# Canada's economy grows at a 3.3% annualized pace in the second quarter as exports rebound

> Real GDP rose 0.8% in Q2 2026, or 3.3% annualized, Statistics Canada said on 28 August, beating the Bank of Canada's forecast as car exports recovered.

- Canonical URL: https://forextradingcommunity.com/news/canada-gdp-second-quarter-2026/
- Type: Data
- Published: 2026-09-14
- Updated: 2026-09-14
- Publisher: Forex Trading Community (https://forextradingcommunity.com), FTC Editorial Team
- Currencies: CAD

Canada's real gross domestic product rose 0.8% in the second quarter of 2026, Statistics Canada reported on 28 August. At an annualized rate, that's growth of 3.3%, the fastest pace since early 2023 and above the 2.5% the Bank of Canada had forecast for the quarter.

Growth in the first quarter was revised up slightly, from 0.0% to 0.1%.

## What drove growth

- **Exports** rose 3.6%, the biggest increase since the first quarter of 2023. Exports of passenger cars and light trucks jumped 27.0% as auto production recovered from declines in the previous two quarters.
- **Household spending** and **business investment** also increased. According to The Canadian Press, business capital investment rose after five straight quarterly declines.
- A drawdown in **inventories** held growth back.

Real GDP per capita rose 1.0%, faster than GDP as a whole, because Canada's population declined in the quarter.

## A strong June, then a flat July

Monthly figures showed GDP up 0.3% in June, while Statistics Canada's early estimate for July pointed to no growth.

## What it means for the Canadian dollar

A strong quarter and a weak jobs report pull the Bank of Canada in different directions: employment fell by 42,000 in August and wage growth slowed to 2.0% ([details](/news/canada-jobs-august-2026/)). The Bank has kept its policy rate at 2.25% for seven straight decisions ([report](/news/bank-of-canada-holds-2-25-september-2026/)). For [USD/CAD](/markets/usd-cad/), oil prices and the Federal Reserve are the other big inputs.

Canada and the US headline annualized growth, while the UK, euro area and Australia report quarter-on-quarter figures. [GDP explained](/news/gdp-explained-for-forex-traders/) shows how to compare them.

## Sources

- [Statistics Canada: The Daily, Gross domestic product, income and expenditure, second quarter 2026](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/260828/dq260828a-eng.htm)
- [BNN Bloomberg (The Canadian Press): Canada's GDP grew 3.3 per cent in second quarter](https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/economics/2026/08/28/statcan-set-to-report-q2-gdp-results-after-surprise-q1-contraction/)

## Common questions

### How much did Canada's economy grow in Q2 2026?

Real GDP rose 0.8% in the second quarter of 2026, or 3.3% at an annualized rate, according to Statistics Canada.

### Why did Canada's GDP grow in the second quarter of 2026?

Exports rose 3.6%, led by a 27.0% jump in exports of passenger cars and light trucks, and household spending and business investment also increased.

### What does annualized GDP growth mean?

It is the growth rate the economy would reach over a year if the quarter's pace continued for four quarters. Canada's 0.8% quarterly growth equals 3.3% annualized.

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