Figures released Tuesday morning show the upward mobility for our economy stalled and slipped into reverse two months ago.
Statistics Canada showed Canada's gross domestic shrank by 0.1% in August as declines in oil and gas and manufacturing more than offset small gains in a majority of other industries.
The agency also said that goods-producing industries contracted for the second consecutive month, declining 0.7%.
Manufacturing was a particular culprit, with chemical manufacturing posting its biggest one-month decline in 20 years, and other types of manufacturing being down because of planned maintenance shutdowns.
The service sector, however, eked out a small gain of 0.1%. Canada's service sector has now expanded for 17 months in a row.
It was the first monthly contraction for the economy overall since October 2016.
