Report Cover IM Report 2024

Investment Monitor: 2023 Year in Review: Navigating Canada-Asia Investment

The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada is pleased to launch its annual Investment Monitor report reviewing two-way investment flows between Canada and the Asia Pacific that occurred in 2023. The report examines foreign investment at both national and sub-national levels and highlights relevant government policies that could impact future investments. 

This year’s report also includes illustrative case studies showcasing major investment projects on both sides of the Pacific in 2023. 

APF Canada is grateful for the sponsorship and support it has received from Export Development Canada for the Investment Monitor project.

Key Takeaways:
 

  1. Two-way foreign direct investment (FDI) flows between Canada and the Asia Pacific economies increased by approximately 18% from C$29.8B in 2022 to C$35.1B in 2023. 
     
  2. Canada’s top five two-way investment partners in the region in 2023 were Australia, China, Singapore, India, and Japan.
     
  3. The mining and chemicals, finance, and energy industries were the main beneficiaries of two-way Canada-Asia Pacific investment flows in 2023.
     
  4. Ontario, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia received the majority of FDI flows (90%, or C$20.7B) from the region in 2023, with all three provinces recording an increase in investment compared to 2022.
     
  5. Three Australian states — New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia — and two Indian states and one union territory — Maharashtra, Haryana, and Delhi — placed among the top 10 recipients of Canadian investment flows into the Asia Pacific in 2023.
     
  6. In 2023, greenfield investments accounted for 44% of Canada-Asia two-way investment flows, the highest proportion in the past five years.

Anastasia Ufimtseva

Anastasia Ufimtseva is a Program Manager, Business Asia, at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. She holds a PhD in Global Governance from the Balsillie School of International Affairs at Wilfrid Laurier University with a specialization in international political economy. Her dissertation examined Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Canadian and Russian oil and natural gas sectors and she has published widely on trade and investment relations between Asia and Canada, specifically on FDI, governance, and energy policy. Prior to joining APF Canada, Anastasia worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the Jack Austin Centre for Asia Pacific Business Studies at Simon Fraser University's Beedie School of Business.

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Charlotte Atkins

Charlotte Atkins is a Project Specialist with the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada's Business Asia team. She has a Masters in Political Science and Asian Studies from the University of Toronto, where her research focused on contentious politics in Asia. She has since expanded her research areas to include policy, trade, and investment between Canada and the Asia Pacific through her work at APF Canada.

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Shruti Jhunjhunwala

Shruti Jhunjhunwala is a Research Scholar with the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada’s International Trade and Investment Team. She holds an MSc in International Business from HEC Montreal. Her research interests include private-public partnerships as well as inclusive and sustainable trade.

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Xuemeng Wang

Xuemeng Wang is a Research Scholar with the International Trade and Investment team at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. She completed her Master’s in International Studies from Simon Fraser University. Her research focuses on socio-economic development, tackling associated challenges, and promoting social equality and sustainable development practices.

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