A new report from CIBC World Markets suggests British Columbia and Ontario are poised to take over from the oil-producing provinces as the biggest drivers of the still-sluggish Canadian economy next year.
The report says B.C.’s economy is projected to grow by 2.8% in 2016, the strongest of the provinces and just ahead of Ontario at 2.4% real GDP growth. In contrast, oil-rich Alberta will struggle to recover, with expected growth of only 0.7% next year after a 2015 expected contraction of 1.2%, said the report.
Overall, Canada's economy is forecast to rebound to 1.9% real growth in 2016 and 2.1% in 2017 from a projected 1.1% this year.
The falling Canadian dollar is expected to be a boon for the Canadian tourism industry and particularly for British Columbia and Prince Edward Island, two provinces heavily dependent on tourism.
The report also says the now-weaker loonie should buttress manufacturing output, with Ontario and Quebec being the greatest beneficiaries, not only in export volumes today but over time, with new or expanded plants.
