Canadian exports to China jumped 30 per cent in the first half of 2026, as Canada looks to strengthen trade with countries other than the United States.
Statistics Canada data shows goods traded between Canada and China totalled $66.6 billion during the first six months of the year, up 3.6 per cent from the same period in 2025. Canadian exports rose to $21.74 billion.
Energy and minerals made up 58.4 per cent of Canada’s exports to China. Energy exports, including crude oil and liquefied propane, jumped 81.8 per cent. Exports of metal ores and other minerals, including copper, increased 29 per cent.
“This is a record for our first half of the year exports to China,” said Bijan Ahmadi, executive director of the Canada China Business Council.
The increase comes as relations between Canada and China improve after years of tension. At the same time, Canada’s trade relationship with the U.S. has become more difficult because of tariffs and other trade disputes.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has said Canada needs to build stronger trade relationships with other countries and become less dependent on the U.S.
The Trans Mountain Pipeline also reached 97 per cent capacity in June, giving Asian buyers greater access to Western Canadian oil.
Oil exports to Asia have also benefited from higher global oil prices and disruptions to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
China remains an important market for Canadian products because of its large population and demand for energy, minerals and food.
“Despite some very significant tensions,” there is strong potential for trade between Canada and China, said Anton Malkin of the University of Alberta’s China Institute.
Canada and China also reached a trade agreement earlier this year. China suspended some tariffs on Canadian agricultural products, including canola meal and peas, while lowering tariffs on canola seed. Canada agreed to allow more Chinese electric vehicles into the country.
The changes have helped Canadian farmers. Canola prices have risen from about $12 a bushel during the trade dispute to around $17.
Alberta and British Columbia recorded the largest export increases, helped by energy, minerals, forestry and agriculture.
However, Canada’s imports from China fell 5.8 per cent. That helped reduce Canada’s trade deficit with China by 25 per cent.
Ontario saw the largest decline in imports, including fewer purchases of computers and video game consoles. Imports of lithium-ion batteries and electric vehicles increased.
Agricultural exports to China rose just 1.9 per cent. Canola, peas and beef exports increased, but lobster exports fell 28 per cent.
The report’s authors say Canada’s exports to China remain lower than those to the United Kingdom and European Union. They also warn that the increase is being driven by a small number of products rather than broad growth across all industries.
Canadian officials and business leaders say there is still room to increase trade with China and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
The full-year trade numbers will provide a clearer picture of whether Canada is on track to meet its goal of increasing exports to China by 50 per cent by 2030.
