OTTAWA — Canada's economy contracted in the second quarter as U.S. tariffs and trade uncertainty tanked Canadian exports.

But few economists are raising the alarm about Canada possibly being in a recession, and not all forecasters are convinced the economic weakness will push the Bank of Canada to cut interest rates next month.

Statistics Canada said Friday that real gross domestic product declined 1.6 per cent on an annualized basis in the second quarter thanks to a sharp drop-off in exports and business investment.

That's down from annualized growth of two per cent in the first quarter, a figure StatCan revised down Friday from 2.2 per cent originally.

U.S. President Donald Trump ratcheted up his tariffs against Canada and the world in the second quarter, particularly targeting steel

See Full Page