OTTAWA - Foreign investment in Canadian securities slipped slightly in December after five strong months but international demand over the year was high enough to set an annual record, Statistics Canada said on Friday.

Non-resident investors sold a net $1.97 billion in Canadian securities after acquiring $19.20 billion in November. For 2017 as a whole, foreigners bought $188.52 billion in Canadian securities, up from the previous high of $171.77 billion in 2016.

International investors sold $4.03 billion worth of Canadian bonds, mostly provincial bonds. They bought $1.66 billion in stocks and $401 million in money market paper.

Canadians bought a record US$21.99 billion in international securities in December, virtually all in stocks. For 2017 as a whole they bought $84.66 billion in foreign securities, a new all-time high.