We have the official numbers on economic growth from last year. StatsCan is the final authority on this stuff and has completed its assessment of what took place in the provinces in 2018.
The biggest growth rate was seen in Prince Edward Island. In Saskatchewan, we were below the national average with growth of 1.6 per cent. However, that is better than a lot of forecasters expected. Many were talking about a single point or less in the wake of a year of contraction in 2017.
So, what made the difference? Mining was one of the factors. At least potash mining, which was up. With the completion of the K + S mine, we had a new player adding to our production. However, uranium mining went down with the closure of some operations.
Manufacturing rose by more than four per cent. Our crop production was slightly higher than the previous year. But real estate continues to be challenging, with StatsCan noting that brokers and real estate agents saw their seventh consecutive year of decline.
