GDP per capita shrinks 6th quarter in a row, government spending up 9th quarter in a row: StatCan

(UPDATE: Nov. 29 at 11:28 am): The prime minister has addressed this morning's bleak economic figures, stressing that "this is a challenging time in the world."

"I know families are squeezed in a whole bunch of ways," Justin Trudeau said during a press conference in Prince Edward Island. That's why it's important, he said, to "look for reasons to be optimistic."

He mentioned lower inflation and interest rates and pointed to forecast growth in the Canadian economy next year. Despite those positives, he added, Canadians are "hurting," hence his "many, many initiatives" to help with cost of living.

Trudeau also said his GST holiday will "make a real difference."

The Conservatives, however, took a different view, referring to the latest data as indicative of "Trudeau's economic vandalism."

"Before Justin Trudeau, Canada’s economic growth matched America’s, with the New York Times declaring in 2015 that Canada was home to 'the world’s most affluent middle class,'" the party said in a press bulletin.

"Now, after nine years of Justin Trudeau, the per-person economic output in most of our provinces has fallen behind states like Alabama and Mississippi, and there is now nearly $33,000 difference in income per person between Canada and the US according to the IMF."

Doug Porter, the chief economist at BMO, said "there is no debate that the economy struggled through mid summer and the early fall," in part due to labour disputes and bad weather. But he added: "There are signs in both the quarterly and monthly data that domestic demand is stirring, with BoC rate cuts and some incoming mild tax relief likely to provide additional support for spending."

Meanwhile CIBC's senior economist, Andrew Grantham, said next week's employment's figures are likely to be more important when it comes to the Bank of Canada deciding whether to cut rates again.

The bank's key rate is at 3.75 per cent ahead of its next decision, which is due on Dec. 11.

Inflation was last reported to be two per cent.

(Original story: Nov. 29 at 6 am): If you were hoping for some positive economic news about Canada, look away now.

The country’s GDP per capita – a rough approximation of standard of living – declined yet again in the third quarter of the year.

It’s the sixth quarterly decline in a row.

This time real GDP per capita shrank by 0.4 per cent, according to Statistics Canada data released today.

In more gloomy news, exports also declined in the most recent quarter, this time by 0.3 per cent. In the second quarter, they declined by 1.4 per cent.

Canada had a current account balance of -$3.2 billion in the third quarter. That’s the ninth quarter in a row in which the account has been in deficit.

Government spending, meanwhile, increased by 1.1 per cent in the third quarter. That’s the third quarter in a row that spending by the government has increased, and tallies with an increase in public sector employment.

On the positive side, the economy as a whole grew by one per cent in the third quarter, on an annualized basis. Because the population has increased by such a large amount in recent years, however, that growth was outpaced by the arrival of new people.

StatCan also reported that household savings increased in the third quarter as disposable income grew twice as fast as spending.