Overall, we should not make too much of the drop in cross-border flows since 2007, especially in the light of the severe bubble before the crisis. Moreover, cross-border banking has become more stable in terms of not only volume but also composition since the financial crisis. That means that firms seem to have become less reliant on the idea of a fully global market.
In normal times, for example, Canadians spend a lot more on gasoline than on alcohol, so gasoline has a larger weight in the index. But these aren’t normal times. Because of the pandemic, Canadians are spending much less on gasoline and air travel, and more on food purchased from stores. And until very recently, they weren’t spending anything on haircuts.