The Canadian economy unexpectedly contracted in February, due in some part to temporary mine closures and declines in manufacturing, official data showed Monday.
Real gross domestic product declined 0.2 percent in February, after creeping up 0.1 percent in January, Statistics Canada reported.
Economists were expecting February to match January's anemic growth.
On the bright side, gains in wholesale trade and in the finance sector outweighed declines in retail trade and in the transportation and warehousing sector.
Potash mining was down 19 percent as a result of the closure of mines in Saskatchewan in response to weak world demand, the agency noted.
Facility shutdowns in Alberta contributed to a 0.9 percent decrease in oil and gas extraction.
Construction rose 0.5 percent in February.
Year on year growth was only 1.6 percent, far worse than than the 2.1 percent annual growth expected by economists.
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