The most valuable Canadian imports also include computers, related accessories and mobile phones. Fossil-fuel energy products represent another area where Canada intensely participates in the global supply chain, which explains why both crude oil as well as refined petroleum are listed among Canada’s highest value imports.
The following list shows on which product categories Canadian importers spent the most. Unlike most information currently available on the web, the items below are detailed at the 4-digit tariff code level.
This level of granularity can help entrepreneurs identify more precisely which products in which Canada has strong demand but competitive disadvantages compared with other nations. Innovation satisfying that demand can transform these disadvantages into lucrative business opportunities.
For the most recent four-digit HTS code data, please see the link to Canada’s Top 10 Imports article in the See also paragraph above Research Sources below.
Highest Value Canadian Import Products
Below are the 20 highest value import products delivered to Canadian importers in 2017. Shown within brackets is the change in value for each imported product over the latest 5-year period.
- Cars: US$28.7 billion (Up 8.8% from 2013 to 2017)
- Automobile parts/accessories: $20.5 billion (Down -4.9%)
- Trucks: $15.9 billion (Up 20.2%)
- Crude oil: $12.7 billion (Down -51.5%)
- Processed petroleum oils: $12.3 billion (Down -29.2%)
- Phone system devices including smartphones: $10.2 billion (Up 8.4%)
- Computers, optical readers: $8.5 billion (Down -4.6%)
- Medication mixes in dosage: $7.2 billion (Down -14.6%)
- Gold (unwrought): $5.5 billion (Down -41.1%)
- Piston engines: $4.9 billion (Up 4.1%)
- Turbo-jets: $4.6 billion (Up 5.8%)
- Aircraft parts: $4.2 billion (Down -1.5%)
- Blood fractions (including antisera): $3.7 billion (Up 29.5%)
- Seats (excluding barber/dentist chairs): $3.6 billion (Up 10%)
- Insulated wire/cable: $3.6 billion (Down -7.4%)
- Tractors: $3.5 billion (Down -8.7%)
- Transmission shafts, gears, clutches: $3.3 billion (Up 57.1%)
- Aircraft, spacecraft: $3.3 billion (Up 52.2%)
- Taps, valves, similar appliances: $3.2 billion (Down -9.6%)
- Rubber tires (new): $3.1 billion (Down -9.8%)
Among these imported goods, transmission shafts, gears and clutches posted the greatest increase in Canadian purchases from 2013 to 2017 via a 57.1% gain in value.
In second place were imports of aircraft and spacecraft which appreciated 52.2% over the same 5-year period.
Canadian imports of blood fractions including antisera showed a respectable gain (up 29.5%) followed by imported trucks (up 20.2%).
Leading the dollar-value decliners was imported gold (down -41.1%) and crude oil (down -51.5%).
See also Canada’s Top Trading Partners, Top Canadian Trade Balances and Canada’s Top 10 Imports
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: Imports 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