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Editor’s note: Ken Epps of Project Ploughshares has written a summary on the newly released report, the Export of Military Goods from Canada, 2012-2013. He will being doing a more detailed report for his organization in the new year.

By Ken Epps, Defence Watch Guest writer

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At $1.04 billion, the total value of military goods exported by Canada in 2012 is the largest ever reported since official documentation began in 1991. The value for 2013, at $681 million, is significantly above the median value for annual exports of military goods.

As with all prior reports, the value of exports of military goods to the U.S. is not included in the report for both 2012 and 2013. Past reports have noted that Canadian military sales to the U.S. were likely equal to, or exceeded, sales to all other states combined, although the government was unable to report a U.S total because military exports to the U.S do not require permits. No such comment is included in the 2012-2013 report, likely because of the unprecedented total for 2012. The U.S. may remain the largest market for Canadian military goods, but 2012 may also mark a waning of the Pentagon’s singular importance for the Canadian arms industry.