Business investment across Canada was the largest factor driving the country’s 0.5% real GDP gain in the second quarter of the year, according to a new Statistics Canada report.
The national statistics agency found that during the quarter, business investment in plant and equipment advanced 2.3% – the fastest pace since the second quarter of 2011.
The report found that investment in housing, nationally, rose just 0.4% after a 2.7% increase during the first quarter.
Statistics Canada also found that Canadian exports slowed to a gain of 0.2% in the second quarter, after rising 1.0% the previous quarter.
The report additionally noted that consumer spending on goods and services advanced 0.3% in the second quarter, slightly faster than the 0.2% increase the previous quarter but below the 0.7% increase of 2012’s fourth quarter.
