The overall leader among Canada’s exports from the manufacturing sector is cars. Automobile parts or accessories as well as aircraft products also rank among bestselling Canadian products on international markets.
The following list shows which Canadian exports generated the most sales dollars during 2017. Unlike most information currently available on the web, the items below are detailed at the 4-digit tariff code level. This level of detail helps entrepreneurs identify which products in which Canada enjoy strong competitive advantages over other trading nations.
For the most recent four-digit HTS code data, please see the Searchable List of Canada’s Most Valuable Exports Products section in the Canada’s Top 10 Exports article. For a link to that article, see the See also paragraph above Research Sources below.
Highest Value Canadian Export Products
Below are the 20 highest value export products shipped from Canada in 2017. Shown within brackets is the change in value for each item year over year.
- Crude oil: US$54 billion (up 36.5% since 2016)
- Cars: $46.4 billion (down -5%)
- Gold (unwrought): $13.2 billion (up 6%)
- Processed petroleum oils: $11.3 billion (up 39.1%)
- Automobile parts/accessories: $10.5 billion (down -1%)
- Petroleum gases: $10.3 billion (up 31.8%)
- Sawn wood: $8.3 billion (up 6.9%)
- Aluminum (unwrought): $6.3 billion (up 25.5%)
- Turbo-jets: $5.9 billion (up 13.3%)
- Aircraft, spacecraft: $5.8 billion (down -6.1%)
- Coal, solid fuels made from coal: $5.1 billion (up 53.6%)
- Medication mixes in dosage: $5.1 billion (down -30.1%)
- Wheat: $5.1 billion (up 12.5%)
- Rape/colza seeds: $5 billion (up 17.9%)
- Chemical woodpulp (non-dissolving): $4.4 billion (up 9.2%)
- Ethylene polymers: $4 billion (down -4.2%)
- Potassic fertilizers: $3.9 billion (up 10.5%)
- Iron ores, concentrates: $3.5 billion (up 21.5%)
- Aircraft parts: $3.1 billion (down -5.6%)
- Miscellaneous furniture: $2.8 billion (up 2.1%)
Among these 20 product categories, coal including solid fuels made from coal posted the greatest increase in export sales via a 53.6% uptick year over year.
In second place were Canada’s exported processed petroleum oils (up 39.1%) followed by crude oil (up 36.5%) and petroleum gases (up 31.8%).
Declines ranged from -30.1% for medication mixes in dosage to -1% for automotive parts or accessories.
On average, overall Canadian exports improved in value by 8.1% from 2016 to 2017.
See also Canada’s Top Exports, Top Canadian Trade Balances and Canada’s Top Trading Partners
Research Sources:
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on February 12, 2018
The World Factbook, Field Listing: Exports and World Population, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on February 12, 2018
Trade Map, International Trade Centre, www.intracen.org/marketanalysis. Accessed on February 12, 2018