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In Depth

Arming the World

The CBC analysis

Canada's military exports by the numbers

Last Updated October 26, 2007

By David McKie, CBC News

Canada has a thriving military export business, selling tanks and other products to countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Statistics on military exports — kept by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and maintained by Statistics Canada — give us a glimpse into this world, which very few Canadians know exists.

But these statistics may tell only part of the story, since they don't necessarily capture the total value of sales.

The Foreign Affairs Department in Ottawa has this information, but for the past four years has not disclosed it. From 1990 to 2002, it produced such an annual report, titled Export of Military Goods from Canada, but has not published it since.

For the last year the government did report to Parliament on the total value of arms exports — 2002 — the figures of arms exports kept by the CBSA are more conservative than Foreign Affairs numbers.

That being said, the agency's figures do paint an important picture.

The CBC investigation

CBC News is the first media outlet to break out trends on recent military sales. We obtained Canada Border Services Agency figures tracking military exports, and created a database to identify the trends you can see in the following charts:

A closer look at these trends reveals some information Canadians should know.

CBC News has found that Canada's overall military exports have increased about 3.5 times between 2000 and 2006.

Canada has sold about $2.7 billion worth of tanks and light armoured vehicles and their parts in the past seven years, with the United States as our biggest customer and Saudi Arabia next in line.

Our analysis also shows that five provinces — Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Manitoba and Alberta, in descending order, — are the country's top exporters. These statistics provide a window into a world about which few Canadians have any knowledge, in an era of wars in countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

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