State trade fact sheets - Arizona
Arizona
Highlights
- 260 Canadian-owned businesses employ 17,463 workers in Arizona
- Canada is the #1 customer for most states
- 76% of Canadian exports to the U.S. are raw materials, parts, and components used to create other goods in the United States
- Did you know that every 2nd week of February is officially known in the Grand Canyon State as “Canada Week in Arizona”?

Employing & Investing in Arizona
Over 17,000 Arizonans are employed by over 160 Canadian-owned businesses operating across the Grand Canyon State. Canadians are not only the largest foreign direct investors and employers in Arizona, but Canada and Arizona also engage in $4.1 billion worth of trade annually. A wide range of Canadian companies have set up shop across Arizona due to its business-friendly climate. Leading retail brands like Aldo, Coldstone Creamery and Circle K; top service providers like Stantec and BMO Harris Bank; and telecommunication sector leaders like Mitel and Inter Tel Technologies all originally hail from Canada. Canada considers its relationship with Arizona among its most important in the U.S. A million Canadian visitors spend upwards of $1 billion in Arizona each year. Over 10,000 Snowbirds like Arizona so much they choose to make it their home away from home during winter months. Canadians comprise the largest group of foreign home-owners in the Grand Canyon state — 97% of all international residents in the Greater Phoenix area alone.
Canada-Arizona in Flight
As the numbers of Snowbird visitors and residents continue to climb, so do the number of flights between Arizona and Canada. Major airlines WestJet and Air Canada have regular operations out of Arizona’s international airports and bring in over 250,000 passengers a year to the Phoenix area alone. The newest airline adding routes to Arizona is the low-fare Canadian airline, Swoop.
With in-state operations dating back to 1976, Bombardier employs 300 highly-skilled workers at its business aircraft service center in Tucson. In 2020, the company spent $200 million with local suppliers. CAE Phoenix’s simulator-based training facility, adjacent to Sky Harbor International Airport, is equipped with over 80 aircrafts to support pilots. Magellan Aerospace operates two facilities employing over 200 Arizonans. Magellan Glendale specializes in the manufacture of commercial and military aircraft components. Magellan’s second facility, Euravia North America, is a modern maintenance, repair and overhaul facility for high quality aircraft high gas turbine engines and components. Together, in collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency, ASU’s MILO Space Science Institute will be launching Canada’s first Space Payload Accelerator, to assist Canadian organizations looking to accelerate their space capabilities out of Arizona.
Driving into a Sustainable Future
Arizona is rapidly turning into an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing hub with the help of sector leader companies from Canada investing in, creating new jobs, and moving their operations to The Grand Canyon State. The integration of EVs brings substantial changes in shifting economies from petroleum and reducing CO2 emission from the transportation sector. Canadian companies are paving the way for a sustainable future in Arizona. APEL Extrusions has purchased 22.6 acres of land in Phoenix as the future site of their headquarters and an aluminum manufacturing facility. 200 new jobs will be available to Arizonans to help create quality aluminum products with short lead times and at competitive prices. Li-Cycle is building a facility capable of processing up to 10,000 tonnes of end-of-life batteries and battery manufacturing scrap per year in Gilbert. ElectraMeccanica is building an engineering technical center and manufacturing facility in Mesa. When its U.S. base of operations is fully operational, 500 Arizonans will be employed to produce 20,000 three-wheeled, one-seat EVs per year for the U.S. market. Also choosing Mesa is Exro Technologies which will create 50 new jobs to expand the capabilities of electric motors, generators and batteries.
Arizona exports $1.3 billion in goods to Canada annually
Arizona exports to Canada by industry
- Agriculture: 19%
- Chemicals: 8%
- Equipment & machinery: 26%
- Forest products: 4%
- Minerals & metals: 20%
- Plastics & rubbers: 10%
- Transportation: 8%
- Other: 5%
Arizona imports $1.1 billion in goods from Canada annually
Arizona imports from Canada by industry
- Agriculture: 11%
- Chemicals: 9%
- Equipment & machinery: 18%
- Forest products: 6%
- Minerals & metals: 36%
- Plastics & rubbers: 7%
- Transportation: 5%
- Other: 8%
Top Arizona goods exports to Canada
- Vegetables: $339 million
- Aircraft & parts: $236 million
- Trucks: $148 million
- Fruits & nuts: $127 million
- Engines & turbines: $103 million
- Optical, medical & precision instruments: $92 million
- Telephones & AV recording equipment: $76 million
- Copper & copper articles: $50 million
- Computers: $40 million
- Plastics & plastic articles: $38 million
Top Arizona goods imports from Canada
- Aluminum & aluminum articles: $193 million
- Nickel & nickel articles: $76 million
- Plastics & plastic articles: $67 million
- Zinc & zinc articles: $55 million
- Inorganic chemicals: $38 million
- Beverages & alcohol: $31 million
- Explosives & pyrotechnics: $29 million
- Electric motors & generators: $27 million
- Agricultural machinery: $26 million
- Aircraft & parts: $25 million
Arizona exports $777 million in services to Canada annually
Top Arizona services exports to Canada
- Business services: $202 million
- Financial services: $158 million
- Charges for the use of intellectual property: $139 million
- Travel (including for eduction): $127 million
- Telecommunications, compuer & information services: $62 million
Connect to our team
For more information on Arizona’s trade with Canada, please contact our trade team in Los Angeles.
April 2022
- Unless otherwise mentioned, all figures are based on 2021 data in U.S. dollars.
- U.S. Census Bureau: goods trade, Canada’s export ranking (2/2022 release).
- The Trade Partnership: 2019 services exports (estimated, 11/2021 release).
- Dun + Bradstreet: Canadian-owned businesses (3/2022 release).
- Figures may not add up due to rounding.