Bank of Montreal: Revised GDP data shows that Canada's productivity did not experience a "cliff-like decline"

Douglas Porter, Chief Economist of BMO Financial Group, stated that according to the latest revised data, Canada's productivity has shifted from the "national state of emergency" described by senior officials at the central bank to a situation of "not ideal but still manageable". This reassessment was based on third-quarter data showing systematic upward revisions to historical GDP data - with Canada's productivity in 2022, 2023, and 2024 all increased by 0.7 percentage points. Porter referred to this as a "huge adjustment". He added, "Productivity growth has indeed slowed in recent years, but there has not been a cliff-like drop." The revised economic data may be good news for the Bank of Canada.