Canada’s economy has rebounded from the depths of the coronavirus-triggered downturn over the summer but still remains stuck in negative territory, a new Bank of Canada survey finds.
The Bank of Canada’s quarterly outlook on business conditions fell over the summer to its lowest point since the Great Recession.
While the bank’s Business Outlook Survey has since rebounded, it is still mired in negative territory, at minus 2.2 percent.
By contrast, late last year the composite gauge of business sentiment was in positive territory, at just under 2 percent, having hit a recent peak of plus 4 percent in 2018.
“With many containment measures related to the COVID‑19 pandemic being lifted, results from the autumn Business Outlook Survey suggest that business sentiment has improved but remains weak across all regions,” the Bank of Canada report notes. “Businesses expect the pace of the recovery in their sales to slow.”
After enjoying a revival in demand over the summer as shutdown measures were lifted, business executives across various Canadian industries are now bracing for slower improvement in the months ahead.
Complicating matters has been a rebound in COVID-19 infection rates that have prompted the nation’s two most populous provinces, Ontario and Quebec, to once again roll out lockdown measures on some businesses.
Overall, Canada’s business community is divided in its outlook where the nation’s economy is headed over the coming months as the coronavirus crisis drags on.
One third of firms surveyed said they have either seen no impact from COVID-19, or that it has actually increased sales and demand, while a second third of firms surveyed report that sales have either already recovered or will recover over the next year.
But the final third is bracing for a much slower and uncertain recovery, saying either sales will not return for at least another year or unsure when they will rebound at all, the Bank of Canada’s survey found.
