Foreign investment in Canadian securities totalled $10.6 billion in April, mainly acquisitions of government debt instruments. At the same time, Canadian investors reduced their holdings of foreign securities by $9.9 billion, the largest divestment since January 2016.
As a result, Canada's international transactions in securities generated a net inflow of funds into the Canadian economy of $20.5 billion in April.
Foreign investment in Canadian securities has exceeded Canadian investment in foreign securities by $49.1 billion since the beginning of 2017, following a record annual net inflow of $151.9 billion in 2016. Significant foreign purchases of Canadian private corporate instruments led the inflow of funds during this period.