Quebec City's economic growth expected to hit a five-year high in 2015

OTTAWA, May 14, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - Ongoing recovery in manufacturing and stronger services growth will help Québec City's economy grow by 2.4 per cent in 2015, the city's fastest increase since 2010, according to The Conference Board of Canada's Metropolitan Outlook: Spring 2015. The positive momentum should continue into next year when even stronger growth of 2.7 per cent is expected.

"Broad-based improvement among several sectors, including manufacturing and construction, will help boost the city's economy over the next two years," said Alan Arcand, Associate Director, Centre for Municipal Studies. "In fact, Quebec City's economic growth during this period is expected to outpace the national average, a welcome change for an area whose growth has lagged the Canadian average for five straight years."

HIGHLIGHTS

• Real GDP growth in Québec City is forecast to accelerate to 2.4 per cent in 2015 from 1.7 per cent in 2014.
• Stronger output increases among both goods and services industries should support the output pickup.
• Toronto, Vancouver and Halifax are the fastest growing metropolitan economies in the country this year.

Québec City's manufacturing sector is set to build on its 2.6 output growth in 2014, with an increase of 3.3 per cent this year. The sector is benefiting from a softer Canadian dollar and a strong U.S. economy—the destination for many Québec manufactured products.

Construction output in Québec City is forecast to expand by 0.8 per cent in 2015, after contracting for the last two years. While housing starts are expected to dip slightly for a third straight year, the non-residential segment will be boosted by the construction of "Le Phare de Québec" a mixed-use four-tower $600-million project to be built on the former site of the Auberge des Gouverneurs.

Improved tourism activity will boost growth in the personal services sector in 2015. This, combined with stronger growth in finance, insurance and real estate, the city's largest industry, will support a 2.5 per cent increase in services sector output this year.

Local employment increases will continue with a modest rise of 0.8 per cent this year, which will be enough to cut the unemployment rate to 5.2 per cent.

Aside from Calgary, Edmonton, Regina and Saskatoon, most of the 13 CMAs covered in the report will see their economic fortunes improve this year, boosted by lower oil prices, a weaker Canadian dollar and improvement in the U.S. economy. Toronto, Vancouver and Halifax are expected to be the fast growing metropolitan economies this year, with each posting growth of 3.1 per cent.

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SOURCE Conference Board of Canada

Yvonne Squires, Media Relations, The Conference Board of Canada, Tel.: [phone] ext. 221, E-mail: [email protected]; Juline Ranger, Associate Director of Communications, The Conference Board of Canada, Tel.: [phone] ext. 431, E-mail: [email protected]