Canada’s economy stalled in July with 0% growth, StatCan says

Statistics Canada says gross domestic product growth was essentially unchanged in July after a strong second quarter for the economy.

The agency says the result came despite a 1.3 per cent gain for the construction sector in July, marking its fourth consecutive month of growth after a tough start to the year.

StatCan says a surge in electricity generation, transmission and distribution powered the utilities sector to its strongest month of growth all year.

Declines in July were spread across manufacturing, mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction, as well as retail and wholesale trade.

Estimates for flat growth to start the third quarter come after StatCan projected an annualized growth rate of 3.3 per cent in the second quarter.

StatCan’s initial estimates call for growth to pick back up with a gain of 0.2 per cent in August, but those early figures will be revised next month.