Interprovincial trade analysis from the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions, third quarter 2023
Released: 2023-10-05
During the third quarter, one in four businesses (24.9%) reported that they had purchased goods or services from suppliers situated outside their province or territory. Furthermore, more than one-fifth (22.0%) sold goods or services to customers in another province or territory.
These results are from the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions, which included a special module during the third quarter of 2023 to ask businesses about their interprovincial trade activities. The results are detailed in the full article, "Analysis on interprovincial trade in Canada, third quarter of 2023," published today.
In this report, interprovincial trade encompasses transactions conducted between a consumer or business located in a specific province or territory and a consumer or business situated outside that province or territory.
The report also shows that nearly two-thirds (65.2%) of Canadian businesses did not report any form of interprovincial activity over the last 12 months, meaning that they neither purchased nor sold goods or services to suppliers and customers outside their province or territory.
Businesses in the wholesale trade or manufacturing sectors are more likely to conduct interprovincial trade
Businesses in the wholesale trade and manufacturing sectors, as well as larger businesses, were more likely than other businesses to report interprovincial trade activities over the last 12 months.
Businesses in the wholesale trade (62.2%) and manufacturing (51.0%) sectors were more likely than businesses in other sectors to purchase goods or services from suppliers in another province or territory. They were also more likely to sell goods or services to customers in another province or territory (63.0% of businesses in the wholesale trade sector and 46.7% of businesses in the manufacturing sector).
Nearly half (47.5%) of businesses with 100 or more employees purchased goods or services from suppliers in another province or territory over the last 12 months, compared to under one in five (17.8%) businesses with 1 to 4 employees. The same trend can be observed for businesses who sold goods or services to customers in another province or territory over the same period, with businesses with 100 or more employees (44.9%) being more likely to do so than businesses with 1 to 4 employees (17.1%).
Regionally, businesses in the Northwest Territories were most likely to purchase goods or services from suppliers in another province or territory (51.0%) and sell goods or services to customers in another province or territory (28.9%). In contrast, businesses in Ontario (20.6%) were the least likely to report having purchased goods or services from suppliers in another province or territory, while businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador (17.7%) were the least likely to sell goods or services to customers in another province or territory.
Transportation cost and availability reported as top obstacle to interprovincial trade
Among businesses that conducted interprovincial trade over the past 12 months, transportation cost and availability was the most commonly reported obstacle encountered by more than two in five businesses (41.3%).
Meanwhile, among businesses that did not purchase or sell goods or services across provincial or territorial borders over the last 12 months, the local nature of the business (59.7%) and a lack of interest in conducting interprovincial trade (31.7%) were reported as the main reasons that businesses did not engage in interprovincial trade.
Note to readers
This article is based on results from the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions (CSBC). Representatives from businesses across Canada were invited to complete an online questionnaire about business conditions and business expectations moving forward. The most recent survey was conducted from July 4 to August 8, 2023. The CSBC uses a stratified random sample of business establishments with employees. Data is available at the national, provincial and territorial levels by industrial sector, employment size, type of business and majority ownership. Results for this release were based on responses from 15,224 businesses or organizations. Over the next few months, Statistics Canada will continue to work in collaboration with the Privy Council Office and other partners to develop more statistical information about interprovincial trade in Canada, an important feature of the Canadian economy.
Products
The full article, "Analysis on interprovincial trade in Canada, third quarter of 2023," is now available as part of the series Analysis in Brief (11-621-M).
Additionally, the infographic "Interprovincial Trade in Canada, third quarter of 2023," part of the series Statistics Canada—Infographics (11-627-M), is now available.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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