Gross domestic product by industry, January 2025
Released: 2025-03-28
January 2025
0.4% 
(monthly change)
Real gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.4% in January, following a 0.3% increase in December. Both goods-producing and services-producing industries were up, with 13 of 20 sectors rising in January.
Chart 1
Real gross domestic product increases in January
Goods-producing industries contributed the most to the increase, rising 1.1% in January, the largest increase since October 2021, as all industrial sectors in the aggregate expanded in January 2025. The mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction and manufacturing sectors were the largest contributors to growth. Services-producing industries edged up 0.1%.
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction fuels the growth
The mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sector grew 1.8% in January, with all three subsectors expanding in the month. This was the second consecutive month of growth for the sector.
Chart 2
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction expands in January
The oil and gas extraction subsector was the largest contributor to growth, expanding 2.6% in January. Oil sands extraction increased 3.6%, driven by an increase in synthetic crude production in Alberta. This was the fourth increase in six months for oil sands extraction. Meanwhile, oil and gas extraction (except oil sands) rose 1.5% in January as natural gas extraction was up, coinciding with a rise in exports, domestic deliveries and inventory storage of natural gas. Higher crude petroleum extraction further contributed to the growth in the industry.
The support activities for the mining and oil and gas extraction subsector (+1.0%) was the second largest contributor to growth within the sector in January. Higher activity in January partially offset the decreases observed in the previous two months and was driven by a rebound in support activities for mining. Meanwhile, support activities for oil and gas extraction increased as higher drilling largely offset contractions in rigging services.
Mining and quarrying (except oil and gas) edged up 0.1% in January as higher coal mining (+4.4%) and non-metallic mineral mining and quarrying (+1.6%) were mostly offset by widespread declines in metal ore mining (-1.2%).
Manufacturing sector rebounds, powered by durable goods manufacturing
The manufacturing sector rose 0.8% in January, following two consecutive monthly declines, as the durable-goods manufacturing aggregate (+2.0%) rebounded from the decline recorded in the previous month, with 8 of 10 subsectors rising in January.
Primary metal manufacturing (+4.8%) led the growth, posting its highest growth rate since August 2020. The increase was driven in large part by a 12.2% increase in iron and steel mills and ferro-alloy manufacturing in January. The transportation equipment manufacturing subsector (+2.2%) was another large contributor to growth in January, driven by a broad-based increase across industries. Motor vehicle manufacturing (+4.5%) was the largest contributor to the increase in the subsector, resulting in part from a restart of production at automotive assembly plants after a longer than typical December shutdown and from higher output of certain electric vehicle models.
Utilities up for the second consecutive month
The utilities sector was among the top contributors to growth for a second consecutive month, expanding 2.7% in January, following a 5.0% increase in December.
All industries within the sector rose for a second consecutive month in January. Electric power generation, transmission and distribution led the growth in both months and rose 2.8% in January. Hydroelectric power generation led the increase in the industry in January as drought conditions in parts of the country continued to ease. Furthermore, a cooler than typical January contributed to higher demand for heating related purposes in the month. Natural gas distribution increased 3.2%, reflecting higher deliveries to industrial, commercial and residential customers.
Construction activity rises for the sixth time in seven months
Chart 3
Construction activity rises for the sixth time in seven months in January
Construction rose 0.7% in January as most types of construction activity were up.
Residential building construction (+1.4%) was the largest contributor to the increase in January, posting its fifth increase in six months and bringing activity to its highest level since November 2023. Higher multi-unit construction activity in Ontario and greater activity in home alterations and improvements drove the increase in January 2025.
Repair construction was up 1.2% in January, while non-residential building construction (+1.2%) posted its sixth consecutive increase, driven by higher activity in public and industrial building construction in January.
Retail down after strong increase in December
Retail trade was the largest detractor to growth in January, after being the largest contributor to growth in December, contracting 0.9% in January as activity in 6 of 12 subsectors decreased.
Motor vehicle and parts dealers (-3.2%), which was one of the largest drivers of growth in December, contributed the most to the sector's decline in January. It was the subsector's first decline in four months with lower activity at new car dealers and automotive parts, accessories and tire stores.
Food and beverage stores declined 2.6% in January, reflecting lower activity in supermarkets and other grocery retailers (except convenience retailers) and beer, wine and liquor stores. Sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores (-9.6%) further contributed to the decline, offsetting part of the increase recorded in the previous month. Increases in health and personal care stores (+1.3%) and building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers (+1.6%) tempered the decline in the sector in January.
Wholesale trade rebounds after two consecutive monthly declines
Wholesale trade increased 0.7% in January, as most subsectors grew. Motor vehicle and parts wholesaler-distributors (+4.5%) was the main contributor to growth in the sector, reaching its highest level since February 2020, mainly attributable to higher activity in motor vehicles and new motor vehicle parts coinciding with a strong increase in exports of passenger cars and light trucks.
Building material and supplies wholesaler-distributors (+1.8%) further contributed to growth in January, in large part driven by a rebound of activity in the lumber, millwork, hardware and other building supplies industry group.
Advance estimate for real gross domestic product by industry for February 2025
Advance information indicates that real GDP by industry was essentially unchanged in February. Increases in the manufacturing and finance and insurance sectors were offset by decreases in the real estate and rental and leasing sector, the oil and gas extraction subsector and the retail trade sector. Owing to its preliminary nature, this estimate will be updated on April 30, 2025, with the release of the official GDP by industry data for February.
Chart 4
Main industrial sectors' contribution to the percent change in gross domestic product in January
Focus on Canada and the United States
Canada's Exposure to the US Market: Spotlight on Primary Metal Manufacturing
Total exports accounted for 24.1% of Canadian gross domestic product (GDP) and around 4 million jobs in 2023, the latest year for which value-added in exports data are available. The United States continued to dominate the Canadian export market, with exports to the United States accounting for 16.8% of Canadian GDP and more than 2.6 million jobs in Canada in 2023.
The impact of international trade on the Canadian economy can be analyzed using the Value-Added in Exports database, which provides data on the direct and indirect impact of exports on GDP and jobs by industry. As described in the document "Value-added exports: measurement framework," direct impacts refer to the jobs or GDP generated within the exporting industry itself, while indirect impacts pertain to the jobs or GDP created through the demand for the industry's products by other exporting industries. An industry's output attributed to foreign demand refers to the jobs and GDP generated through both direct and indirect impacts.
For instance, in the steel industry, direct jobs due to exports are those required to produce the industry's exports. Indirect jobs, on the other hand, are those in the steel industry needed to supply products to the exports of other industries, such as car parts manufacturing and aerospace manufacturing.
The Value-Added in Exports database covers the period from 2007 to 2023 and is derived from the supply and use tables. Due to their comprehensive nature and availability of data sources, these tables are published with a two-year lag.
The manufacturing sector continued to be among the sectors with the highest exposure to the US market in 2023, relying on demand from the United States for 42% of its output. Primary metal manufacturing was one of the manufacturing subsectors that relied the most on exports to the United States, with 45% of its output attributed to direct exports to the United States and 61% of its output (see Infographic 1) attributed to total demand from the United States. Within this subsector, the alumina and aluminum production and processing industry had the highest reliance on exports to the United States, with 68% of its output attributed to direct exports to the United States and 80% of its output (see Infographic 2) attributed to total demand from the United Sates.
The steel product manufacturing from purchased steel industry and the iron and steel mills and ferro-alloy manufacturing industry were also highly reliant on exports to the United States, with 69% and 66% of their output attributed to US demand, respectively.
For more data and insights on areas touched by the socio-economic relationship between Canada and the United States, see the Focus on Canada and the United States webpage.
Infographic 1
Manufacturing Subsectors Exports Dependency on the United States (share of value-added by subsector attributed to direct exports and indirect exports to the United States), 2023
Infographic 2
Export Dependency on the United States - Spotlight on the primary metal manufacturing subsector (share of value-added by industry attributed to direct exports and indirect exports to the United States), 2023
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Sustainable development goals
On January 1, 2016, the world officially began implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—the United Nations' transformative plan of action that addresses urgent global challenges over the following 15 years. The plan is based on 17 specific sustainable development goals.
The release on gross domestic product by industry is an example of how Statistics Canada supports monitoring the progress of global sustainable development goals. This release will be used to help measure the following goal:
Note to readers
Monthly data on gross domestic product (GDP) by industry at basic prices are chained volume estimates with 2017 as the reference year. This means that the data for each industry and each aggregate are obtained from a chained volume index multiplied by the industry's value added in 2017. The monthly data are benchmarked to annually chained Fisher volume indexes of GDP obtained from the constant-price supply and use tables (SUTs) up to the latest SUT year (2021).
For the period starting in January 2022, data are derived by chaining a fixed-weight Laspeyres volume index to the prior period. The fixed weights are 2021 industry prices.
Statistics Canada also produces expenditure-based GDP estimates at market prices, which are chained quarterly based on a Fisher volume index. Due to conceptual and statistical differences, GDP by industry and GDP by expenditure percent change estimates can diverge slightly.
All data in this release are seasonally adjusted. For information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
An advance estimate of industrial production for February 2025 is available upon request.
For more information on GDP, see the video "What is Gross Domestic Product (GDP)?".
Revisions
Each month, newly available administrative and survey data from various industries in the economy are integrated, resulting in statistical revisions. Updated and revised administrative data (including taxation statistics), new information provided by respondents to industry surveys, and standard changes to seasonal adjustment calculations are incorporated with each release.
With this release of monthly GDP by industry, revisions have been made back to January 2024.
To satisfy the opposing goals for both timeliness and accuracy, Statistics Canada regularly updates (revises) its estimates of GDP. For more information about GDP revisions cycles, please consult the "Revisions to Canada's GDP" article in the Latest Developments in the Canadian Economic Accounts (13-605-X).
Real-time table
Real-time table 36-10-0491-01 will be updated on April 7.
Next release
Data on real GDP by industry for February 2025, along with an advance estimate for the March 2025 reference month, will be released on April 30.
Products
The User Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (13-606-G) is available.
The Methodological Guide: Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts (13-607-X) is also available.
The Economic accounts statistics portal, accessible from the Subjects module of the Statistics Canada website, features an up-to-date portrait of national and provincial economies and their structure.
Contact information
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