Canada’s Economy Size:

  • Access to a large North American market with a population of 41 million
  • World’s 10th largest economy (2024)
  • GDP of approximately 2.24 trillion USD (2024)
  • Canada’s goods and services exports increased by 21.2% to reach $940.4 billion in 2022
  • Canada’s goods and services imports increased by 20.5% to reach $936.2 billion in 2022
  • Canada’s top exports: energy products, minerals and metals, automotive products, agriculture, and forestry
  • Canada’s top 5 trading partners: United States, China, United Kingdom, Japan and Mexico
  • Canada is one of the world’s top 15 trading nations

Canada’s Major Free Trade Agreements:

  • Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) – formerly known as the NAFTA agreement
  • Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA)
  • Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)

Canada’s Top Industries and Natural Resources:

  • Major industries in manufacturing: automotive, aerospace & aeronautics, food and beverage, chemicals and petrochemicals, forestry and paper products, primary metal manufacturing, machinery and equipment manufacturing
  • Other major industries: mining; logging (softwood lumber, pulp, paper products); energy (petroleum, hydroelectric, natural gas, nuclear; wind and solar); agriculture and agribusiness; life sciences; computer technologies; artificial intelligence (AI); telecommunications; clean technologies; finance and insurance; real estate and construction; tourism; entertainment and media; education
  • Natural resources: natural gas, crude oil, coal, gold, silver, copper, nickel, aluminum, zinc, lead, iron ore, uranium, diamonds, potash, forestry; freshwater; fish and seafood
  • Top agricultural products: maple syrup, wheat, canola, barley, corn, lentils and pulses, beef, pork, seafood (lobster, salmon).

Canadian Filing Procedures – Important Things to Know:

  • There is no need for signed/notarized documents like POAs to file an application in Canada.
  • When you file a patent application in Canada, you have a 4-year window to file a request for examination.
  • National phase entry in Canada is within 30 months after the priority date. It is still possible to enter the national phase within 42 months of the priority date, however, it will be necessary to prepare and submit a statement that the failure to enter the national phase by the 30-month deadline was unintentional and pay additional late entry fees.
  • For patent applications in Canada, excess claim fees apply to any application with over 20 claims and must be paid at the time of requesting examination.
  • Three accelerated examination options for patents in Canada:
    • Advanced examination under a special order: You can request an advanced patent examination under a special order if the regular patent approval process time is likely to prejudice the applicant’s or a third party’s rights.
    • PPH: allows for expedited examination of patent applications if an applicant has already received a favourable ruling from a foreign patent office that has a PPH agreement with CIPO. This will require amending the claims in the Canadian application to bring them in line with the allowed claims in the other PPH jurisdiction.
    • Green Technology: Faster patent application processing for technologies that help resolve or mitigate environmental impacts or conserve the natural environment and resources.