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The Decibel

The recession question

6/4/202622 min

Canada’s economy has stalled. According to Statistics Canada, Canada’s real GDP contracted 0.1 per cent on an annualized basis in the first quarter of 2026. In the previous quarter, there was a 1-per-cent annualized decline. Two consecutive quarters of decline has sparked debate in Ottawa and on Bay Street about whether the country is in a recession.

Mark Rendell is The Globe’s economics reporter. He’s on the show to put these numbers in context, unpack the debate around what defines a recession, and what this says about Canada’s economic landscape. 

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at 

thedecibel@globeandmail.com

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Clips

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Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Cheryl Sutherland· Host0:02

    Canada's economy is not doing so hot right now. New data from Statistics Canada says that GDP contracted 0.1% on an annualized basis in the first quarter of 2026, and this follows a 1% annualized decline in the previous quarter. This has spurred headlines, debates, and political rumblings over the R word, recession. But Mark Rendell, The Globe's economics reporter, wants to clear a few things up. He's here to talk about what to make of these recent numbers, why there's debate about what a recession is and what it isn't, and what we should really be paying attention to in light of this troubling economic picture. I'm Cheryl Sutherland, and this is The Decibel from The Globe and Mail. Hi, Mark. Nice to see you.

  2. Mark Rendell· Guest0:58

    Great to be on the show. Excited to discuss the R word.

  3. Cheryl Sutherland· Host1:01

    Yes, let's do it. Um, so of course we're talking about recession because Statistics Canada put out new numbers last Friday, um, and we're starting to see these headlines talking about recession. But what are economists making of this moment?

  4. Mark Rendell· Guest1:14

    So I think the, the, the top line takeaway is the Canadian economy isn't doing well. Growth effectively stalled in the last quarter of, uh, 2025 and the first quarter of 2026. So there's been a lot of discussion about whether or not the

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