Statistics Canada also makes upward revision to first-quarter GDP
Canada’s economy grew by 3.3 per cent on an annualized basis in the second quarter of 2026, marking the fastest quarterly expansion since 2023.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Statistics Canada also released revised data for the first quarter of 2026, showing the economy actually grew by 0.3 per cent.
Previously, the agency reported annualized real gross domestic product had contracted by 0.1 per cent in that quarter, which had marked two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, meeting the technical definition of a recession.
“This corroborated our view and pretty much every other economist that Canada was not in a recession in the first quarter of 2026,” said Randall Bartlett, deputy chief economist with Desjardins Group.
By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.
The next issue of FP West: Energy Insider will soon be in your inbox.
We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again
Interested in more newsletters? Browse here.
Growth in the second quarter was mainly driven by higher exports, business capital investment and household spending. On an annualized basis, exports were up by 15.1 per cent while business capital investments and household spending grew by 9.5 per cent and 3.32 per cent, respectively.
Economists were expecting the strong showing after a string of data released showed signs the economy was rebounding from a slow start to the year.
“The Canadian economy entered the latest period of trade disruption at a stronger starting point, though we don’t expect the second quarter rebound to repeat,” said Abbey Xu, an economist at RBC Economics.
