Economy skirted technical recession in 2023, Statistics Canada data shows

The Bay Street Financial District is shown with the Canadian flag in Toronto on Friday, August 5, 2022.

The national economy managed to skirt a technical recession in 2023, according to Statistics Canada.

Annualized growth for real gross domestic product (GDP) in the fourth quarter remained positive at 1.0 per cent, the agency said Thursday.

That’s just below a preliminary estimate from the StatCan that had suggested real GDP increased 1.2 per cent on an annualized basis. But after the economy contracted in Q3, a positive result for Q4 means that Canada has avoided falling into a technical recession, typically defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

Economists had expected modest growth in the final quarter of last year, even as the national economy continues to show signs of cooling.

More on Money

The Canadian economy has slowed under the weight of higher interest rates as consumers rein in spending, slowing sales for businesses.

But so far, the economy has avoided a sharp downturn, as the unemployment rate continues to hover around pre-pandemic levels.

– with files from The Canadian Press