Québec, March 26, 2024. – In the fourth quarter of 2023, Québec’s real gross domestic product (GDP) at market prices was down 0.2% from the third quarter
(-0.3%). For 2023, Québec’s real GDP remained virtually unchanged (0.0%) and stood at about the same level as in 2022. That was revealed today in Comptes économiques du Québec, 4e trimestre 2023 published by the Institut de la statistique du Québec.
The real GDP drop in the fourth quarter of 2023 was mainly due to a $1.7 billion reduction in inventory investment (a negative contribution of 0.36 percentage points) and a decline in investment spending (-0.9%). The external sector had a positive impact on real GDP as exports (+1.0%) increased more than imports (+0.4%). Household final consumption expenditure was also up (+0.1%).
| Real gross domestic product at market prices and its main components1 (percentage change) |
||||||||||||||
| Québec | Canada | |||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2023 | |||||||||||||
| Q3 | Q4 | Year | Q3 | Q4 | Year | |||||||||
| Real gross domestic product at market prices | –0.3 | –0.2 | 0.0 | –0.1 | 0.2 | 1.1 | ||||||||
| Final domestic demand | 0.4 | –0.1 | –0.6 | 0.2 | –0.2 | 0.5 | ||||||||
| Final consumption expenditure | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.7 | ||||||||
| Households | 0.5 | 0.1 | 2.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 1.7 | ||||||||
| Governments | 0.7 | 0.0 | –0.7 | 1.6 | –0.5 | 1.5 | ||||||||
| Gross fixed capital | –0.4 | –0.9 | –7.8 | –1.0 | –1.0 | –3.2 | ||||||||
| Businesses | 0.0 | –0.8 | –9.1 | –1.4 | –1.4 | –4.8 | ||||||||
| Governments | –1.9 | –1.5 | –3.2 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 5.5 | ||||||||
| Exports of goods and services | 0.4 | 1.0 | 3.1 | –0.3 | 1.4 | 5.7 | ||||||||
| Imports of goods and services | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.3 | –0.4 | 1.0 | ||||||||
|
1. Quarterly changes in real gross domestic product at market prices and its components are calculated from seasonally adjusted data and are expressed in chained dollars using the chain Fisher index (reference year 2017). Sources |
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Québec’s real GDP at market prices stagnant in 2023
In 2023, Québec’s real GDP at market prices finished the year at a similar level as in 2022 (0.0%), following a 2.5% increase in that year.
In real terms, final consumption expenditure grew in 2023 (+1.3%), but at a slower pace than in 2022 (+4.1%). Household final consumption expenditure rose by 2.1% in 2023, while government final consumption expenditure declined by 0.7%.
Gross fixed capital formation dropped by 7.8% in Québec in 2023, mainly because of a reduction in business investment (-9.1%) including in residential buildings
(-17.5%), and a decrease in government gross fixed capital formation (-3.2%). As a result, final domestic demand declined by 0.6% in 2023 after increasing by 2.5% in 2022. Investment in inventories (-$3.0 billion) was also down.
In 2023, total exports of goods and services increased by 3.1%. Exports of goods and services destined to other countries (+4.5%) went up more than exports to the other provinces (+0.8%). Total imports were up slightly (+0.2%) as a result of a decrease in imports from other countries (-0.6%) that was offset by an increase in imports from the other provinces (+1.9%). Since the total export volume increased more than the import volume, the external sector contributed positively to real GDP in 2023.
Canada’s real GDP at market prices up 1.1% in 2023
According to data released by Statistics Canada on February 29, 2024, Canada’s real GDP at market prices went up 0.2% in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the previous quarter. For 2023 overall, Canada’s real GDP rose by 1.1% after growing 3.8% in 2022.
Québec’s real GDP at basic prices down 1.5% in December 2023
In December 2023, Québec’s real gross domestic product (GDP) at basic prices was down 1.5% from the previous month, following a 0.3% decrease in November. In December, output in the goods and service industries declined by 0.7% and 1.7%, respectively. That was revealed in Produit intérieur brut par industrie au Québec, décembre 2023 released today by the Institut de la statistique du Québec.
Variation mensuelle du PIB réel, Québec et Canada (in French only)
Goods production down 0.7%
The real GDP of goods industries was down 0.7% in December after decreasing 0.5% in November. The drop in December came mainly from the utilities sector
(-7.9%), in particular the electric power generation, transmission and distribution subsector (-8.8%).
Service industries down 1.7%
For the second consecutive month, the output of service-producing industries decreased (-1.7% in December and -0.2% in November). The decline in December is attributable to 8 of the 15 service sectors, mainly educational services (-18.1%), and to a lesser extent, health care and social assistance (-2.9%). The public sector workers’ strike that began in November and ended at the end of December strongly contributed to the decline in these two sectors.
Real GDP at basic prices in 2023
In 2023, goods-producing industries decreased by 2.5%, while service-producing industries grew by 1.0%.
More specifically, output was up in 10 of the 20 major economic sectors. The largest increases were in public administration (+2.8%), transportation and warehousing (+5.6%), and retail trade (+3.1%). In contrast, utilities (-8.6%), construction (-3.1%), wholesale trade (-3.5%) and health care and social assistance (-2.0%) recorded the sharpest drops.
Canada’s real GDP at basic prices stable in December 2023
According to data published by Statistics Canada on February 29, 2024, Canada’s real GDP at basic prices remained largely unchanged in December 2023. The output of goods-producing industries was down 0.2%, while that of service-producing industries remained relatively stable.
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