Canada's monthly international trade in services deficit widened from $1.8 billion in September to $1.9 billion in October.
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Overall, imports of services increased by 2.0% to $15.8 billion, and exports were up by 1.6% to $13.9 billion.
October 2022 marked the first time that total imports of services exceeded their February 2020 level, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Total exports have been higher than their February 2020 level since early 2022.
Imports of transportation services rose by 6.2% to $3.2 billion in October 2022, largely because of higher payments related to the marine transport of goods. Exports of transportation services were up by 1.4% to $1.7 billion in October, mainly on higher receipts related to the transport of passengers by air.
Imports of travel services increased by 2.9% to $3.4 billion in October on stronger expenditures by Canadian residents at both United States and overseas destinations.
Exports of travel services rose by 4.4% to $2.9 billion. These increases coincided with the discontinuation of COVID-19 border restrictions.
On October 1, all COVID-19 border restrictions, including vaccination, mandatory use of the ArriveCAN app, and any testing and quarantine requirements, were removed for all travellers entering Canada.
Imports of commercial services were up by 0.4% to $9.1 billion in October, while exports of commercial services increased by 0.8% to $9.2 billion.
In October, total exports of goods increased by 1.5% to $67.0 billion, and total imports of goods were up by 0.6% to $65.8 billion, resulting in a surplus of $1.2 billion.
Combined, the trade balance for goods and services amounted to a deficit of $726 million, compared with a deficit of $1.2 billion in September.
The services trade deficit in September, originally reported at $1.6 billion in the previous release, was revised to $1.8 billion with the release of this month's publication. The revisions to September's trade deficit resulted from a reduction to the commercial services surplus that more than offset a reduction to the travel services deficit. ■