Canada's employment change registered a rise of 53.7 thousand in December, up from 10.7K in November, and besting expectations of a 5.1K drop.
The unemployment rate rose to 6.9%, matching expectations and slightly higher than November's 6.8%.
Canada's trade balance registered a surplus of 0.5 billion Canadian dollars in November, compared to October's 1.1B deficit, while analysts expected a 1.6B deficit.