Ready For Takeoff
Easy money puts big Canadian corporates in a good position for post-pandemic recovery, but for smaller companies funding remains tough.
Canada GDP and Economic Data
Browse economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about Canada economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends. Rankings of Canada best banks and safest banks are also available.
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International Reserves
USD 83.9 billion (2018)
International Monetary Fund (IMF), data retrieved October 2019
Gross Domestic Product - GDP
USD 1,711.4 billion (2018, estimate)
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)
Intl$ 1,836.8 billion (2018, estimate)
Real GDP growth
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* |
| 2.9% | 0.7% | 1.1% | 3.0% | 1.8%* |
*Estimate
GDP per capita - current prices
USD 46,260.7 (2018, estimate)
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GDP - composition by sector
- agriculture: 1.6%
- industry: 28.2%
- services: 70.2%
(2017 estimate)
Gross domestic expenditure on R&D; (% of GDP)
1.5% (2018)
OECD, data retrieved October 2019
Unemployment rate
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* | 2019* |
| 6.9% | 7.0% | 6.3% | 5.8% | 5.8% |
*Estimate
Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP)
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* | 2019* |
| 91.3% | 91.8% | 90.1% | 89.9% | 87.5% |
*Estimate
Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP)
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018* | 2019* |
| -0.1% | -0.4% | -0.3% | -0.4% | -0.7% |
*Estimate
Government bond ratings
Standard & Poor's: AAA
Moody's: Aaa
Standard & Poor's / Moody's
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Market value of publicly traded shares
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 1993.5 billion | USD 2367.1 billion | USD 1937.9 billion |
Largest companies
Cenovus Energy, Thomson Reuters, Intact Financial, Onex, Restaurant Brands International, Barrick Gold, Encana, Saputo, Industrial Alliance Insurance, Waste Connections, Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Bombardier, Metro, Emera, Hydro One, Canadian Tire, Lululemon Athletica, Air Canada, First Quantum Minerals, Empire, Shopify, Advanz Pharma, Constellation Software, Canadian Utilities, Laurentian Bank, Goldcorp, Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust, Power Corp of Canada, Magna International, National Bank of Canada, Rogers Communications, Teck Resources, TELUS, Husky Energy, Nutrien, George Weston, Fairfax Financial, Fortis (Canada), Canadian Pacific Railway, Pembina Pipeline, CGI Group, RBC, TD Bank Group, Bank of Nova Scotia, Brookfield Asset Management, Bank of Montreal, Manulife, Enbridge, Canadian Imperial Bank, Suncor Energy, Sun Life Financial, BCE, Canadian Natural Resources, TransCanada, Couche Tard, Canadian National Railway
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Current account balance by percentage of GDP
-2.6 % (2018 estimate)
Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services)
31.8% (2018)
Shares in world total merchandising export
2.31% (2018)
Shares in world total commercial services export
1.59% (2018)
Export commodities
Motor vehicles and parts, industrial machinery, aircraft, telecommunications equipment; chemicals, plastics, fertilizers; wood pulp, timber, crude petroleum, natural gas, electricity, aluminum
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Import commodities
Machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, crude oil, chemicals, electricity, durable consumer goods
Exports - major partners
US 76.4%, China 4.3% (2017)
Imports - major partners
US 51.5%, China 12.6%, Mexico 6.3% (2017)
FDI inflows
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 35,992 million | USD 24,832million | USD 39,625 million |
FDI outflows
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 69,948 million | USD 79,824 million | USD 50,455 million |
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
| USD 84,660 million | USD 58,387 million | USD 72,747 million | USD 63,141 million |
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014
Encana Corp, Athlon Energy Inc, United States, USD 6.8 billion / Amaya Gaming Group Inc, Oldford Group Ltd, Isle of Man, USD 5.0 billion / Fortis Inc, UNS Energy Corp, United States, USD 4.5 billion
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015
CPPIB Credit Investments Inc, GE Antares Capital, United States, USD 12.0 billions / Bank of Montreal,Ontario, Canada, General Electric Capital Corp-Transportation Finance Business, United States, USD 8.9 billions / Investor Group, TransGrid Ltd-99-Year Lease, Australia, USD 7.4 billions / Element Financial Corp, GE Capital Fleet Services-US & Mexico Fleet Operations, United States, USD 7.2 billions / Investor Group, Fortum Distribution AB, Sweden, USD 7.0 billions / Royal Bank of Canada, City National Corp, United States, USD 5.4 billions / Informatica Corp SPV, Informatica Corp, United States, USD 5.2 billions / Investor Group, SIG Combibloc Group AG, Switzerland, USD 4.7 billions / Investor Group, TDF SA-Assets, France, USD 4.5 billions / Manufacturers Life Insurance Co, Standard Life Financial Inc, Canada, USD 3.7 billions / Concordia Healthcare Corp, Amdipharm Mercury Co Ltd, United Kingdom, USD 3.5 billions / Hudson's Bay Co, GALERIA Kaufhof GmbH, Germany, USD 3.2 billions
Best countries for doing business
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.
Overall ranking:
23 out of 190 countries
Subcategories:
Starting a Business: 3 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 64 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 124 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 36 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 15 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 7 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 19 out of 190 countries
Trading across Borders: 51 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 100 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 13 out of 190 countries
Source
Global competitiveness ranking
14 out of 141 countries
(2019)
Index of Economic Freedom
Ranking: 8 / Score: 77.7 (Mostly free)
(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)
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Government type
Federal parliamentary democracy (Parliament of Canada) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm; federal and state authorities and responsibilities regulated in constitution
Languages
English (official) 58.7%, French (official) 22%, Punjabi 1.4%, Italian 1.3%, Spanish 1.3%, German 1.3%, Cantonese 1.2%, Tagalog 1.2%, Arabic 1.1%, other 10.5% (2011 est.)
Religions
Catholic 39% (includes Roman Catholic 38.8%, other Catholic .2%), Protestant 20.3% (includes United Church 6.1%, Anglican 5%, Baptist 1.9%, Lutheran 1.5%, Pentecostal 1.5%, Presbyterian 1.4%, other Protestant 2.9%), Orthodox 1.6%, other Christian 6.3%, Mu
Total population
| 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020* |
| 27.63 million | 30.65 million | 33.96 million | 35.68 million | 37.81 million* |
*Estimate
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Urban population as % of total population
| 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2018 |
| 69.1% | 75.7% | 79.5% | 81.4% |
% of population living on less than $3.10 a day
0.5% (last available estimate, 2013)
Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index)
34 (last available estimate, 2013)
(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)
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Freedom House rating
Free
Political Rights: 1
Civil Liberties: 1 (2019)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)
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Total telephone subscribers as % of population
Fixed: 37.5%
Mobile: 89.2%
(2018)
(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)
Mercer Cost of living index
Vancouver: 112th
Toronto: 115th
Montréal: 139th
Calgary: 153rd
Ottawa: 161st
(2019)
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