Canadian Economy Shrinks 1.6% as Trade War Crushes Exports

The Port of Vancouver in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Photographer: James MacDonald/Bloomberg

The Canadian economy contracted for the first time in nearly two years as the trade war with the US pummeled exports and business investment.

Canada’s gross domestic product shrank at a 1.6% annualized pace in the second quarter, Statistics Canada reported Friday from Ottawa. That’s the biggest decline since the Covid-19 pandemic.