Canada Q2 GDP Grows 3.3%, Missing Estimates; July Flat

Canada's economy grew at a 3.3% annualized pace in the second quarter of 2026, just below the 3.4% estimate, the national accounts data showed. Growth in the first quarter was 0.3%.

Monthly GDP rose 0.3% in June, ahead of the 0.2% estimate and matching May's 0.3% gain.

Statistics Canada's implicit price index, the broadest price gauge in the national accounts, rose 2.5% on the quarter, up from 1.2% in the first quarter. Prices accelerated while output held its pace, so the quarter's growth carried a heavier inflation component.

The report's weight is in the mix rather than the headline gap. June momentum held and prices accelerated; the first look at July is flat. For the Bank of Canada, faster prices argue for holding policy in place; the July zero keeps later options open. How the bank weighs those two readings is the channel through which this report reaches the Canadian dollar.

The preliminary estimate put July monthly GDP at 0.0%.