Stats Canada Says National Real GDP Up 3.3 Percent

National real gross domestic product (GDP) grew 3.3 percent in 2017, making it Canada’s strongest pace of growth since 2011, according to a new report from Statistics Canada.

The report states that every province and territory saw growth in real GDP by industry in 2017, with the only exception being Yukon.

The best growth rates were found in Alberta at 4.9 percent, BC at 3.9 percent and PEI at 3.2 percent. The lowest rates were in Newfoundland and Labrador at 2.1 percent, New Brunswick at 1.9 percent and Nova Scotia at 1.2 percent.

Alberta saw the strongest growth amongst the provinces, making a recovery from its declines of 3.9 percent and 3.6 percent in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

A 2.9-percent increase in services-producing industries, along with a 13.3-percent increase in mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction, helped offset the declines from previous years.

BC’s economic growth was able to outweigh Canada’s national average for the fourth year in a row.

Stats Canada described the growth rates as an “indication of how well an industry or an economy is doing.” The rates help provincial governments, along with policy makers at the Bank of Canada and the Department of Finance, to monitor the evolution of each province or territory’s economy, and to create appropriate policies surrounding those economies and decide on best timing for their implementation.

“[It’s] vividly clear in these numbers that regional growth is converging, a stark change from wide disparities seen over the past decade — be it when the oil producers were romping around 5%, or more recently when they were stuck alone in recession,” BMO Senior Economist Robert Kavcic wrote in a note obtained by CBC.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Olivia Da Silva, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.