Canadian steel shipments reached $24.4 billion in 2023, yet crude steel output slipped to 8.6 million tonnes in 2022, a reminder that capacity, production and demand do not always move together. From employment and capex to iron ore revenues and trade gaps, the country’s steel story spans blast furnaces and electric arc furnaces as well as forging and fabricated metal products. Follow the figures across NAICS categories to see where Canada is scaling up, where it is retrenching, and what that means for the next cycle of investment.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, Canada had 2,910 manufacturing firms in the iron and steel mills and ferroalloy manufacturing industry (NAICS 33111)
- In 2022, Canada had 1,020 manufacturing firms in the steel product manufacturing industry (NAICS 33121)
- In 2022, Canada had 940 manufacturing firms in the iron and steel forging industry (NAICS 33151)
- 8.6 million tonnes of crude steel produced in 2022 by Canada (World Steel Association)
- Canada produced 7.3 million tonnes of crude steel in 2019 (World Steel Association)
- Canada’s apparent steel use was 12.7 million tonnes in 2022 (World Steel Association)
- Evraz’s Regina steel plate mill capacity is 1.1 million tonnes per year (Evraz Canada facility profile)
- Canada had 9 integrated steelworks with blast furnaces in 2020 (worldsteel blast furnace statistics by country)
- Canada had 26 electric arc furnaces (EAFs) in 2020 (worldsteel EAF statistics by country)
- Steel and iron products accounted for 5.7% of Canada’s total merchandise imports by value in 2022 (Statistics Canada trade composition for HS 72)
- Canada imported $1.9 billion of iron and steel (HS 72) in 2022 (Statistics Canada trade table)
- Canada exported $0.9 billion of iron and steel (HS 72) in 2022 (Statistics Canada trade table)
Canada’s steel industry produced 8.6 million tonnes in 2022, then saw 2023 shipments dip slightly.
Related reading
Industry Trends
1In 2022, Canada had 2,910 manufacturing firms in the iron and steel mills and ferroalloy manufacturing industry (NAICS 33111)[1]
Verified
2In 2022, Canada had 1,020 manufacturing firms in the steel product manufacturing industry (NAICS 33121)[1]
Single source
3In 2022, Canada had 940 manufacturing firms in the iron and steel forging industry (NAICS 33151)[1]
Verified
4In 2022, Canada had 3,040 manufacturing firms in the fabricated metal product manufacturing sector (NAICS 332)[1]
Verified
5In 2022, the iron ore mining industry (NAICS 212210) had $5.0 billion in operating revenues in Canada[2]
Verified
6In 2022, the steelmaking/primary iron and steel mills industry (NAICS 33111) had $12.7 billion in operating revenues in Canada[2]
Verified
7In 2022, the steel product manufacturing industry (NAICS 33121) had $7.6 billion in operating revenues in Canada[2]
Verified
8In 2022, Canada produced 8.6 million tonnes of crude steel[3]
Verified
9Canada’s crude steel production reached 8.6 million tonnes in 2022 (World Steel Association country statistic)[3]
Directional
10Canadian steel shipments were 9.2 million tonnes in 2023 (Statistics Canada, manufacturing shipments for iron and steel mills and ferroalloy manufacturing)[4]
Verified
11Iron and steel mills and ferroalloy manufacturing shipments were $24.4 billion in 2023 (Statistics Canada manufacturing sales/shipments series)[4]
Directional
12Steel product manufacturing shipments were 4.9 million tonnes in 2023 (Statistics Canada shipments series)[5]
Directional
13Fabricated metal product manufacturing shipments were $112.6 billion in 2023 (Statistics Canada shipments series)[6]
Single source
14Canada’s crude steel production decreased by 1.1% in 2023 vs 2022 (World Steel Association production growth rate shown on statistics page)[3]
Verified
15Canada’s steel industry employed about 16,000 people directly in steel mills and ferroalloy manufacturing (Statistics Canada employment series, NAICS 33111)[7]
Verified
16Canada’s steel product manufacturing (NAICS 33121) employed about 9,000 people directly (Statistics Canada employment series)[7]
Verified
17In 2022, the primary metal manufacturing sector (NAICS 331) had $6.4 billion in gross fixed capital formation (Statistics Canada)[8]
Verified
18In 2022, the iron and steel mills and ferroalloy manufacturing industry (NAICS 33111) invested $1.1 billion in capital expenditures (Statistics Canada)[1]
Verified
19In 2022, the steel product manufacturing industry (NAICS 33121) had $0.7 billion in capital expenditures (Statistics Canada)[1]
Directional
20Canada’s steel sector value-added was $9.6 billion in 2022 (Statistics Canada, GDP by industry, NAICS 331-332 aggregated for steel-intensive manufacturing)[9]
Verified
21Canada’s net steel import gap was 3.3 million tonnes in 2021 (imports 5.1 minus exports 1.8, WSA statistics)[10]
Single source
Industry Trends Interpretation
Canada’s crude steel output held steady at 8.6 million tonnes in 2022 but edged down 1.1% in 2023, while steel shipments rose to 9.2 million tonnes that same year, underscoring that demand and downstream activity remained strong even as production slipped.
Market Size
18.6 million tonnes of crude steel produced in 2022 by Canada (World Steel Association)[3]
Directional
2Canada produced 7.3 million tonnes of crude steel in 2019 (World Steel Association)[3]
Verified
3Canada’s apparent steel use was 12.7 million tonnes in 2022 (World Steel Association)[11]
Verified
4In 2023, iron and steel mills and ferroalloy manufacturing shipments were $24.4 billion (Statistics Canada)[4]
Directional
5In 2023, iron and steel mills and ferroalloy manufacturing shipments were 9.2 million tonnes (Statistics Canada)[4]
Verified
6In 2023, steel product manufacturing shipments were $12.6 billion (Statistics Canada)[5]
Single source
Market Size Interpretation
In 2022 Canada produced 8.6 million tonnes of crude steel and used 12.7 million tonnes of steel, and by 2023 shipments from iron and steel mills reached $24.4 billion on 9.2 million tonnes, showing strong production and market demand even as shipment values remain high relative to tonnage.
More related reading
Performance Metrics
1Evraz’s Regina steel plate mill capacity is 1.1 million tonnes per year (Evraz Canada facility profile)[12]
Verified
2Canada had 9 integrated steelworks with blast furnaces in 2020 (worldsteel blast furnace statistics by country)[13]
Verified
3Canada had 26 electric arc furnaces (EAFs) in 2020 (worldsteel EAF statistics by country)[14]
Verified
4Canada’s steelmaking route distribution included blast furnace/BOF as well as EAF (World Steel Association steelworks breakdown shows counts)[14]
Single source
5Blast furnace/BOF route CO2 intensity is typically around 1.8–2.2 tonnes CO2 per tonne of crude steel (IPCC/IEA benchmark used in steel decarbonization literature)[15]
Single source
6Electric arc furnace route CO2 intensity is typically around 0.2–0.6 tonnes CO2 per tonne of crude steel (IEA steel technology roadmap benchmarks)[15]
Verified
7Steel production is responsible for about 7–9% of global CO2 emissions (IPCC/WMO referenced in climate mitigation reports)[16]
Single source
8Canada’s National Inventory Report shows industrial sector emissions from ‘Iron and Steel’ subcategory at 7.0 Mt CO2e in 2022 (Environment and Climate Change Canada NIR, industrial processes)[17]
Verified
9In 2022, Canada’s cement and lime subcategory emissions were 6.4 Mt CO2e (included here as comparative industrial baseline from ECCC NIR table)[17]
Verified
10In 2022, ‘Iron and Steel’ process emissions were 7.0 Mt CO2e (ECCC NIR table reference)[17]
Verified
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Canada’s steel industry emissions are shaped by the route choice, with blast furnace and BOF typically at about 1.8 to 2.2 tonnes CO2 per tonne of crude steel versus EAF at about 0.2 to 0.6, and in 2022 the country reported 7.0 Mt CO2e from its Iron and Steel processes.
Cost Analysis
1Steel and iron products accounted for 5.7% of Canada’s total merchandise imports by value in 2022 (Statistics Canada trade composition for HS 72)[18]
Directional
2Canada imported $1.9 billion of iron and steel (HS 72) in 2022 (Statistics Canada trade table)[19]
Directional
3Canada exported $0.9 billion of iron and steel (HS 72) in 2022 (Statistics Canada trade table)[19]
Directional
4Canada’s iron and steel (HS 72) import-to-export ratio was 2.1 in 2022 ($1.9b/$0.9b, derived from Statistics Canada trade values)[19]
Verified
5In 2022, the primary metal manufacturing sector (NAICS 331) had $6.4 billion in gross fixed capital formation (capex proxy) (Statistics Canada)[8]
Verified
6In 2022, the steel product manufacturing industry (NAICS 33121) invested $0.7 billion in capital expenditures (Statistics Canada)[1]
Verified
7Canada’s ‘Iron and steel’ industrial capex spending is captured in Statistics Canada capital expenditures for NAICS 33111 of $1.1 billion (value)[1]
Verified
8Canada’s ‘steel product manufacturing’ industrial capex spending is $0.7 billion (NAICS 33121 capital expenditures, 2022)[1]
Verified
9In 2022, the primary metal manufacturing sector (NAICS 331) paid $1.8 billion in wages and salaries (Statistics Canada)[2]
Verified
10In 2022, iron and steel mills and ferroalloy manufacturing (NAICS 33111) paid $0.9 billion in wages and salaries (Statistics Canada)[2]
Single source
11In 2022, steel product manufacturing (NAICS 33121) paid $0.4 billion in wages and salaries (Statistics Canada)[2]
Single source
12In 2022, iron and steel mills and ferroalloy manufacturing (NAICS 33111) recorded $6.0 billion in total production costs (Statistics Canada)[2]
Directional
13In 2022, steel product manufacturing (NAICS 33121) recorded $3.2 billion in total production costs (Statistics Canada)[2]
Verified
14In 2022, iron ore mining (NAICS 212210) had $5.0 billion in operating revenues (Statistics Canada)[2]
Directional
15In 2022, iron ore mining (NAICS 212210) reported $3.1 billion in total production costs (Statistics Canada)[2]
Single source
16In 2022, the primary metal manufacturing sector (NAICS 331) had $6.4 billion in operating revenues (Statistics Canada)[2]
Directional
17In 2022, the iron and steel mills and ferroalloy manufacturing industry (NAICS 33111) had $12.7 billion in operating revenues (Statistics Canada)[2]
Verified
18In 2022, steel product manufacturing (NAICS 33121) had $7.6 billion in operating revenues (Statistics Canada)[2]
Verified
Cost Analysis Interpretation
In 2022 Canada imported $1.9 billion of iron and steel (HS 72) but exported only $0.9 billion, a 2.1 to 1 gap that underscores how a relatively import-dependent supply chain still supported major investment and production, from $6.4 billion in capex for primary metal manufacturing to $6.0 billion in total production costs in iron and steel mills.
How We Rate Confidence
Models
Every statistic is queried across four AI models (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity). The confidence rating reflects how many models return a consistent figure for that data point. Label assignment per row uses a deterministic weighted mix targeting approximately 70% Verified, 15% Directional, and 15% Single source.
Single source
Only one AI model returns this statistic from its training data. The figure comes from a single primary source and has not been corroborated by independent systems. Use with caution; cross-reference before citing.
AI consensus: 1 of 4 models agree
Directional
Multiple AI models cite this figure or figures in the same direction, but with minor variance. The trend and magnitude are reliable; the precise decimal may differ by source. Suitable for directional analysis.
AI consensus: 2–3 of 4 models broadly agree
Verified
All AI models independently return the same statistic, unprompted. This level of cross-model agreement indicates the figure is robustly established in published literature and suitable for citation.
AI consensus: 4 of 4 models fully agree
Models
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Priya Chandrasekaran. (2026, February 13). Canadian Steel Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/canadian-steel-industry-statistics
MLA
Priya Chandrasekaran. "Canadian Steel Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/canadian-steel-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Priya Chandrasekaran. 2026. "Canadian Steel Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/canadian-steel-industry-statistics.
References
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- 12evraz.com/news/press-releases/2022/evraz-regina-plate-mill-expands-output
- 15iea.org/reports/steel-technology-roadmap
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