Scotia Economics: Canada on the Path to Recovery

With consumer spending rebounding, investment returned in the line as credit market do and government taps opened the glow of the stimulus project spending in Canada as it climbed its way out of the recession in the third quarter of 2009 according to Scotia Economics’ latest Provincial Trends report.

The report note that Canada escaped from the global recession fairly quickly and proves that Canada’s healthy household balance sheets and stable financial systems are strong, and that the modest pace of recovery highlights are the ongoing trade and competitive hurdles that needs to be overcome in other to return to stronger growth.

The regional disparity in growth across Canada will also continue in 2010 with the Canadian dollar expecting to remain strong while commodity producers benefit from a rebound in the global markets noted economist, Alex Koustas at Scotia Economics.

We see Atlantic Canada managing to come out of the economic downturn relatively well, although Newfoundland and Labrador was affected by a combination of decline resource values and production shutdowns. Other provinces in the region performed well above the national average.

Ontario and Quebec have seen two very difference performances for 2009.

Ontario was sideswiped by the slowdown in the United States, while Quebec’s diversified

manufacturing base and export markets have allowed it to sidestep the worst of the recession.

Resource recovery will be the main tropic for Western Canada in 2010.