Some Details On Canada's Economy

Conference Board of Canada:

"British Columbia’s growth of 4.0 per cent in 2016 puts it in first place in the country and second in the international rankings behind Ireland (5.2 per cent). B.C. and third-placed Sweden are the only jurisdictions to get a B grade. 

Ontario gets a C and, with 2.7 per cent growth for 2016, ranks 4th overall. It is followed closely by Manitoba and Prince Edward Island, which both had 2.6 per cent growth. Despite poor performances on other indicators, Newfoundland and Labrador posted fairly strong economic growth of 2.1 per cent thanks to the construction of the Hebron oil platform and also gets a C grade.

There were many poor performances internationally in 2016, with 12 of the 16 peer countries getting Ds. Quebec is in this tier, narrowly missing out on joining the C performers with its 2.0 per cent economic growth. New Brunswick, with 1.6 per cent growth, and Nova Scotia, with 1.1 per cent growth, were the other D performers in Canada.

The lowest-ranking peer countries, Norway and Japan, both grew by 1.0 per cent in 2016. Norway is struggling with lower oil export revenues, and Japan has long struggled with slow growth. Two oil-producing provinces, Saskatchewan and Alberta, get D– grades for doing worse than the lowest-ranked peer countries and posting negative real GDP growth in 2016. Both provinces saw sharp declines in energy investment—the economy contracted by 0.8 per cent in Saskatchewan and by 3.6 per cent in Alberta.

Overall, Canada’s GDP grew by a slow 1.4 per cent in 2016, earning the country a D grade and 9th place among the 16 peer countries. The Canadian economy took a hit last year from the Fort McMurray wildfires, which disrupted production in the oil sands and pushed down exports as a result. But the fires alone are not to blame, with low commodity prices and very weak capital investment in many parts of the country.

The impact of the commodity shock is abating, however, and the Canadian economy showed meaningful strength in late 2016 and early 2017. A stronger U.S. economy will help provide a tailwind for Canada, and the prior contraction in business investment is drawing to a close. But global growth remains weak, dampening the outlook for Canadian exports to many markets, and investment is not yet high enough to push the economy into another gear."