How Canada's Economy has Managed Through COVID-19
By
Dawn Desjardins
Published February 18, 2021
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7 min watch
We take a closer look at Canada's economy during the second wave of COVID-19, focusing on the impact to GDP, the role of vaccines and the outlook for the rest of 2021.
Canada’s economy fared much better during the second wave of lockdowns, with the economy expanding in November by almost 0.75 of a percentage point.
The housing market has continued to soar as we moved into January, with significant increase in sales and prices. Retail, although slower, has not experienced the weakening we saw near the end of 2020.
Vaccinations in Canada have been slow, but we anticipate that by early summer, our economy will be able to open on a more sustained basis.
Savings will be a major driver of growth, as Canadian households have amassed $200 billion in savings over the course of the last year.
By the end of 2021, we will likely recover all of the losses generated by the pandemic.
For RBC’s latest in-depth economics research and analysis, please visit RBC Economics.
Dawn Desjardins
Vice President, Deputy Chief Economist at RBC Royal Bank,
Dawn Desjardins joined the Royal Bank Economics team in January 2006 as a senior economist. She is responsible for the macroeconomic and interest rate forecasts for Canada and the U.S. Previously, Dawn worked as a reporter for Bloomberg Financial News in Toronto covering the Canadian bond and currency markets. She was also the Canadian bond market strategist for a major U.S. bank for ten years. Dawn is a graduate of the University of Toronto.
COVIDCanadaCoronavirusEconomicsEconomy
