Canada’s GDP down 5.4 per cent in 2020, worst year on record
Posted March 2, 2021 5:42 am.
Last Updated March 2, 2021 7:02 am.
OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) – Canada’s real gross domestic product contracted 5.4 per cent in 2020.
The economy posted its worst showing on record last year as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across Canada.
Statistics Canada says the 5.4 per cent decline in real GDP is the steepest annual drop since quarterly data were first recorded in 1961.
Worst…year…ever. Canada GDP contracts 5.4% in 2020, Biggest decline since quarterly data recording started in 1961 according to Stats Can.
— Mike Eppel (@eppman) March 2, 2021
The drop was heavily driven by lockdowns in March and April — the beginning of the pandemic — which shuttered businesses and put people out of work.
Since then, economic activity has slowly and steadily grown.
Statistics Canada says the economy grew at an annualized rate of 9.6 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year, down from an annualized growth rate of 40.6 per cent in the third quarter.
That was higher than expected, with financial data firm Refinitiv’s average economist estimate at 7.5 per cent.
