Nicknamed “The Heartland Province” and located in Central Canada, the province of Ontario shipped CDN$318.6 billion worth of exported products around the world in 2025.

That dollar amount represents a 31.5% increase from $242.2 billion four years earlier in 2021.

Year over year, the overall value of Ontarian exported goods grew by 5.1% compared to $303.2 billion for 2024.

Ontario ranks as Canada’s most lucrative exporter by province or territory ahead of other leading provinces Alberta, Quebec and British Columbia.

The value of Ontario’s exports equals 40.9% of Canada’s overall exported products for 2025, up from 39.4% in 2024.

Based on statistics from the website Statista, Ontario’s exported products represent a calculated 45.3% of the province’s total economic output or real Gross Domestic Product ($704 billion for 2024).

Given Ontario’s population of 16.3 million people, its total CDN$318.6 billion in 2025 exports translates to about $19,600 for every resident in the Central Canadian province. That dollar metric outpaces the average $18,800 per capita for the prior year.

Ontario’s reported unemployment rate was 7.6% at then end of October 2025, up from an average 7% one year earlier per YCharts.

Ontario’s Top 10 Exports

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

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

1. Gold (unwrought): CDN$50.2 billion (15.7% of Ontario’s total exports)
2. Mid-sized automobiles (piston engine): $17.4 billion (5.5%)
3. Miscellaneous medications: $8.1 billion (2.5%)
4. Large automobiles (piston engine): $6.9 billion (2.2%)
5. Automobiles (both piston engine/electric motor): $6.8 billion (2.1%)
6. Motor vehicle body parts, accessories: $6.6 billion (2.1%)
7. Small automobiles (piston engine): $4.8 billion (1.5%)
8. Breads, pastry, cakes, biscuits, wafers, similar goods: $4.7 billion (1.5%)
9. Small gas-powered trucks: $4 billion (1.3%)
10. Large spark-ignition engines: $3.6 billion (1.1%)
11. Miscellaneous motor vehicle parts: $3.1 billion (1%)
12. Silver (unwrought): $2.1 billion (0.7%)
13. Motor vehicle transmissions, related parts: $2 billion (0.6%)
14. Parts of turbo-jets or turbo-propellers: $1.8 billion (0.6%)
15. Miscellaneous petroleum oils: $1.4 billion (0.4%)

Ontario’s top 15 exports accounted for 38.7% of the overall value of the province’s global shipments in 2025, up from 35.7% for 2024.

Unwrought gold was the fastest grower among Ontario’s top 15 export products, up by 49.3% from 2024 to 2025.

In second place for improving export sales was unwrought silver thanks to a 45.7% rise.

Ontario’s shipments of unwrought gold posted the third-fastest gain in value up by 45.7%.

Other leading increases belonged to Ontarian exports of large spark-ignition engines (up 16.9%) then large automobiles powered by piston engine (up 7.6%).

Double-digit declines among Ontario’s top 15 export products were for exports of automobiles powered by both piston engine and electric motor (down -17.8% from 2024) and small automobiles powered by piston engine only (down -14.9%).

More Key Facts about Ontario’s International Trade

Ontario incurred a -CDN$158.4 billion deficit exporting and importing products during 2025. That dollar amount reflects a flatlining -0.5% decline from -$159.3 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, Ontario bought Cdn$477 billion worth of products imported from international sources in 2025.

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

1. Gold (unwrought): US$22.7 billion (4.7% of Ontario’s total imports)
2. Mid-sized automobiles (piston engine): $18.6 billion (3.9%)
3. Small gas-powered trucks: $13.9 billion (2.9%)
4. Miscellaneous medications: $9.6 billion (2%)
5. Smartphones: $8.7 billion (1.8%)
6. Large automobiles (piston engine): $6.7 billion (1.4%)
7. Large spark-ignition engines: $6.3 billion (1.3%)
8. Miscellaneous motor vehicle parts: $6.1 billion (1.3%)
9. Small portable computing devices: $6 billion (1.2%)
10. Motor vehicle body parts, accessories: $5.3 billion (1.1%)

Historically, Ontario has recorded negative net exports in the international trade of goods including small gas-powered trucks, smartphones and miscellaneous medications packaged for retail sale. In turn, these cashflows indicate Ontario’s competitive disadvantages under those product categories.

Ontario’s Major Trade Partners

The following list shows the highly concentrated top 10 customers that purchase 94.3% worth of the total value of products exported from the province of Ontario during 2025. That percentage outpaces the 94.2% one year earlier.

1. United States: CDN$237.6 billion (74.6% of Ontario’s total exports)
2. United Kingdom: $42.3 billion (13.3%)
3. Germany: $4.2 billion (1.3%)
4. Mexico: $4 billion (1.2%)
5. China: $3.5 billion (1.1%)
6. Japan: $2.6 billion (0.8%)
7. Norway: $1.9 billion (0.6%)
8. Switzerland: $1.52 billion (0.5%)
9. Hong Kong: $1.45 billion (0.5%)
10. Netherlands: $1.42 billion (0.4%)

Ontario’s top trade partners in North America (United States and Mexico) buy just over three-quarters (75.8%) of the overall value of exported goods from The Heartland Province.

Another 16.1% of Ontarian export sales were bought by major importers In Europe (United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, Switzerland and the Netherlands).

Ontarian 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 Ontario.

• Advanz Pharma (pharmaceuticals)
• Barrick Gold (mining)
• Brookfield Asset Management (finance)
• Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (finance)
• First Quantum Minerals (mining)
• Magna International (automotive parts)
• Rogers Communications (telecommunications)
• Scotiabank (finance)
• Shopify (e-commerce)
• Toronto-Dominion Bank (finance)

Shown within brackets for each company is a summary of the international trade-related products or services which each business manages.
 
Ontario’s capital is Toronto, a municipality nicknamed “the Six”. That moniker refers to the original cities of original cities of Toronto, North York, Scarborough, York, Etobicoke, and the former borough of East York.

See also Canada’s Top 10 Exports, Canada’s Top 10 Imports and Quebec’s Top Exports

Research Sources:
Canada Population, Ontario Population. Accessed on March 29, 2026

FlagPictures.org, C.A. Provinces. Accessed on March 29, 2026

Government of Canada, Trade Data Online, Total exports, Distribution by province. Accessed on March 29, 2026

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on March 29, 2026

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on March 29, 2026

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on March 29, 2026

Ontario Demographic Quarterly, Highlights of Second Quarter. Accessed on March 29, 2026

Statista, GDP of Ontario in Canada. Accessed on March 29, 2026

Wikipedia, List of largest public companies in Canada by profit. Accessed on March 29, 2026

Wikipedia, List of provincial and territorial nicknames in Canada. Accessed on March 29, 2026

Wikipedia, List of largest companies in Canada. Accessed on March 29, 2026

Wikipedia, Category:Manufacturing companies of Canada. Accessed on March 29, 2026

Wikipedia, Ontario. Accessed on March 29, 2026

YCharts, Canada Labour Force Survey Report. Accessed on March 29, 2026