Nicknamed “Beautiful British Columbia” or simply “B.C.” and located on Canada’s west coast, the province of British Columbia shipped CDN$56 billion worth of exported products around the world in 2025.

That dollar amount results from a 2% increase from $54.9 billion five years earlier in 2021.

Year over year, the overall value of British Columbian export sales flatlined via a paltry 0.2% gain compared to $55.9 billion for 2024.

British Columbia ranks as Canada’s fourth-best exporter by province or territory behind leading provinces Ontario, Alberta and Quebec. The value of British Columbia’s exports equals 7.18% of Canada’s overall exported products for 2025, similar to the 7.2% in 2024.

British Columbia’s exported products represent 17.5% of the province’s total economic output or Gross Domestic Product ($316.3 billion for 2025). That percentage shows a slowdown from 18.2% one year prior.

Given British Columbia’s population of 5.1 million people, its total CDN$56 billion in 2025 exports translates to roughly $11,000 for every resident in Canada’s western-most coastal province. That dollar metric modestly lags the average $11,050 one year earlier in 2024.

British Columbia’s unemployment rate was 6.3% at the end of December 2025, up from the province’s 6% jobless rate one year earlier per YCharts.

British Columbia’s Top 10 Exports

The following export products represent the highest dollar value for British Columbia’s global shipments during 2025. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from British Columbia.

Figures are shown at the more granular six-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, for more precise product identification.

1. Coal (non-agglomerated, bituminous): CDN$6.8 billion (12.1% of BC’s total exports)
2. Copper ores, concentrates $5.3 billion (9.5%)
3. Natural gas (gaseous state): $3.4 billion (6%)
4. Crude petroleum oils: $2.61 billion (4.7%)
5. Chemical woodpulp (coniferous): $2.61 billion (4.7%)
6. Lumber sawn or chipped lengthwise $1.9 billion (3.5%)
7. Coniferous lumber (sawn, chipped, sliced, peeled) $1.82 billion (3.3%)
8. Liquified propane: $1.77 billion (3.2%)
9. Unalloyed unwrought aluminum $1 billion (1.7%)
10. Computer boards, panels $934.1 million (1.7%)
11. Miscellaneous petroleum oils: $784.2 million (1.4%)
12. Electrical energy $670.9 million (1.2%)
13. Miscellaneous food preparations $546.8 million (1%)
14. Unalloyed unwrought zinc $492.4 million (0.9%)
15. Agglomerated wood pellets $448.2 million (0.8%)

British Columbia’s top 15 exports accounted for half (50.2%) of the overall value of the province’s global shipments.

Miscellaneous petroleum oils represent the fastest grower among British Columbia’s top 15 export products, up by 71.7% from 2024 to 2025.

In second place were B.C.’s export sales of natural gas in gaseous state (up 33.7% from 2024), trailed by liquified propane (up 28.2%), copper ores and concentrates (up 20.6%) then agglomerated wood pellets (up 19.1%).

Double-digit percentage decliners among British Columbia’s most valuable export products were sales of electrical energy (down -27.1% from 2024), non-agglomerated, bituminous coal (down -21.7%) then sawn or lengthwise chipped lumber (down -10.4%).

More Key Facts about British Columbia’s International Trade

British Columbia incurred a -CDN$20.1 billion deficit exporting and importing products during 2025. That dollar amount reflects an 8.7% upturn from -$18.5 billion in red ink for 2024.

Another way of saying surplus or deficit is positive or negative net exports. In a nutshell, the term “net exports” quantifies the amount by which foreign spending on a province’s goods or services exceeds or lags that same province’s spending on foreign goods or services.

All told, B.C. bought Cdn$76.1 billion worth of products imported from around the world during 2025.

Below are British Columbia’s top 10 import products highlighting the province’s highest spending on foreign-made goods in 2025.

1. Mid-sized automobiles (piston engine): CDN$3.1 billion (4% of BC’s total imports)
2. Miscellaneous petroleum oils: $2.1 billion (2.8%)
3. Zinc ores, concentrates: $773.6 million (1%)
4. Digital processing units (individual components): $757 million (1%)
5. Wheeled toys (tricycles, scooters, pedal cars, doll carriages): $663 million (0.9%)
6. Modems, similar reception/transmission devices: $608.6 million (0.8%)
7. Small portable computing devices: $600.7 million (0.8%)
8. Derricks/cranes parts, attachments: $563.9 million (0.7%)
9. Aluminum oxide (not artificial corundum) $549.7 million (0.7%)
10. Electrical energy: $540.5 million (0.7%)

British Columbia has highly negative net exports in the international trade of vehicles, miscellaneous petroleum oils and zinc. In turn, these cashflows indicate British Columbia’s competitive disadvantages under related product categories.

British Columbia’s Major Trade Partners

The following list shows the top 10 customers that purchased 90.8% worth of the total value of products exported from the province of British Columbia during 2025, down from 92.4% for the prior year.

1. United States: CDN$28 billion (50.1% of BC’s total exports)
2. mainland China: $11 billion (19.6%)
3. Japan: $4.7 billion (8.5%)
4. South Korea: $3.1 billion (5.5%)
5. Taiwan: $752.1 million (1.3%)
6. India: $740.3 million (1.3%)
7. Netherlands: $734.9 million (1.3%)
8. Australia: $685.9 million (1.2%)
9. Indonesia: $568.9 million (1%)
10. Germany: $564.6 million (1%)

British Columbia’s top trade partners in North America (mainly United States and, to a much lesser extent, Mexico) bought about half (50.1%) of the overall value of goods exported from B.C.

In comparison, B.C.’s leading importers in Asia (mainland China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, India and Indonesia) generated 37.2% of the province’s total export sales in 2025.

British Columbian Export Companies

Below are some of Canada’s largest businesses that are involved in international trade either directly or indirectly. Their corporate headquarters are in the province of British Columbia.

• Goldcorp (mining)
• Lululemon Athletica (clothing)
• Teck Resources (mining)
• Telus (telecommunications)

Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the international trade-related products or services which each business manages.
 
British Columbia’s capital is Victoria, nicknamed “The Garden City” and is associated with the motto “Forever free”. Victoria is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island.

See also Canada’s Top 10 Exports, Alberta’s Top Exports, and Ontario’s Top Exports

Research Sources:
Canada Population, British Columbia Population. Accessed on April 7, 2026

Government of Canada, Trade Data Online, Total exports, Distribution by province. Accessed on April 7, 2026

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on April 7, 2026

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on April 7, 2026

Statista, GDP of British Columbia, Canada. Accessed on April 7, 2026

Wikipedia, British Columbia. Accessed on April 7, 2026

Wikipedia, Flag of British Columbia. Accessed on April 7, 2026

Wikipedia, List of largest public companies in Canada by profit. Accessed on April 7, 2026

Wikipedia, List of provincial and territorial nicknames in Canada. Accessed on April 7, 2026

Wikipedia, List of largest companies in Canada. Accessed on April 7, 2026

Wikipedia, Category:Manufacturing companies of Canada. Accessed on April 7, 2026

YCharts, Canada Labour Force Survey Report. Accessed on April 7, 2026