Growth in almost every industrial sector helped push Canada’s real gross domestic product (GDP) up 0.5% in May, according to Statistics Canada.
The latest figures show that the pace of GDP growth quintupled April to May, with resource extraction, retail and wholesale trade contributing significantly to the increase.
Resource extraction grew for the fourth month in a row, up 1.8%. Copper, nickel, lead and zinc mines gained 7.1% in May – the first positive gain after eight months of declines.
Wholesale building materials and supplies (+4.4%) helped push wholesale trade up 1.4% for the month. Construction grew 0.7%, supported by growth in residential construction (+1.3%), and despite a 0.5% decrease in non-residential building.
Retail trade grew by 2% – the largest increase since October 2017. Manufacturing also edged up 0.1%.
Real estate office activity fell 2.7% in May, the fourth decline since the start of 2018, in part due to declining home sales in British Columbia.
Overall, 19 of 20 industrial sectors registered increases month-to-month. Canadian GDP now sits above $1.78 trillion.
Five areas posted increases of 5% or more year-over-year: wholesale trade; construction; arts, entertainment and recreation; and information and communication technologies. Resource extraction is up 6.4% over May 2017.
