Transport trucks carry cargo containers at the port in Vancouver in 2023. Canada's surprise bounce back in third-quarter GDP was led by a large swing in its trade balance.

The Canadian economy rebounded sharply in the third quarter, although much of the upside surprise was driven by a swing in imports and exports that masked underlying weakness in domestic demand.

Canada’s real gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of 2.6 per cent in the third quarter, Statistics Canada reported Friday, after a downwardly revised 1.8-per-cent contraction in the second quarter.

That blew past Bay Street expectations and helped Canada avoid two consecutive quarters of GDP decline, or what some analysts refer to as a “technical recession.” However, the strong headline result had more to do with

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