Manufacturing rebounds, GDP growth solid in May

OTTAWA — The Canadian economy grew for a third consecutive month in May, rising 0.2 per cent overall as 13 of 20 sectors advanced, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday.

The growth in gross domestic product was above analyst estimates of 0.1 per cent growth and showed renewed strength in manufacturing, which rebounded from an April dip, as well as continued growth in construction.

Douglas Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, said May’s growth was slightly more positive than the month’s numbers indicate because Statistics Canada also revised April’s number to 0.33 per cent growth from 0.26 per cent.

“The above-expected GDP gain is all the more impressive since it overcame declines in each of wholesale, retail, utilities, and oil and gas output (oilsands production pulled back six per cent from April),” Porter wrote in a commentary.

He said the slight upward revision to April and the “sturdy” details in May put a “relatively healthier glow on the economy’s springtime performance.”

TD senior economist Brian DePratto said the May report underscores the strength of a recovery from a weak start to 2019, but noted that manufacturing and real estate were “coming back to life after earlier setbacks.”

“That said, a recovery is a recovery, and with upward revisions to the April report, we upgrade our second quarter GDP growth tracking again, to 3.0 per cent annualized,” DePratto wrote.

Statistics Canada’s GDP report said wholesale trade fell 1.4 per cent in May after four months of growth.