Montréal’s economic growth of 3.0 per cent this year will lead that of the major metropolitan areas in Canada in 2019, followed closely by Vancouver, with real GDP growth of 2.8 per cent.
Victoria and Halifax will both post solid real GDP growth of 2.6 per cent this year; Québec City will be right behind with a 2.5 per cent gain.
The economies of Hamilton, Winnipeg, Regina, Ottawa–Gatineau, and Toronto will expand by between 1.6 and 2.0 per cent in 2019.
Ongoing weakness in the energy sector will result in Calgary’s and Edmonton’s economies contracting by 0.4 per cent this year. Saskatoon will also suffer a recession, with real GDP dropping by 0.2 per cent because of steep declines in the primary and construction sectors.