Canada Avoids Recession With Modest Q4 Growth

Canada yet again dodged the recession bullet after posting modest fourth-quarter growth in 2023, making it likely the Bank of Canada will hold the line on interest rates. Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased by an annualized rate of 1 percent, according to a new report from Statistics Canada. The increase surpassed the expectations of both economists and the central bank. “A return to growth in the fourth quarter was widely expected, following two quarters of effectively no growth in the country,” TD director and senior economist James Orlando wrote in a Feb. 29 note. “While today’s report came in better than consensus and much better than what the BoC was thinking, the narrative on the Canadian economy remains the same: High interest rates are weighing on economic growth.”...