ | MoM % |
|---|
Values in CAD millions. Provincial import location is the province of clearance, not necessarily where the product is used. Domestic exports exclude re-exports; the sum of sections is not added to the total row. Source: Statistics Canada 12-10-0175-01.
SECONDARY CONTEXT / NATIONAL TOTALS
National trade, for context
Adjusted balance-of-payments measures. The commodity explorer above uses a different statistical basis.
Embedded reference snapshot · August 2026. Checking for the latest verified national series…
2026-08
6,322.9M
Imports from China+6.3% MoM
2026-08
4,259.0M
Exports to China+1.5% MoM
2026-08
-2,063.9M
Trade balanceDeficit widened 17.8% MoM
BOP ≠ customs: These headlines measure macroeconomic trade on an adjusted BOP basis. Detailed merchandise research above uses unadjusted customs records. For imports, BOP groups by country of export; customs groups by country of origin. Methodology ↗
Continue with product evidence Inspect reviewed HS6 categories, product histories and contextual sources in Tool 06.
INDUSTRY CONTEXT / ALL COUNTRIES
Canada's broader industry mix
NAICS industry trade across all trading partners, not bilateral Canada–China figures. Use this only as national industry context; it does not establish China exposure.
Verified all-country industry data has not been loaded.
| Industry | Value | YoY % | YoY Δ |
|---|
CAD millions; customs basis, not seasonally adjusted. These amounts must never be interpreted as China-specific industry imports or exports. Source: Statistics Canada 12-10-0176-01.
RECENT HISTORY
Monthly flows
| Month | Imports from China | Exports to China | Trade balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08 | 6,322.9M | 4,259.0M | -2,063.9M |
| 2026-07 | 5,949.1M | 4,197.3M | -1,751.9M |
| 2026-06 | 5,484.1M | 3,828.2M | -1,656.0M |
| 2026-05 | 5,962.9M | 4,037.8M | -1,925.1M |
| 2026-04 | 5,685.6M | 3,979.1M | -1,706.5M |
| 2026-03 | 6,086.3M | 3,370.9M | -2,715.4M |
| 2026-02 | 5,572.3M | 3,625.2M | -1,947.2M |
| 2026-01 | 5,745.7M | 3,117.2M | -2,628.4M |
| 2025-12 | 5,378.0M | 3,040.4M | -2,337.5M |
| 2025-11 | 5,638.4M | 3,631.7M | -2,006.7M |
| 2025-10 | 5,178.0M | 3,461.3M | -1,716.7M |
| 2025-09 | 4,679.7M | 2,659.3M | -2,020.4M |
Source and scope
Statistics Canada · International merchandise trade for all countries and by Principal Trading Partners, monthly · Balance of payments · Seasonally adjusted. This monitor shows aggregate Canada–China merchandise trade. It does not identify product-level demand, causation, or company-specific exposure. View source →
05 / COMPARE PROVINCES
Compare verified customs values and provincial contributions across commodities and historical windows.
Open full provincial comparisonIf the embedded comparison does not load, use the complete provincial research page.
06 / PRODUCT TRACER
HS 6 / REVIEWED CANADA–CHINA PRIORITIES
Product Tracer
Search reviewed six-digit HS product categories. This is a curated research catalogue, not a complete HS classification directory.
Product
CANADA / VERIFIED NATIONAL PRODUCT BASELINE
Monthly value · ——
Year-over-year change—
Month-over-month change—
Reported quantity: —
Monthly product history
| Month | Trade value | Quantity | YoY change |
|---|
PRODUCT GEOGRAPHY / HS6
Where this product moves
Inspect the provincial origin of domestic exports or province of customs clearance for China-origin imports. This product-level instrument complements the broader provincial commodity research in Tool 05.
Verifying provincial HS6 records…
| # | Province | Trade value | Canada share | Annual value change |
|---|
Only source-reported provincial values will appear. No missing observation is treated as zero.
Amounts are CAD millions; quantities shown only where their units are source-defined and consistent. No product-level statistic establishes demand, prices, tariff eligibility, or company exposure. Source: Statistics Canada CIMT HS data.
07 / TRADE HISTORY
OBOR / HISTORICAL TRADE RECORD
Canada · domestic exports to China · Total of all merchandise
Loading verified monthly evidence…
Choose the series
Independent investigationLoading verified historical evidence…
Monthly trade value
THE HISTORICAL ATLAS / RECORDED MONTHS
The monthly record, year by year.
Explore the full recorded calendar, not just an aggregate trend. Select a month to read its actual value. Pale cells are lower values; darker cells are higher, according to the chosen scale.
Verified source month—
Monthly customs values · nominal Canadian dollars. No missing observations are inferred.
Intensity describes source-verified observations.
12-month momentum—
Two consecutive full years required.
Same-month reference—
Earlier equivalent calendar months required.
Persistence—
Three consecutive annual same-month comparisons required.
What the record establishes
No inference until verified source values are available.
Recorded trade values alone cannot demonstrate causes or economic impact.
Inspect the complete monthly evidence table
Only verified monthly values are shown. Missing or incomplete records are not replaced with zero.
| Reporting month | Evidence status | Nominal value (CAD) |
|---|
Source and limits. Statistics Canada merchandise trade, table 12-10-0175-01; monthly customs basis, unadjusted, nominal CAD millions. The current analysis is descriptive, not a causal explanation or a physical-volume measure. National balance-of-payments figures use a different statistical basis and are not combined with this series. Independent source verification in progress. Official Statistics Canada source ↗
08 / COMPARE COMMODITIES
Compare verified merchandise sections across Canada, provinces and annual historical windows.
Open full commodity comparisonIf the embedded comparison does not load, use the complete commodity research page.