B.C. is poised to slightly outperform the national average in GDP growth for 2011, according to a report released Wednesday by BMO Capital Markets Economics Department.
“We’re expecting B.C. to outperform the Canadian economy in 2011 and 2012,” said BMO economist Robert Kavcic. He commented that Western Canada’s exposure to the commodities sector is “probably the biggest driver.”
“Part of the country, like central and Atlantic Canada, is going to be held down by a few factors like fiscal restraint and sluggish exports to the U.S.,” he added. “So, when you look at Western Canada, and B.C. in particular, those drags are going to be a lot softer, so that’s going to allow the B.C. economy to grow faster than those other regions.”
Nationally, the report says the Canadian economy “has geared down from its post-recession sprint.” It forecasts Canada’s real GDP growth will be 2.7% in 2011.
On the B.C. front, the report notes a cooling in the economy in the second half of 2010, but voices cautious optimism for the coming year.
“It was a tale of two halves for the British Columbia economy in 2010, with strong early-year growth giving way to cooler activity later in the year,” the report states. “Still, the province is poised to post solid 3.8% real GDP growth in 2010, with some of the momentum fading in 2011 – expected 3.1% growth will still outpace the national average.”