This quarterly economic forecast provides highlights of the Canadian Outlook report, which presents the short-term national outlook.

Following is an Executive Summary by Pedro Antunes, The Conference Board of Canada

Document Highlights:

• GDP growth will soften to 2.4 per cent in 2011 as governments start to pull back on stimulus. This year’s growth is revised up 0.4 percentage points from our winter Canadian Outlook. 
• While the full impacts of the devastating Japanese earthquake and tsunami are still unknown, the crisis is not expected to derail the U.S. or global recovery. 
• Strong consumer spending and better job creation south of the border will help support near-term growth in the U.S. economy. 
• Despite a strong dollar, the Bank of Canada is expected to start lifting rates again in June. 
• High commodity prices are lifting profits and investment in Canada—which is particularly good news for resource-rich provinces.

The document is available in its entirety on The Conference Board of Canada website at:

http://www.conferenceboard.ca/documents.aspx?did=4129

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