Real gross domestic product (GDP) in Canada dropped 11.6 per cent in April, following a 7.5 per cent decline in March as April marked the first full month of measures put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19, according to a new report released Tuesday by Statistics Canada.
The federal agency said all 20 industrial sectors of the Canadian economy were down, producing the largest monthly decline since the series started in 1961. The economy was 18.2 per cent below its February level, the month before the COVID-19 measures began.
Mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction decreased 9.4 per cent in April, as all subsectors were down, said StatsCan.
“Mining excluding oil and gas extraction declined 23.0 per cent as all types of mining activities were down, except for potash (+9.2 per cent). Weakness in oil prices and a global oversupply, along with measures put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 contributed to a 19.3 per cent decline in support activities for mining, and oil and gas extraction, and to a 1.8 per cent decrease in oil and gas extraction,” said the federal agency.
“In April, the manufacturing sector dropped 22.5 per cent as all subsectors contracted. Responding to local and provincial emergency measures introduced to slow down the spread of COVID-19, many factories were either completely shut down or operated at a much lower capacity; the reduced manufacturing activity was indicated by a drop in the capacity utilization rate reported by the Monthly Survey of Manufacturing. Over four-fifths of establishments in the manufacturing sector reported that their activities were affected by COVID-19.”
