The Canadian economy gained momentum in the fourth quarter of 2016 at a 2.6% annualized rate, beating expectations. The new data released Thursday by Statistics Canada compares favorably to US GDP growth during the same period, which was 1.9% annualized. Thursday’s data shows GDP grew 1.4% for last year as a whole, an improvement on the 0.9% growth in 2015. The 2016 gain was skewed towards the first two quarters of the year, according to the national statistics agency.
