Canadian Investors Cut Foreign Securities Holdings

Canadian investors reduced their exposure to foreign securities by C$30.6 billion in July 2026, after increasing it by C$35.43 billion in June.

They sold an unprecedented C$31.0 billion of US shares, following C$78.1 billion in purchases during the first half of 2026.

The July divestment was mainly concentrated in shares of large US technology companies.

US share prices, as measured by the S&P 500 Composite Index, edged down in July after recording strong gains earlier in the year.

Meanwhile, Canadian investors reduced their holdings of US government bonds by C$5.1 billion, marking a sixth consecutive monthly divestment and bringing the total since January to C$37.3 billion.

The overall outflow was partially offset by purchases of US corporate bonds (+C$1.8 billion) and non-US foreign bonds (+C$3.3 billion).

In July, US long-term interest rates rose, while the US dollar depreciated against the Canadian dollar.