Québec, June 26, 2026. – In the first quarter of 2026, Québec’s real gross domestic product (GDP) was up 0.3% from the previous quarter (-0.1%). At an annualized rate, this was a 1.3% increase.
Growth in the first quarter was essentially driven by an increase in inventory investment. Declines were observed for the other components of real GDP, namely the foreign trade balance, final consumption expenditure, and investment (gross fixed capital formation). This information comes from the publication Comptes économiques du Québec, 1er trimestre 2026 released by the Institut de la statistique du Québec.
Real gross domestic product at market prices and its main components1
(percentage change)
| Québec | Canada | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2026 | 2025 | 2026 | ||||
| Q4 | Q1 | Cumulative change2 | Q4 | Q1 | Cumulative change2 | ||
| Real gross domestic product at market prices | -0.1 | 0.3 | -0.2 | -0.2 | 0.0 | -0.1 | |
| Final domestic demand | 0.6 | -0.3 | 0.1 | 0.7 | -0.1 | 1.3 | |
| Final consumption expenditure3 | 0.6 | -0.3 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 1.6 | |
| Households | 0.6 | -0.1 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 2.0 | |
| General governments | 0.7 | -0.9 | -0.4 | 0.6 | -0.2 | 0.8 | |
| Gross fixed capital formation3 | 0.7 | -0.3 | -0.7 | 0.7 | -1.1 | 0.3 | |
| Businesses | 0.2 | 0.4 | -2.3 | -0.4 | -0.7 | -1.6 | |
| General governments | 2.4 | -3.0 | 5.7 | 5.6 | -2.5 | 9.4 | |
| Exports of goods and services | 0.2 | -0.9 | -3.9 | 1.6 | -0.1 | -4.1 | |
| Imports of goods and services | -0.4 | 0.1 | -2.1 | 0.5 | 2.9 | 0.7 | |
1. 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).
2. Change in the first quarter of 2026 from the first quarter of 2025.
3. Includes data on non-profit institutions serving households, which are not shown in this table.
Sources
Statistics Canada, Macroeconomic Accounts Branch
Institut de la statistique du Québec, Direction des statistiques économiques.
$5.3 billion acceleration in inventory investment
Investment in inventories grew by $5.3 billion, going from a $4.0 billion reduction in the fourth quarter of 2025 to a $1.3 billion increase in the first quarter of 2026. This acceleration of inventory investment therefore positively impacted real GDP growth during the quarter. Growth in inventory investment in the first quarter of 2026 was mainly due to higher gold and manufacturing inventories.
Foreign trade contributed negatively to GDP as exports declined 0.9%
Foreign trade negatively impacted real GDP growth in the first quarter of 2026, mainly because of a 0.9% decrease in total exports of goods and services, which had posted increases in the two previous quarters (+0.6% and +0.2% in the third and fourth quarters of 2025). Total imports also contributed to a deterioration in the trade balance with a 0.1% increase in the first quarter of 2026.
Final consumption expenditure down 0.3%
Final consumption expenditure was down 0.3% in the first quarter of 2026 after increasing 0.6% in the previous quarter. This decline is due to a drop in government consumption expenditure (-0.9%) and, to a lesser extent, in household consumption expenditure (-0.1%).
Investment spending decreased by 0.3%
Investment spending decreased by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2026 following a 0.7% increase in the previous quarter. This decline is the result of a 3.0% drop in government investment expenditure, especially in machinery and equipment (-8.3%) and construction (-2.7%). Business investment expenditure, however, grew 0.4% in the first quarter, which mitigated the overall decline in investment spending.
Canada’s real GDP stable in the first quarter of 2026
According to data released by Statistics Canada on May 29, Canada’s real GDP at market prices was little changed in the first quarter of 2026 (0.0%), after a 0.2% decrease in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Québec’s real GDP down 0.3% in March 2026
In March 2026, Québec’s real gross domestic product (GDP) was down 0.3% from the previous month after increasing 0.4% in February. This was revealed in Produit intérieur brut par industrie au Québec, mars 2026 released today by the Institut de la statistique du Québec.
Goods production declined by 0.4%
Output in the goods-producing industries was down 0.4% in March, following a 0.8% increase in February. This decline came mainly from mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (-5.5%) and construction (-1.2%). In contrast, manufacturing was up 0.5% in March.
Service production down 0.2%
Output in the service-producing industries was down 0.2% in March after a 0.3% increase in February. The slowdown in March was mainly attributable to wholesale trade (-1.8%) and retail trade (-1.6%).
First quarter of 2026: goods production up 0.6% and service production up 0.2%
In the first quarter of 2026, goods production (+0.6%) and service production (+0.2%) were both up. Goods output was mainly propped up by the first increase observed in the manufacturing sector (+1.4%) since the second quarter of 2024. As for services, wholesale trade (+2.7%) posted its largest increase since the third quarter of 2024.
Canada’s real GDP down 0.1% in March 2026
According to data published by Statistics Canada on May 29, 2026, Canada’s real GDP was down 0.1% in March after a 0.2% increase in February. In March, the output of goods industries decreased by 0.8%, while that of service industries grew by 0.1%.
The Institut de la statistique du Québec is the public body responsible for providing reliable, objective statistics about Québec society. The relevance of its work makes it a strategic ally for decision makers and an essential source of information for all those wishing to learn more about Québec.