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Study: Activities of foreign majority-owned affiliates in Canada, 2011 (provisional estimates)

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Released: 2015-09-02

Foreign affiliate statistics are an extension of statistics on foreign direct investment. They provide additional insight on the effects of foreign direct investment in national economies in terms of earnings, employment, trade and foreign exposure, in the context of an increasingly inter-connected and integrated global economy.

Statistics Canada has researched the feasibility of producing data on an ongoing basis with respect to the activities of foreign majority-owned affiliates in Canada (inward foreign affiliate statistics). The end result of this initiative is presented in this study, which reviews the concepts and data development work, alongside provisional estimates.

Majority-owned domestic affiliates (MODAs) are defined as Canadian entities where a foreign direct investor owns more than 50% of the voting shares. These firms accounted for a significant share of the Canadian economic activity in terms of asset ownership, generation of revenues, employment and international trade activities. Of the total assets held by Canadian enterprises in 2011, about 18% were held by companies ultimately under foreign control. This same group of MODAs also generated approximately 26% of all Canadian revenues for that year and accounted for 12% of all employment in Canada.

In comparison to the financial and operational variables, a higher proportion of Canadian international trade was carried out by foreign MODAs. In 2011, provisional estimates indicated that 44% of Canada's goods exports and 52% of goods imports were from MODAs, while 36% of Canada's commercial services exports and 42% of commercial services imports took place via MODAs.

  Note to readers

In this study, data from various sources at Statistics Canada were linked together as part of a new statistical program on the activities of foreign majority-owned affiliates in Canada. This program will enable a better understanding of the dimensions of foreign control within the Canadian economy and shed further light on economic globalization.

Foreign majority-owned domestic affiliates (MODAs) were identified using data on foreign direct investment in Canada and are defined as Canadian entities where a foreign direct investor owns more than 50% of the voting shares. Data on these entities were then linked to data from various survey and administrative sources within Statistics Canada to depict the activities of MODAs in Canada.

The provisional estimates presented in this study provide an example of some of the variables that will be included in the first official release of data on activities of foreign majority-owned affiliates in Canada, which will be published on December 2, 2015, and will include data for the reference years from 2010 to 2013.

Products

The article "Activities of foreign majority-owned affiliates in Canada (provisional estimates for reference year 2011)" is now available online as part of the Latest Developments in the Canadian Economic Accounts series (Catalogue number13-605-X).

Contact information

For more information, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca).

To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality associated with this release, please contact Angela Yuan-Wu (613-240-2871; angela.yuanwu@statcan.gc.ca) or Kathryn Young (613-218-1528; kathryn.young@statcan.gc.ca), International Accounts and Trade Division.

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