E-Paper
Covid-19 impact: Canada’s GDP fell a record 11% in April
Out of 20 industrial sectors, 19 had decline and the only sector to show growth was non-durable manufacturing.
Canada’s national statistical agency has warned the country may have suffered a record decline in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is being felt across all sectors.
Statistics Canada, or StatCan as its popularly known, has estimated an 11 per cent fall in real GDP for April, following a 7.2 per cent drop in March. Real GDP is the gross domestic product corrected for inflation.
While the April figure is based on preliminary information and will be revised once the final data is available, StatCan stated, “Nonetheless, the March and April decreases are likely to be the largest consecutive monthly declines on record.”
It pointed out that out of 20 industrial sectors, 19 had decline and the only sector to show growth was non-durable manufacturing thanks largely to surges in food, beverage and tobacco products.
“After the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic on March 11, all levels of government in Canada put measures in place to slow its spread. Measures such as mandatory closures of non-essential businesses, schools and public institutions, and travel restrictions and physical distancing, combined with the closure of Canada’s international borders, affected all segments of the Canadian economy,” StatCan noted in a release.
Canada will invest C$30 million ($21.8 million) to enable its provinces and territories to promote holidays in their “own back yard” because of the closure of the country’s borders due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Canada, which has had more than 7,000 deaths due to COVID-19, has closed its borders to non-essential travel since March, and it is unclear when they will be opened again. Many provinces have also shut down domestic non-essential travel.
