Canada Slips Into Technical Recession as Economy Stalls in Q1: StatCan
Statistics Canada said imports of gold and weak resource extraction helped drive a 0.1% annualized GDP decline, after a revised 1% drop in the prior quarter.
- On Friday, Statistics Canada reported the economy shrank 0.1% annualized in the first quarter, following a one per cent contraction in the fourth quarter, marking two consecutive quarters of annualized decline widely defined as a technical recession.
- Trade conflict with the United States triggered much of the GDP weakness, Douglas Porter, chief economist at BMO Economics, noted, as exports dropped 4.1%, manufacturing and equipment investment fell 3.6%, and housing declined 3.3%.
- Government spending fell 2.4%, while business capital investment decreased 0.7% for its fifth consecutive quarterly decline; consumer spending rose 1.5% quarter over quarter, providing limited resilience.
- The Canadian dollar weakened following the data, trading down 0.28% to C$1.3819 against the United States dollar, though financial markets continue pricing in a potential Bank of Canada rate cut in 2026 despite the negative surprise.
- Statistics Canada forecasts April GDP will rebound with 0.4% growth; Capital Economics noted rising oil and gas activity suggests the economy likely began recovering at the start of the second quarter despite recession debate.
54 Articles
54 Articles
For the first time since 2020, Canada has entered a recession, primarily due to weak business and government spending. According to the Canadian Statistics Office, gross domestic product fell unexpectedly by 0.1 percent year-on-year in the first three months of this year. The economy also contracted in the final quarter of last year.
USA & Canada Intelligence Brief — Friday, May 29, 2026
USA & Canada Intelligence Brief for Friday: Statistics Canada confirmed Canada has slipped into technical recession after Q1 GDP stalled following a Q4 2025 decline; US April PCE hit a 3-year high at 3.8% YoY with the saving rate at the lowest in nearly 4 years; S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at records on Snowflake's 36.5% surge and Micron crossing $1T market cap.
Canada's economy STUMBLES! OFFICIALLY enters into recession; Carney's 'political honeymoon' over?
Canada's economy posted a surprise contraction in the first quarter versus the year before, making it two straight quarters of annualized decline - which some economists call a technical recession - as the country struggles with U.S. tariff uncertainty. Gross domestic product declined at an annualized rate of 0.1% in the first quarter, Statistics Canada said on Friday, compared with a downwardly revised contraction of 1% in the fourth quarter o…
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