Ottawa, February 14, 2013—Moncton is expected to break into the top 10 metropolitan economies in Canada for economic growth this year, with real gross domestic product expected to increase by 2.5 per cent.

Moncton’s pace of growth will put it slightly ahead of Halifax and St. John’s in The Conference Board of Canada’s Metropolitan Outlook-Winter 2013, which provides a once-a-year economic outlook for 28 Canadian Census Metropolitan Areas.

“Strength in manufacturing and an improved services sector will offset a decline in the construction sector this year,” said Mario Lefebvre, Director, Centre for Municipal Studies. “Moncton’s manufacturing sector has been expanding at a healthy rate since the end of the recession, thanks in part to its central location in the Atlantic region.”

Halifax’s real gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to improve by 2.3 per cent in 2013, almost a full percentage point higher than in 2012. The manufacturing sector grew by an annual average of roughly 4 per cent over the past three years, thanks to increased activity at the Halifax Shipyard, which has been awarded a string of large contracts. Work will continue on these contracts in 2013, pushing real manufacturing output up an additional 2.5 per cent. 

After real GDP growth of just one per cent in 2012, St. John’s is expected to benefit from expanded production at offshore oil wells. However, construction output is forecast to decline after three strong years. All in all, the CMA’s economy is expected to grow by 2.2 per cent in 2013.

Following two years where real GDP increased by only about one per cent each year, economic growth in Saint John is forecast to remain modest at 1.7 per cent in 2013. The primary and utilities sector will benefit from renewed production at the Point Lepreau nuclear generating station. 

Nationally, Saskatoon and Regina will generate the strongest growth among the 28 CMAs covered in this outlook, followed by Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.