Led by gains in manufacturing – plastics among them – Canada’s gross domestic product rose by 0.3% in October, according to new figures from Statistics Canada.
The growth was broad-based, the agency said, affecting several major sectors of the economy – especially manufacturing and mining, and oil and gas extraction.
StatsCan’s monthly report on GDP said overall goods production in October was up 0.4% from September while output from service industries rose 0.3%.
The oil and gas extraction sector grew 1.5% in October, on top of a 3.6% increase in September. Mining and quarrying also rose by 1.5%, with advances in potash more than offsetting declines in copper, nickel, lead and zinc.
“Manufacturing output grew 0.7% in October, after rising 0.8% in September,” StatsCan said. “Growth was notable in petroleum and coal products, chemical as well as plastic and rubber products manufacturing. Conversely, food manufacturing declined.”
Durable-goods manufacturing increased 0.4%, mainly as a result of the manufacturing of fabricated metal products as well as furniture and related products, StatsCan continued. “On the other hand, the manufacturing of machinery and of primary metals declined,” it said.
Among the sectors showing declines in October was wholesale trade, which declined 0.2 per cent from while retail trade was flat overall in October compared with the previous month.
There was also a 1.8 per cent decline in the utilities industry as demand for electricity and natural gas fell, while the agriculture and forestry sector decreased 1.4 per cent, due mainly to lower crop production.
