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Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper speaks at Laurel Steel on a campaign stop in Burlington Ontario, September 1, 2015. Harper, speaking in the wake of data showing Canada slid into recession in the first half of the year, on Tuesday said healthy June GDP growth showed the economy was back on track. (Reuters)
Reeling from low oil prices, Canada fell into a recession in the first half of the year, government data confirmed Tuesday, putting Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper on the defensive in the run-up to October elections.
According to Statistics Canada, the economy contracted 0.5 per cent in the second quarter after retreating 0.8 per cent in the previous three months.
It is Canada's second recession in seven years and it is the only Group of Seven nation in economic retreat. The figures are the weakest since the 2008 global financial crisis.
The data reflects fears about the health of the global economy as more gloomy evidence emerged of a slowdown in China, a main engine of growth worldwide.
Harper, whose Tories are trailing their rivals in opinion polls ahead of the October 19 election, blamed the overseas turmoil for Canada's woes, and emphasized an expansion in the economy in June.
"We are living, once again, in a time of ongoing global economic instability," Harper said.
"Obviously there has been challenges, particularly in the energy and some commodity sectors because of falling prices. But the fact of the matter is over 80 per cent of the Canadian economy has been growing."
Canada, the world's fifth-largest oil producer, has been hit particularly hard by the halving of world oil prices from above $100 last year.
In the second quarter, its mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction sector posted a "notable decrease" for a second consecutive quarter, said the government statistical agency.
Analysts said the damage however could be limited.
"Despite the weak start to the year, there is good reason to believe that the worst is over," said TD economist Brian DePratto.
DePratto cited the sharp increase in GDP in June, "providing positive momentum to start the second half of the year." He predicted a "sharp rebound" in the third quarter with growth reaching 2.5 per cent by year's end.
Harper has insisted that, oil aside, the rest of the economy is doing well, although the figures point to broad declines in a third of sectors.
At a steel plant in Hamilton, Ontario, he urged voters to support his party's leadership, saying he had "the proven experience to keep us safe and keep our economy moving forward."
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