Canada's economy grew at its fastest pace in a year in the first quarter as businesses replenished inventories and invested in new equipment while consumer spending remained flat.
Led by manufacturing, mining and oil and gas extraction, gross domestic product grew 3.9% at an annualized rate in the quarter, Statistics Canada said on Monday, up from a revised 3.1% in the fourth quarter originally estimated at 3.3%.
The performance was a notch below market forecasts of 4.0% growth.
In March, the economy expanded 0.3%, as expected, following a 0.1% contraction in February.
The report affirmed expectations that the drivers of growth in the Canadian economy are shifting toward business investment and external trade and away from consumer spending.
Final domestic demand rose 0.6% in the first quarter, down from 1.2% in the previous quarter.
Business inventories were the biggest contributor to the percentage increase in quarterly GDP, growing by $10.7 billion in the three-month period. Business investment in plant and equipment rose 3.2%.
Exports increased 1.6% but were outpaced by import growth of 2.2%.
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