The Metro Vancouver Regional District's North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant project is seen under construction in an aerial view, in North Vancouver, B.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

By The Canadian Press

July GDP was flat despite construction, utilities gains: StatCan

Sep 29, 2026 | 6:49 AM

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada said gross domestic product growth was essentially unchanged in July, coming down from a strong second quarter for the economy.

The agency said the result came despite a 1.3 per cent gain for the construction sector in July, which marked its fourth consecutive month of growth after declines in late 2025 and early 2026.

Non-residential building construction saw its best month since the start of 2022, StatCan said, owing primarily to activity around a new hospital building in Toronto.

StatCan also said a 1.7 per cent surge in electricity generation, transmission and distribution powered the utilities sector to its strongest month of growth all year. A July heat wave across many parts of the country drove up power demands for cooling, the agency said.

On the other side, declines in July were spread across manufacturing, mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction, as well as retail and wholesale trade.

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Manufacturing’s 0.9 per cent decrease was the sector’s first drop in four months, StatCan said.

Mining and quarrying took a sharp hit in July, thanks in part to a 6.4 per cent drop in potash mining — the largest monthly decline since September 2025. July’s increase in oil sands extraction tempered wider declines in oil and gas.

Retailing activity meanwhile fell off at gas stations in July, which StatCan said coincided with rapidly rising gasoline prices in the peak summer travel season.

Estimates for flat growth to start the third quarter come after StatCan projected an annualized growth rate of 3.3 per cent in the second quarter.

Newly revised data showed GDP was actually up 0.4 per cent in June, compared with earlier estimates of 0.3 per cent.

StatCan’s initial estimates call for the economy to pick back up with a gain of 0.2 per cent in August, but those early figures will be revised next month.

The agency said mining, quarrying and retail trade rebounded in the month, offset by further declines in oil and gas extraction.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2026.

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

July GDP was flat despite construction, utilities gains: StatCan

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