Canadian investors bought a record $8 billion worth of foreign bonds in March, pushing their total investment in foreign securities for that month to $11 billion.

Statistics Canada today reported that purchases of foreign securities over the first quarter amounted to a record $25.7 billion.

StatsCan said the stronger dollar, favourable European rates and foreign takeovers all contributed to the robust investment in foreign securities in March.

Meanwhile, non-residents added $4.7 billion worth of Canadian securities to their holdings in March, following February’s investment of $4.8 billion.

The non-residents bought Canadian bonds while selling Canadian equities.