Ontario Construction News staff writer
Canada’s economy contracted in August and showed only marginal momentum heading into the fall, raising uncertainty for construction and development activity, according to new data from Statistics Canada.
Real gross domestic product fell 0.3 per cent in August, erasing July’s revised 0.3 per cent gain. Goods-producing industries posted another decline — their fifth this year — while services contracted for the first time in six months.
The weakness came as a work stoppage among Air Canada flight attendants hit air transportation, and declines in wholesale trade plus mining and quarrying further pressured output. Retail trade posted gains, partially offsetting losses elsewhere.
Manufacturing — a key supplier to the construction and building-materials sector — dipped 0.5 per cent in August, but early indicators suggest a modest rebound in September.
Statistics Canada’s advance estimate calls for a 0.1 per cent GDP increase in September, supported by improvements in manufacturing, finance and insurance, and mining and energy extraction, even as wholesale and retail activity continued to struggle.
The agency now expects third-quarter growth to come in at an annualized 0.4 per cent — slightly below the Bank of Canada’s forecast issued alongside its quarter-point interest-rate cut this week. Canada’s economy contracted 1.6 per cent annualized in the second quarter, driven by tariff-related export declines.