--- source: Statistics Canada url: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/260318/dq260318a-eng.htm document_type: html date_retrieved: 2026-03-18 date_released: 2026-03-18 period: January 2026 parent_publication: Canada's International Transactions in Securities indicators_covered: [Foreign Securities Purchases, Foreign Securities Purchases by Canadians] --- # Canada's international transactions in securities, January 2026 **Released:** 2026-03-18 ## Key Indicators ### Foreign investment in Canadian securities - **Amount:** $46.7 billion - **Period:** January 2026 ### Canadian investment in foreign securities - **Amount:** $11.4 billion - **Period:** January 2026 --- # Canada's international transactions in securities, January 2026 Text - Selected Tables Related information Release schedule Previous release PDF (282 KB) Released: 2026-03-18 Tab 1 Tab 2 Foreign investment in Canadian securities $46.7 billion January 2026 **Source(s): **Table 36-10-0028-01. Canadian investment in foreign securities $11.4 billion January 2026 **Source(s): **Table 36-10-0028-01. Foreign investors purchased $46.7 billion of Canadian securities in January 2026, led by an unprecedented monthly investment in the Canadian bond market. Meanwhile, Canadian investors acquired $11.4 billion of foreign securities, following an investment of $13.1 billion in the previous month. As a result, international transactions in securities generated a net inflow of funds of $35.3 billion in the Canadian economy in January, the highest level since October 2025. **Chart 1 ** Canada's international transactions in securities ## Record foreign acquisitions of Canadian bonds Foreign investors acquired $46.7 billion of Canadian securities in January, continuing a trend of strong investments that began in the second half of 2025. In January, a record foreign investment of $51.3 billion in Canadian bonds was moderated by a $10.2 billion divestment in money market instruments. Foreign purchases of Canadian shares also contributed to the investment activity in the month. Foreign acquisitions of Canadian bonds recorded in January were led by an unprecedented investment in corporate bonds (+$31.5 billion), largely new issuances abroad of euro-denominated instruments by chartered banks. The activity in the Canadian bond market also reflected a significant $12.9 billion investment in federal government bonds, after a record $33.6 billion investment in the fourth quarter of 2025. In addition, foreign investors increased their holdings of Canadian provincial bonds by $6.8 billion in January, the highest level since May 2025. **Chart 2 ** Foreign investment in Canadian bonds, by sector of issuer On the other hand, non-resident investors continued to reduce their exposure to Canadian money market instruments with a divestment of $10.2 billion in January, following a reduction of $6.5 billion in the previous month. The divestment activity shifted from federal government paper in December to private corporate paper (-$8.6 billion) in January. Foreign investors increased their holdings of Canadian equity securities by $5.7 billion in January. Foreign purchases on the secondary market remained robust and reached $6.5 billion in January, following a record $23.3 billion investment in the fourth quarter of 2025. By sector, foreign investors mainly targeted shares of the energy and mining sector (+$4.8 billion) in January. Canadian share prices, as measured by the Standard & Poor's (S&P)/Toronto Stock Exchange composite index, rose 0.7% in January. **Chart 3 ** Foreign investment in Canadian equity and investment fund shares Canadian investment in US government bonds resumes Canadian investors acquired $11.4 billion of foreign securities in January. Investors acquired both bonds and shares in the month. Canadian investment in foreign bonds reached $9.1 billion in January, nearly offsetting the divestment observed in these instruments in the previous month. The activity in January targeted US bonds, split between government bonds (+$2.5 billion) and corporate bonds (+$2.9 billion). January's investment in US government bonds followed a record divestment of $20.5 billion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025. In addition, Canadian purchases of non-US foreign bonds totalled $3.7 billion, mainly instruments issued by international organizations. **Chart 4 ** Canadian investment in foreign bonds Canadian purchases of foreign equity securities amounted to $2.4 billion in January. Acquisitions of US shares (+$8.4 billion), led by shares of large capitalization technology firms, were moderated by sales of non-US shares (-$6.0 billion), mainly European shares. US share prices, as measured by the S&P 500 composite index, increased by 1.4% in January. **Chart 5 ** Canadian investment in foreign equity and investment fund shares Table 1 Canada's international transactions in securities ### Note to readers The data series on international transactions in securities covers portfolio transactions in equity and investment fund shares, bonds and money market instruments for both Canadian and foreign issues. This activity excludes transactions in equity and debt instruments between affiliated enterprises. These are classified as foreign direct investment in international accounts. **Equity and investment fund shares** include common and preferred equities, as well as units or shares of investment funds. For the sake of brevity, the terms "shares" and "equity and investment fund shares" have the same meaning. **Debt securities** include bonds and money market instruments. **Bonds** have an original term to maturity of more than one year. **Money market instruments** have an original term to maturity of one year or less. **Government of Canada paper** includes Treasury bills and US-dollar Canada bills. All values in this release are net transactions unless otherwise stated.**Next release** Data on Canada's international transactions in securities for February 2026 will be released on April 17. ## Products The International trade statistics portal is available on Statistics Canada website. As a complement to this release, the data visualization product "Securities statistics," part of the series Statistics Canada – Data Visualization Products (Catalogue number71-607-X), is available online. The User Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (Catalogue number13-606-G) is also available. The Methodological Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (Catalogue number13-607-X) is available. ## Contact information For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).