Foreign Buying of Canadian Securities Soared in November, Led by Money Market Instruments

Foreign investors sharply increased their purchases of Canadian debt securities in November, led by a record influx into money market instruments, Statistics Canada said Friday.

According to the national statistical agency, foreign investors purchased $25.2 billion worth of Canadian debt securities in November, up sharply from $6.3 billion in October.

The foreign buying was led by an “unprecedented investment in money market instruments,” StatCan said.

Along with the strong flows into federal T-bills ($15.3 billion), foreign investors also added $2.3 billion in provincial money market paper, along with $2.7 billion worth of private corporate paper.

Overall, foreign investors added $25.2 billion worth of Canadian debt securities in November.

With investors flocking to money markets, their Canadian bond buying dropped to its lowest monthly level for the year, $5.7 billion.

The national statistical agency reported that federal government bonds led the bond buying, as investors added $7.1 billion worth in November.

At the same time, foreign investment in corporate bonds dropped to $1.3 billion in the month, down sharply from $8.4 billion in October.

And investors reduced their exposure to Canadian equities by $8.8 billion in November.

Conversely, Canadian investors added both foreign equities ($5.9 billion) and foreign debt securities ($11.9 billion) in November.

The total investment of $17.8 billion in November marked the highest monthly total since March 2024 — following a $2.7-billion divestment in October, the agency noted.

Canadian investors added $3.6 billion worth of U.S. bonds and $6.7 billion in non-U.S. bonds in November, driving the foreign debt acquisitions.

Most of the foreign equity buying came in U.S. stocks, $5.1 billion worth, StatCan also noted.