There was little change in Canada’s GDP in July following four months of growth.
Statistics Canada’s latest figures show a drop of 0.7% for goods producing industries, with all subsectors posting declines; while service producing industries gained 0.3% as most of the subsectors increased.
Construction was down 0.7% driven by a 1% decrease for residential construction as multifamily units declined and offset a rise in single-family construction. Home alterations and improvements also decreased.
Non-residential construction gained 0.7% with commercial, industrial, and public sectors all increased.
Activity at the offices of real estate agents and brokers was up 4.2% in July, rising for the fifth consecutive month, mainly due to higher housing resale activity in the Greater Vancouver Area, the Greater Toronto Area, and the Fraser Valley.
Also benefitting from stronger real estate activity thanks to more transactions, was the legal services sector which gained 1.9%.
There were gains for the retail sector as health & personal care stores and motor vehicle and parts dealers led the sector. There was a decrease in the building supplies and garden equipment subsector.
