A Canadian National Railway locomotive pulls a train through a rail yard in Vancouver, British Columbia. (Photo by Andrew Chin/Getty Images) · Andrew Chin via Getty Images
Canada’s economy grew 2.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, Statistics Canada said on Friday. That maintained the pace recorded in the final quarter of last year and significantly exceeded estimates.
In a note following the data release, CIBC economist Andrew Grantham cautioned that while real gross domestic product (GDP) growth was “solid,” the number was “flattered by a surge in exports as companies looked to front-run potential US tariffs.”
Economists had expected the economy to grow 1.5 per cent on an annualized basis in the first quarter, according to consensus estimates published by RBC Economics.
Grantham noted “weak” domestic demand in the quarter, with “only slight upward momentum heading into Q2.”
Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased 0.1 per cent in March, matching expectations.
The quarterly growth came in above the Bank of Canada’s forecasts. The central bank expected real GDP to grow 1.8 per cent on a quarterly annualized basis, according to its latest Monetary Policy Report (MPR).
The Friday data also include a revision to fourth quarter 2024 growth, which at the time came in above expectations, adjusting the figure from 2.6 per cent to 2.1 per cent.
This story will be updated.
John MacFarlane is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jmacf.
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