Canada slips into technical recession as economic growth stalls in 1st quarter

Canada slips into technical recession as economic growth stalls in 1st quarter

Real GDP has declined for 2 consecutive quarters

Canada's economy ‌contracted in the first quarter of the year on an annualized basis, Statistics Canada data showed on Friday, making it two consecutive quarters of annualized decline, which some would call a technical recession.

However, on a quarterly basis, the first quarter GDP was unchanged against ​a decline in the fourth quarter of last year, closely ​escaping the definition of a technical recession on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

Gross domestic product declined at an annualized rate of 0.1 per cent in the first quarter, Statistics Canada ​said, compared with a downwardly revised contraction of one per cent in the fourth quarter ⁠of last year.

Two consecutive quarters of contraction in economic growth is termed a technical recession.

Analysts polled by ⁠Reuters and the Bank of Canada had predicted ‌the first quarter growth at annual rates at a robust 1.5 per cent.

The last time Canada was in a technical recession was during the start of the pandemic in 2020. Before that, it was during the oil shock at the beginning of 2015.

At that time, there were two consecutive quarters of decline both on an annualized basis and quarterly basis, Statistics Canada said.

Canada's economy has largely withstood trade uncertainty ‌and tariff impacts for over a year, but the knock-on effects of tariffs have sapped investments, hiring, expenditure and driven prices up.

The first quarter GDP was negatively ⁠impacted by a high level of imports into the country but that was largely offset ⁠by a ⁠high accumulation of inventories, the statistics ​agency said.

Household spending grew, especially in financial services and food, adding to the GDP, but it was ​again mostly cancelled a decline ⁠in business and government investments.