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Canada’s economy continues to grow despite high interest rates that some have worried would lead to a recession.
Statistics Canada said real gross domestic product (GDP) increased 0.2 per cent in February, following a 0.5 per cent gain in January.
Transportation and warehousing fuelled the gains with a 1.4 per cent increase, its largest monthly growth rate in over a year.
StatCan said a rebound in rail transportation contributed the most to the increase in February as activity returned to normal after January’s cold snap in western Canada.
Overall, services-producing industries led the growth for a second consecutive month while the goods-producing industries aggregate was essentially unchanged.
The mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sector expanded by 2.3 per cent while the utilities and manufacturing sectors contracted by 2.6 per cent and 0.4 per cent, respectively.
Meanwhile, early estimates from StatCan suggest real GDP was essentially unchanged in March. That suggests the economy expanded by 0.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2024.
Official estimates for both March and the first quarter will be released on May 31.
You can view the February report on Statistics Canada’s website.
