This quarterly economic forecast presents the medium-term outlook for the Canadian economy. This release focuses on business investment. For an overview of all major components of the economy, go to the Canadian Outlook main page.
Investment Recovery Fraught With Risks: Canada’s Two-Year Business Investment Outlook
Investment Recovery Fraught With Risks: Canada’s Two-Year Business Investment Outlook
Business and Household Indicators
Canadian Economic Analysis
$225.00
- Investment spending will drop 8.0 per cent this year for non-residential structures, and an even steeper drop of 17.0 per cent is anticipated in the equipment sector.
- Business confidence hit record lows in the second quarter. Confidence improved in the third quarter but remained low by historical standards, and the weakness in confidence is a key factor behind our pessimistic outlook for investment spending this year.
- A recovery in confidence and higher capacity utilization will lead to a rebound in investment activity in 2021. However, the outlook remains fraught with downside risks and depends heavily on the future course of the virus and the development and production of an effective vaccine.
- Canada’s competitiveness compared with the U.S. remains a sore spot. This has been especially true since 2017 when the Trump administration slashed U.S. corporate tax rates. However, the prospect of higher taxes under a Biden administration could start to level the playing field between the two countries.
- Investment in the oil and gas sector, as well as in manufacturing, has been hit the hardest by the pandemic. Conversely, activity in electric power generation and pipelines has been relatively unscathed.
Customers Who Downloaded This Also Liked
3 min read
8 min read
10 min read
Require an accessible version of this research?
Upon request, Signal49 Research offers accessible versions of research. Please contact us to request your accessible version.
Learn more about our accessibility policies.
Effective January 26, 2026, AERIC Inc./Signal49 Research discontinued use of ‘The Conference Board of Canada’ name, logo and branding, which had been used by AERIC Inc./Signal49 Research under license from The Conference Board, Inc. The Conference Board, Inc. and its licensees, which are not affiliated with Signal49 Research, own all right, title and interest in THE CONFERENCE BOARD name and trademarks in Canada and have the exclusive right to their use in Canada since January 26, 2026.
