CANADA–EUROPEAN UNION
Notable Trade and Investment Agreements Between Canada and
the European Union Countries
- Canada–European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement
(signed in 2016, with parts of the agreement provisionally applied) - Canada–Poland Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (1990)
- Canada–Hungary Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (1993)
- Canada–Croatia Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (2001)
- Canada–Latvia Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (2011)
- Canada–Romania Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (2011)
- Canada–Czech Republic Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (2012)
- Canada–Slovak Republic Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (2012)
Fundamentals for this Profile
Data on the United Kingdom, which withdrew from the European Union on 31 January 2020, are not included in this profile.
The merchandise trade data are customs-based; the services trade data and foreign direct investment data are balance of payments–based. Data on Canada’s services trade relationship with Belgium are amalgamated with those of Luxembourg.
The five most highly valued merchandise export and import categories have been identified using values for 2023.
All figures were prepared using Statistics Canada data available in summer 2024.
For the data tables used to generate the figures, see the HTML version: Trade and Investment Series.
Detailed economic and population data on European Union countries are provided at the end of this profile.
All dollar amounts are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted. Numbers have been rounded.
Definitions are available.
Definitions appear at the end of the profile.
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Andrés León
Research and Education
Publication No. 2024-513-E
3 September 2024
Canada's Merchandise Trade with the European Union
- Bilateral merchandise trade in 2023: $121.0 billion
- Exports: $34.3 billion, a 5.1% decrease from 2022
- Imports: $86.7 billion, an 8.5% increase from 2022
- Trade deficit in 2023: $52.3 billion, an increase from $43.7 billion in 2022
- Exports in 2023: 4.5% of the total value of Canadian exports, a decrease from 4.6% in 2022
- Imports in 2023: 11.5% of the total value of Canadian imports, an increase from 10.7% in 2022
- Highest-valued exporters in 2023:
- Quebec: $9.8 billion, a decrease from $10.3 billion in 2022
- Ontario: $9.7 billion, a decrease from $11.7 billion in 2022
- Exports in 2023:
- Resource-based goods: 37.3%, a decrease from 37.6% in 2022
- Manufactured goods: 62.7%, an increase from 62.4% in 2022
- Highest‑valued exports in 2023: Iron ore and crude oil, together accounting for 17.2% of the total value of Canadian exports to the European Union
- Iron ore: $3.3 billion, an increase from $3.1 billion in 2022
- Crude oil: $2.6 billion, an increase from $2.4 billion in 2022
- Imports in 2023:
- Resource-based goods: 1.9%, an increase from 1.7% in 2022
- Manufactured goods: 98.1%, a decrease from 98.3% in 2022
- Highest‑valued imports in 2023: Motor vehicles and medications in doses, together accounting for 15.0% of the total value of Canadian imports from the European Union
- Motor vehicles: $6.7 billion, an increase from $5.3 billion in 2022
- Medications in doses: $6.3 billion, a decrease from $6.8 billion in 2022
- Largest merchandise trade deficit in 2023: Machinery and equipment, at $19.8 billion
- Largest merchandise trade surplus in 2023: Metals, mines and energy, at $1.6 billion
Canada's Merchandise Trading Partners
Within the European Union
- Destinations for merchandise exports to the European Union, by country, in 2023:
- The Netherlands: 21.6%
- Germany: 20.8%
- France: 12.4%
- Belgium: 12.0%
- Italy: 7.8%
- All other European Union countries: 25.3%
- Destinations for merchandise exports to the European Union, by region, in 2023:
- EU-14 countries: 91.3%, an increase from 89.7% in 2022
- EU-13 countries: 8.7%, a decrease from 10.3% in 2022
- Sources of merchandise imports from the European Union, by country, in 2023:
- Germany: 28.7%
- Italy: 14.9%
- France: 10.0%
- Belgium: 5.5%
- The Netherlands: 5.0%
- All other European Union countries: 35.8%
- Sources of merchandise imports from the European Union, by region, in 2023:
- EU-14 countries: 90.6%, an increase from 90.4% in 2022
- EU-13 countries: 9.4%, a decrease from 9.6% in 2022
Canada’s Services Trade With the European Union
- Bilateral services trade in 2023: $48.2 billion
- Exports: $21.4 billion, a 14.8% increase from 2022
- Imports: $26.8 billion, a 19.0% increase from 2022
- Trade deficit in 2023: $5.3 billion, an increase from $3.8 billion in 2022
- Services trade deficit in 2023: Largely due to travel services trade
- Travel services: $4.2 billion in exports and $7.5 billion in imports
- Commercial services: $14.3 billion in exports and $14.5 billion in imports
- Transportation and government services: $3.0 billion in exports and $4.8 billion in imports
- Destinations for services exports to the European Union in 2022:
- France: 24.3%
- Germany: 18.7%
- Ireland: 13.3%
- The Netherlands: 10.1%
- Belgium and Luxembourg: 8.3%
- All other European Union countries: 25.4%
- Sources of services imports from the European Union in 2022:
- Ireland: 16.9%
- Germany: 15.6%
- France: 15.4%
- The Netherlands: 9.7%
- Italy: 7.5%
- All other European Union countries: 34.9%
Canada’s Foreign Direct Investment
With the European Union
- Major destinations for Canadian foreign direct investment in the European Union in 2023:
- Luxembourg: $92.6 billion
- The Netherlands: $82.1 billion
- Hungary: $31.0 billion
- Major European Union sources of foreign direct investment in Canada in 2023:
- The Netherlands: $172.9 billion
- Luxembourg: $70.9 billion
- Germany: $24.3 billion
Profile of the European Union
| Countries of the European Union | GDP at PPP (2023, US$) | GDP per Capita at PPP (2023, US$) | Population (2023) | International Merchandise Exports and Imports as a Percentage of GDP at Official Exchange Rates (2023) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 673.5 billion | 73,600 | 9.1 million | 86.8% |
| Belgium | 833.0 billion | 70,500 | 11.8 million | 175.4% |
| Bulgaria | 248.8 billion | 38,700 | 6.4 million | 99.8% |
| Croatia | 176.9 billion | 45,900 | 3.9 million | 82.3% |
| Cyprus | 53.0 billion | 57,100 | 1.2 million | 57.2% |
| Czechia | 585.2 billion | 53,800 | 10.9 million | 146.9% |
| Denmark | 456.1 billion | 76,700 | 5.9 million | 65.1% |
| Estonia | 66.9 billion | 49,000 | 1.4 million | 104.6% |
| Finland | 363.3 billion | 65,100 | 5.6 million | 54.9% |
| France | 4.2 trillion | 61,200 | 68.2 million | 47.3% |
| Germany | 5.9 trillion | 69,300 | 84.5 million | 70.7% |
| Greece | 426.7 billion | 41,200 | 10.4 million | 60.3% |
| Hungary | 440.6 billion | 45,900 | 9.6 million | 149.2% |
| Ireland | 671.6 billion | 127,600 | 5.3 million | 65.3% |
| Italy | 3.5 trillion | 58,800 | 58.8 million | 58.4% |
| Latvia | 80.0 billion | 42,500 | 1.9 million | 113.6% |
| Lithuania | 149.0 billion | 51,900 | 2.9 million | 117.0% |
| Luxembourg | 95.8 billion | 143,300 | 668,600 | 49.8% |
| Malta | 34.5 billion | 62,400 | 553,200 | 55.2% |
| The Netherlands | 1.4 trillion | 78,200 | 17.9 million | 158.9% |
| Poland | 1.8 trillion | 49,500 | 36.7 million | 92.6% |
| Portugal | 513.2 billion | 48,800 | 10.5 million | 68.8% |
| Romania | 912.9 billion | 47,900 | 19.1 million | 66.2% |
| Slovakia | 242.3 billion | 44,700 | 5.4 million | 173.8% |
| Slovenia | 116.5 billion | 54,900 | 2.1 million | 211.8% |
| Spain | 2.6 trillion | 52,800 | 48.4 million | 56.5% |
| Sweden | 739.7 billion | 70,200 | 10.5 million | 65.9% |
| European Union | 27.1 trillion | 60,300 | 449.5 million | 77.6% |
Source: World Bank’s World Development Indicators database.