For April
Provided by: Statistics Canada
Official Release: News Release 

From the Release: "Non-residents' demand for Canadian securities continued to heat up, as substantial acquisitions of Canadian debt instruments in April drove foreign investment to its highest level since November 2006. Foreign investment in both short- and long-term debt instruments rebounded, while equity investment continued at a strong pace.

Canadian investors added sizeable amounts of foreign instruments to their portfolios in April. Equities dominated the investment flows, as global stock markets strengthened. Investment in bonds bounced back while Canadians continued to avoid foreign money market instruments, especially US paper."

For March
Provided by: Statistics Canada
March's Release: News Release

The amount of Canadian securities purchased by foreigners increased C$5.3billion in March. Purchases of new Canadian equity were focused in the banking sectors, and offset sales of outstanding shares. Sales of outstanding corporate shares reversed 3 months of acquisitions and were concentrated in non-bank financial, energy and mining firms. Canadian stocks lost 1.7% in March after a 3.3% gain in February.

The Canadian Dollar fell below 0.99 overnight and again following today's news from Canada. Wholesale sales came in better than expected today as well. However as the NY-morning trading session continued the greenback pared some of those earlier losses.  

From the Release:

"Foreign interest in Canadian securities continued to grow in March. Foreign acquisitions of Canadian securities reached $5.3 billion in March, the highest level since March 2007, fueled by substantial issuance of new Canadian shares to foreign portfolio investors. At the same time, Canadian investors divested some foreign securities, all in debt instruments. March saw a $3.3 billion decline in Canadian holdings of foreign securities, on the heels of three straight months of investments.

Foreigners purchases C$3.8 billion worth of Canadian securities in February, better than expected. In addition to the report which reported strong demand for Canadian bonds and stocks, though holdings of money market instruments was down. The Canadian Dollar benefited today from oil hitting a fresh record of $117 per barrel.

From the Release:

"Canadians sharply increased their holdings of foreign securities by $6.1 billion in February. This reflected a rebound in the demand for both foreign stocks and bonds. Meanwhile, non-residents acquired $3.8 billion worth of Canadian securities over the month, their largest monthly purchase since April 2007. Canadian dollar-denominated outstanding bonds accounted again for the majority of the foreign investment."

For December
Provided by: Statistics Canada

"Non-residents invested $1.2 billion in Canadian securities in December, largely equities. Over the year, foreign portfolio investors sold $33.8 billion worth of Canadian securities, largely reflecting high foreign-takeover activity and the subsequent relinquishing of Canadian portfolio shares to foreign direct investors.

For their part, Canadian investors acquired $1.9 billion worth of foreign securities in December, adding equities and further reducing debt instruments. The meltdown in the sub-prime mortgage sector and the resulting credit crunch have contributed to major divestments of foreign debt instruments. Since August 2007, Canadians have removed $20.0 billion worth of foreign debt instruments from their portfolios, which largely offset a $35.3 billion investment from January to July 2007."

"Non-residents made significant adjustments to their portfolios in November, reducing their holdings of Canadian equities substantially in exchange for federal government bonds, in total removing $4.8 billion worth of Canadian securities. Meanwhile, Canadians disposed of $4.5 billion of foreign securities in November, all in foreign bonds."