Canadas Economy Grew by 3.3 Percent Annualized in Second Quarter: StatCan

A Canadian dollar coin, commonly known as the “Loonie,” is pictured in this illustration picture taken in Toronto on Jan. 23, 2015. Mark Blinch/ReutersThe Canadian economy saw high growth in the second quarter of 2026, increasing by 3.3 percent on an annualized rate and 0.8 percent compared to the first quarter.The GDP growth in the April-to-June period was helped by a 3.6 percent rise in exports, mostly due to higher exports of passenger cars and light trucks as well as energy products ; housing investment such as renovations and ownership transfer costs; along with business investment and household expenditures, Statistics Canada said in an Aug. 28 report.The annualized metric scales up the quarterly number to show what Canada’s GDP would be if the economy kept the same pace for the whole year, while the quarterly figure merely looks at the number.On a per capita basis, real GDP increased by 1 percent in the second quarter of the year, as Canada’s population declined for the third consecutive quarter.StatCan said business capital investment grew in the second quarter as engineering structures rose 2.3 percent while spending on machinery and equipment rose to its higher level since the second quarter of 2024. In addition, investment in computers and peripherals rose 16.7 percent, “mainly on higher imports of processing units, notably the types used in data centres.”The statistics agency also said businesses invested more in medium and heavy trucks,as well as communication equipment.Household consumption expenditure also rose by 0.8 percent in the second quarter, due to higher spending on mutual funds and other investment services, passenger vehicles, and rent. However, households spent less on gasoline and food, “likely in response to higher prices.”Growth in the energy sector contributed to corporate incomes rising by 9.6 percent in the second quarter, which StatCan said was the largest increase since the first quarter of 2021. Manufacturing industries, which are reliant on energy, recorded “lower operating surplus as their costs increased.”Statistics Canada also revised the growth data for the first quarter of 2026, from a decline of 0.1 percent to a growth of 0.3 percent annualized. Canada’s economy had entered a technical recession in the first quarter, after meeting the definition of two consecutive quarters of negative growth.Despite the stronger growth numbers for the second quarter, the introduction of new 50 percent U.S. tariffs on US$20 billion worth of Canadian products could lower economic growth for the third quarter. Statistics Canada’s advance estimates for real GDP, released Aug. 28, indicated that it was unchanged in July.Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said in an Aug. 28 social media post that the StatCan report proved “our plan is working” and that Canada has “the strongest growth in the G7.” “More investment. More exports. A stronger Canadian economy,” he wrote.Conservative MP and Shadow Innovation, Science and Industry Minister Adam Chambers said in a statement that one quarter of positive growth would not “erase a year of decline or a decade of sluggish per-person economic growth.” He noted that the Bank of Canada has projected that Canada’s economy will grow at just 0.7 percent in 2026.“Conservatives will take action by unlocking the potential of our resources, rebuilding our industrial base, unleashing Canadian entrepreneurs and attracting investment that will build homes, deliver affordable food and provide stronger take-home pay for workers,” he said.