Foreigners are buying up Canadian public debt at the fastest pace in more than two years.

International investors bought a net $21.3 billion of bonds and bills issued by Canada’s federal and provincial governments and their business enterprises in January, Statistics Canada reported Friday. That’s the largest investment since November 2021.

A net $14.1 billion in purchases of federal government debt led the foreign inflows, as well as a $6.6 billion investment in securities of government corporations and business enterprises.

Outside public sector debt, non-residents reduced their private sector corporate paper by a record $15.5 billion, the agency said, which was “largely attributable to retirements of instruments from the banking sector.”

Canadians sold a net $7.6 billion in foreign securities in January, after a record $29.4 billion in net purchases in December.

In total, net foreign investment in Canadian securities was $8.9 billion, down from $10.8 billion in January.