SLOW START IN 2021 WON’T STOP RECOVERY, ANALYSTS SAY

The Canadian economy will start 2021 with a short-lived contraction, but that’s not expected to derail the nation’s recovery over the next couple of years. That’s the takeaway from Bloomberg’s monthly survey of economists, which predicts the nation’s gross domestic product will shrink by 0.8 per cent on an annualized basis in the first quarter amid a second wave of COVID-19 and lockdowns. That’s a downward revision from last month’s estimates for a 2.3 per cent gain for the three-month period. The economists expect Canada’s economy will make up for a sluggish start to 2021 with a stronger recovery over the rest of the year. Growth is seen averaging 4.4 per cent over the year, little changed from last month’s survey, and 4 per cent in 2022.