Canada’s real gross domestic product remained flat in July following three months of expansion, an early sign that economic growth may have slowed in the third quarter following a second-quarter rebound. Gains in construction, 1.3 per cent, and utilities, 1.7 per cent, were offset by decreases in the manufacturing and mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction sectors in July — which contracted by 0.9 per cent and 0.5 per cent month over month, respectively. Contractions in retail and wholesale trade also offset some increases in services-producing industries, which weighed on economic growth. Overall, only 10 out of 20 subsectors expanded in July. July’s flat growth came after the economy expanded by 0.4 per cent month over month in June and 0.3 per cent in May. Flash estimates suggest the economy expanded by 0.2 per cent in August, led by increases in mining and quarrying as well as retail trade that were partially offset by decreases in oil and gas extraction. Economists largely expect economic growth to slow in the third quarter of 2026 due to economic uncertainty from escalating trade tensions with the United States, after the economy rebounded and grew by 3.3 per cent on an annualized basis in the second quarter. More to come …
