Since ratifying the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in 2018, Canada has strengthened its economic connections with the seven Asia Pacific-based members of the CPTPP, or the AP7, and has seen significant growth in two-way investment flows with these Asian economies. 

The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada’s latest Investment Monitor report explores this growth and highlights how the CPTPP continues to support Canada’s goal of diversifying its investment relationships in the dynamic, fast-growing economies of the Asia Pacific.

According to our Investment Monitor data, which provides information on Canada-Asia Pacific investment flows at the national and sub-national levels, two-way investment flows between Canada and the AP7 have grown from C$82.1B (2014-2018) to C$101.5B (2019-2023) since the CPTPP was ratified, a 23 per cent increase.

Key Takeaways 

At the national level, Australia, Japan, and New Zealand were the largest AP7 recipients of Canadian investment following ratification of the CPTPP; conversely, Australia, Singapore, and Japan were the largest AP7 investors in Canada. Greenfield projects – those in which a company establishes a subsidiary in another economy – have accounted for approximately one-quarter of two-way investment flows between Canada and the AP7 since 2019. 

At the industry level, the AP7 was especially attracted to Canada’s mining and chemicals industry, investing more than C$30B from 2019-2023, with C$343M invested in the chemicals sector and C$30B in the industrial materials and mining sector. Canadian investment in the AP7 was predominantly concentrated in the health care and utilities sectors, totalling around C$20B. 

Australia was the biggest AP7 investor in Canada’s mining and chemicals industry (accounting for 98% of the AP7’s total investment in this industry) and the largest recipient of Canadian investment in health care and utilities (accounting for around 88% of Canada’s total investment in these sectors). 

At the sub-national level, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia have received around 73 per cent of all AP7 investment in Canada in the five years post-CPTPP ratification. The Australian state of Victoria has been the top sub-national source of and destination for Canadian investment (C$42.8B in two-way investment) since CPTPP ratification.

Data 

The database used in this report is publicly available on the Investment Monitor website. The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada is grateful for the sponsorship and support it has received from Export Development Canada for the Investment Monitor project.