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July 07, 2026NOVA SCOTIA INTERNATIONAL GOODS EXPORTS, MAY 2026 Year-over-year (May 2026 vs May 2025, domestic exports on a customs-basis, unadjusted)
Nova Scotia international goods exports were $646.5 million in May 2026, a gain of 7.1% compared to May 2025.
Canada's goods exports were up 19.3% compared to May 2025. All provinces reported higher exports year-over-year with New Brunswick experiencing the largest gain in exports.
Year-to-date (January-May 2026 vs January-May 2025)
In the first five months of 2026 domestic exports fell 3.9% in Nova Scotia compared to the same period in 2025. Canada's exports grew 3.0% for January-May 2026, with six provinces reporting gains. Manitoba reported the largest year-to-date decline while Newfoundland and Labrador reported the largest gain.
Among broad product categories, the largest were farm, fishing and intermediate food products, followed by motor vehicles and parts as well as consumer goods.
Nova Scotia's year-to-date domestic exports were down for nine of the broad product categories. The largest percentage declines were for chemical/plastic/rubber products and energy products (through this reflects the smallest share of exports). Metal/non-metallic mineral products and electronics/electrical equipment exports were up the most.
The US is by far Nova Scotia's largest destination for international goods exports. Nova Scotia year-to-date exports to the United States were down 1.8%, falling to $1.953 billion.
China is Nova Scotia's second largest export destination and exports declined 27.4% to $181.0 million in January-May 2026.
Among the other significant export destinations, year-to-date exports were up most sharply (>20%) to Germany, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Italy, and Peru. The largest declines (<-20%) in May exports were to China, Japan, Brazil, Norway, Saudi Arabia, and Türkiye.
Nova Scotia's exports to the US accounted for 72.5% of exports in January-May 2026. Massachusetts was the largest US state destination for Nova Scotia exports. Massachusetts, Illinois and South Carolina each had a larger year-to-date export value than Nova Scotia's shipments to China. Exports were down for five of Nova Scotia's top ten US state destinations. The largest dollar value decline was for Texas, while Illinois had the largest dollar value increase.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 12-10-0175-01 International merchandise trade by province, commodity, and Principal Trading Partners (x 1,000); Table 12-10-0099-01 Merchandise imports and exports, customs-based, by Harmonized commodity description and coding system (HS) section, Canada, provinces and territories, United States, states (x 1,000)