StatCan to release GDP data for June and Q2 today

Statistics Canada is set to release gross domestic product data for the month of June and the second quarter as a whole today. 

The agency's early estimates for GDP in the second quarter had been for zero growth as trade uncertainty and tariffs weigh on business and consumer sentiment. 

It would mark a sharp slowdown from the 2.2 per cent annualized increase reported for the first quarter, when firms rushed to get ahead of looming tariff deadlines, heightening business activity. 

Meanwhile, growth for the month of June is expected to have ticked higher by 0.1 per cent, snapping a two-month streak of monthly contractions. 

Economists at RBC said in a recent note that while tariff uncertainty will continue to put a damper on businesses, CUSMA-exemptions have spared the Canadian economy from the worst-case scenarios.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick