Fuelled by record high investment in foreign bonds, Canadians added $7.8 billion worth of foreign securities to their holdings in January, Statistics Canada said today.

Foreign investors sold off $3.8 billion worth of Canadian securities in January, over half of them outstanding bonds.

Canadians bought a record $6.2 billion worth of foreign bonds in January, adding to last year’s record purchases of $43.2 billion.

Canadians invested a record $4.4 billion in overseas bonds in January — $3 billion in Maple bonds alone.

Canadians also invested an additional $1.6 billion in U.S. Maple bonds in January.

Canadian investors bought $3.4 billion worth of foreign equities in January, almost equally split between U.S. and overseas stocks; shares in foreign manufacturing firms and retailers topped the investment list.

Canadians reduced their holdings of foreign money market paper by $1.8 billion in January, a sharp turn from the record $6.4 billion in purchases last year.