The International Monetary Fund has upped its estimate for Canada's economic growth rate for this year and 2018, putting this country at or near the top of the heap among advanced economies.
The Washington-based IMF is now estimating Canada's gross domestic product for 2017 will be 3% — half a percentage point higher than its July estimate, and putting Canada ahead of all the other Group of Seven countries, with the United States coming second at 2.2% growth from last year.
The IMF's world economic outlook is similar to estimates issued last month by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development, which also said Canada would top the G7 countries this year.
The IMF says Canada's pickup in growth reflects reduced drag from lower oil and gas prices with assistance from government spending and central bank policies.
It expects next year's Canadian year-over-year growth rate will slow to 2.1% in 2018, but that's still 0.2% above the IMF's July update and second-highest among the G7 behind the United States at 2.3%
