Canada Pandemic Recovery

The Canadian economy, which is trade dependent, is highly vulnerable to external shocks such as supply shortages and international trade restrictions that occurred frequently during the pandemic. That said, several sectors have recovered to the pre-pandemic levels, including energy products exports (5% of 2021 GDP) which grew by 15% from 2019 to 2021, consumers goods (3% of 2021 GDP) grew by 14% 2019 to 2021 and the Forestry Products & Building Materials (2% of 2021 GDP) grew by 31% 2019 to 2021.  

Harder-hit sectors are recovering from the pandemic at slower pace such as service exports (5% of 2021 GDP) contracted by 13% from 2019 to 2021 and vehicles parts exports (3% of 2021 GDP) contracted by 13%. 

Overall, Canada’s economy is expected to rebound with its GDP projected to increase by 4.2% in 2022 and by 3.2% in 2023

The consequences of lockdowns during the pandemic also presented economic contractions that affected SMEs, underserved, and underrepresented groups in the country.  In Canada, SMEs account for the biggest proportion of employment, representing about 98.1% of businesses in 2021.  The industries with the highest proportion of SMEs include construction (16.3%), scientific and technical services (14.6%), and retail trade (11%). Due to the pandemic, most SMEs had difficulties raising capital, which slowed and challenged their business operations. However, 75% of these SMEs continued their business operations and do not intend to close or sell their business within the next five years.  

The U.S. Commercial Service in Canada is closely following the developments in the Canadian economy. For more information on how we can assist U.S. companies export to Canada, visit www.trade.gov/canada.