Crude oil prices pushed up by the Iran war helped propel Canada’s goods trade surplus in April up by 55 per cent to a 15-month high of $2.72-billion, Statistics Canada said on Tuesday.
Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a surplus of $2.57-billion. Statscan revised March’s surplus down to $1.75 billion from an initial $1.78-billion.
Total exports increased 1.6 per cent in April to reach a record high of $75.16-billion. Exports of energy products rose 9.7 per cent in April, following an increase of 23.4 per cent in March
“Both monthly increases were driven by higher prices, which continued to rise in April amid the uncertainty caused by the conflict in Iran,” Statscan said in a commentary. Crude oil exports, which rose by 7.0 per cent, contributed the most to the gain.
The overall increase in total exports was offset by a 17.5-per-cent decrease in exports of metal and non-metallic mineral products, which had boomed in February and March. Lower shipments of gold to Britain were largely responsible for the decline.
Imports edged up 0.3 per cent to hit a record $72.44-billion, largely due to a 16.9 per cent increase in imports of basic and industrial chemical, plastic Although Ottawa is trying to diversify exports away from the United States amid a trade war between the two countries, the market still dominates Canadian trade.
Exports to the United States grew by 4.8 per cent to $51.98-billion, representing 69.2 per cent of all trade, the largest share since September 2025.
Imports grew 1.6 per cent to $42.50-billion. As a result, the Canadian surplus with the United States rose to $9.48-billion, the largest since February 2025.
After reaching a record high in March, exports to countries other than the United States fell 4.8 per cent in April. This was partially offset by higher exports to China, which reached a record $3.84-billion.
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