Canada’s economy was ‘surprisingly OK’ to start 2026: economists

By Craig Lord
The Canadian Press in Business in Vancouver
March 31, 2026
Category: Finance & Economics
Region: Canada

OTTAWA — New data released by Statistics Canada suggests the economy was rebounding in the first few months of the year after a mild contraction to close 2025. The agency said on Tuesday real gross domestic product edged up 0.1% in January, helped by strength in goods-producing industries, which expanded by 0.2%. Looking ahead, the agency added that its preliminary estimate for February suggests the economy grew 0.2% for the month, though it cautioned the figure would be revised. Statistics Canada’s initial estimates for January published last month expected real GDP to be relatively flat. Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO, said “it does look like we had moderate growth in the first quarter of the year, which, given a lot of the other indicators, is not a bad place to be”. …Statistics Canada estimated the economy contracted 0.5% on an annualized basis in the final quarter of 2025.

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