Canadian economy shrank by 0.1% in April: StatCan

The Canadian economy shrank modestly in April by 0.1 per cent, according to Statistics Canada.

That follows an increase of 0.2 per cent in March for gross domestic product and comes amid fears of a potential recession later this year spurred by the U.S. trade war.

A recession is defined by two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth.

Economists were widely expecting April’s GDP to show that the economy expanded by 0.1 per cent.

Statistics Canada also gave a flash-forward estimate for what to expect in May’s GDP report, and the agency is forecasting another contraction by 0.1 per cent.

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The manufacturing sector contracted by 1.9 per cent, the biggest drop since 2021, and accounted for “nearly all the decline,” according to the report.

Meanwhile, services-producing businesses contributed to growth of 0.1 per cent in April, which the agency says was mostly from the public administration sector and tied to the Canadian federal election.

– More to come.