Canadian Real GDP Grew 0.4% in February

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) is reporting that Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 0.4% in February following a 0.7% increase in January. This marks the tenth consecutive monthly increased and continued to offset the steepest decline on record in Canadian economic activity observed in March and April of 2020. Year-over-year, however, economic activity was about -2% below the level observed in February 2020, and prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers were up 3.5% in February, benefiting from continued growth in home alteration and improvement activity. Construction rose 2.0% in February, building on increases in the previous two months, as all subsectors were up. Residential building construction jumped 4.7% as all types of construction recorded growth, led by home alterations and improvements and by single-family home construction. Repair (+0.5%), engineering and other construction activities (+0.2%), and non-residential building construction (+0.3%) were all up in February.