The September 1 Gross Domestic Product release will be the one that will let us know whether or not we are in a recession, at least by the semi-official definition of «a period of at least two consecutive quarters of negative
growth in real gross domestic product for Canada, as reported by Statistics Canada under the Statistics Act.»
One of the few escape clauses is a recession, which the statute defines as «a period of at least two consecutive quarters of negative growth
in real gross domestic product as reported by Statistics Canada under the Statistics Act.»
«The past relationship between the PMI ® and the overall economy indicates that the average PMI ® for January through October (52 percent) corresponds to a 2.8 percent
increase in real gross domestic product (GDP) on an annualized basis.
If the deficit is due to an economic recession, defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth
in real gross domestic product, or to «extraordinary events», such as a natural disaster or war, that results in an «cost» of more than $ 3 billion, then the operating budgets of departments and agencies would be automatically frozen to pay for any wage increases.
It is conventionally measured as the percent rate of increase
in real gross domestic product, or real GDP.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported that the economy, as measured by growth
in real gross domestic product (GDP), rose by 3.2 percent in the third quarter of 2017.