Canada Falls into "Technical Recession" for the First Time Since 2020

Reported by Golden Finance, May 29: Due to weak corporate and government spending leading to a slight contraction in the first-quarter economy, Canada has entered a "technical recession." Statistics Canada reported on Friday that Canada's real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declined by 0.1% on an annualized basis in the first three months of this year. Prior to this, the fourth quarter had already seen a 1% contraction—this figure was revised downward from the previously reported 0.6% decline by the agency. The unexpected economic downturn in the first quarter stands in stark contrast to earlier forecasts. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had generally predicted that Canada's first-quarter economy would grow by 1.5% on an annualized basis, a forecast that aligned with projections from the Bank of Canada. The last time Canada recorded two consecutive quarters of negative growth was during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Before that, such an occurrence was last seen during the oil price slump in 2015.