Canada boosted its exports by 2.6 per cent in December, especially for Canadian metal products like gold and silver, as well as aircraft like business jets.
The trade deficit, which is when an economy imports more than it exports, also decreased from an adjusted amount of $2.6 billion in November to $1.3 billion in December.
Exports of aircraft and transportation equipment increased 20.5 per cent to $3.5 billion in December, which the agency says was a record high, and exports of aircraft specifically contributed the most to the gain.
“These exports tend to rise in the last month of the quarter, and in December 2025 they rose more than they typically do,” said Statistics Canada in the report.
“Specifically, higher shipments of business jets to the United States were observed in the month. Exports of aircraft engines, aircraft parts and other aerospace equipment (+15.4 per cent) also contributed to the growth, mainly on higher exports of aircraft engines to the United States.”
This comes after U.S. President Donald Trump in January threatened to slap Canada with a 50 per cent tariff on all aircraft sold to the U.S., unless Transport Canada certifies business jets made by American manufacturer Gulfstream.
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Trump also said he would decertify several Bombardier jets in the U.S., although some experts have doubts this will happen.
Although Statistics Canada doesn’t mention any specific businesses in its report, Bombardier is the largest aerospace manufacturing company in Canada and specializes in the production of business jets.
Bombardier’s revenue from business aircraft manufacturing in 2025 increased to $7.22 billion from $6.58 billion in 2024, according to the company’s latest earnings report.
In the same report, Bombardier makes note of how its business operations could be impacted by changes from aviation regulators.
“Non-compliance with current or future regulatory requirements imposed by Transport Canada (TC), the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the Transport Safety Institute in the U.S. or other regulatory authorities could result in service interruption of our products, fewer sales or slower deliveries, an unplanned build-up of inventories, reduction in inventory values or impairment of assets,” said Bombardier in the report.
This means Trump’s threats of tariffs and the question of whether the FAA could decertify Bombardier’s aircraft could mean the company would take a big financial hit.
The federal government has been on a mission since Prime Minister Mark Carney took office last year to diversify Canada’s trade relationships with nations other than the U.S. to mitigate the impacts of Trump’s tariff policies and reduce the risk of trade disruptions.
Carney travelled to China in January, where he brokered what he called a “new era” of relations. This included both sides agreeing to significantly reduce tariffs, including China on Canadian canola products and Canada on Chinese-made electric vehicles.
Statistics Canada said exports of metal and non-metallic mineral products rose 18.0 per cent in December, which includes unwrought gold, silver and platinum group metals, and their alloys. The biggest customers for these products included the United Kingdom, the U.S. and Australia.
Statistics Canada said exports to countries other than the U.S. rose 5.8 per cent in December to reach an all-time high, with the trade deficit to countries other than the U.S. falling to $7 billion from $9 billion in November.
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