Foreign investors cooled on Canada in May, with purchases of Canadian securities dropping, while Canadian investors returned to foreign markets, according to new data from Statistics Canada.
In a new report, the national statistical agency said that foreign buyers added $7.9 billion worth of Canadian securities in May, which was down sharply from the $46.9 billion they bought in April.
All of the buying came on the fixed-income side, with investors adding $18 billion worth of Canadian bonds and $6 billion in money market vehicles. This was partly offset by investors selling $16.1 billion worth of Canadian equities.
“[I]nvestors mainly sold shares of the energy and mining ($7.7 billion) and the manufacturing ($4.9 billion) sectors,” Statistics Canada said.
The bond buying was concentrated in government issues, as foreign investors snapped up $7.8 billion in federal government bonds and $7.1 billion in provincials, it noted.
Through the first five months of 2026, foreign investors added $111.9 billion worth of Canadian securities, Statistics Canada reported.
In May, Canadian investors added $22.3 billion worth of foreign securities, including $11 billion in equities, and another $11 billion in U.S. corporate bonds.
The equity buying activity was also concentrated in U.S. stocks, with investors adding $16 billion of U.S. stocks — primarily tech stocks — while selling off $5 billion in non-U.S. shares.
The investment in foreign securities in May reversed a divestment of $11.4 billion that took place the previous month, Statistics Canada noted.
The combination of weaker foreign investment in Canada and stronger buying by Canadian investors, resulted in a net outflow of $14.4 billion from the Canadian economy in May. The statistical agency noted that this marked the first net outflow since February.