Canada’s Services Trade Surplus Widens to $0.4 Billion in August

Statistics Canada reported that Canada’s international trade in services moved further into surplus in August 2026. Services exports rose 0.7% from July to $21.1 billion, while services imports declined 0.4% to $20.7 billion. The resulting monthly surplus widened from $0.2 billion in July to $0.4 billion in August. [1]

Commercial services were the principal export-side contributor. Exports in that category increased 1.3% to $12.9 billion, while travel-services exports rose 0.6% to $5.9 billion. Those gains were partly offset by a 2.7% decline in transportation-services exports, which fell to $2.2 billion. [1]

On the import side, transportation-services imports fell 1.2% to $3.7 billion, led by lower passenger-fare payments. Travel-services imports decreased 0.4% to $5.1 billion, and commercial-services imports edged down 0.2% to $11.8 billion. The broad reduction in imported services, combined with higher exports, produced the wider services surplus. [1]

The services result accompanied a stronger goods balance in the same month. Total goods exports increased 2.5% to $77.9 billion and goods imports decreased 2.0% to $73.7 billion, widening the goods surplus from $0.8 billion in July to $4.2 billion in August. Together, goods and services produced a $4.6 billion overall trade surplus for August. [1]

The release measures aggregate international services transactions rather than trade conditions for individual tariff-exposed sectors. It nevertheless provides a current indication that commercial and travel-service export receipts increased in August while payments for imported transportation, travel and commercial services declined. The figures cover Canada’s aggregate international services transactions for the month. Statistics Canada is scheduled to release September services-trade data on November 4. [1]