B.C.’s economy growth in 2025 exceeded some forecasts, with the province among the main drivers of Canada’s overall growth.

The province recorded a real gross domestic product (GDP) growth of two per cent in 2025, above the national average of 1.6 per cent, according to data released Friday, May 1 by Statistics Canada.

This surpassed the 1.4 per cent GDP forecast by both the B.C. government and Deloitte Canada.

“Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia are the largest contributors to economic growth in 2025,” Statistics Canada said in the report.

B.C. contributed 0.28 percentage points to Canada’s GDP growth, representing 17.5 per cent of the national total while the province has about 13 per cent of the national population.

Ontario (0.49 percentage points) and Alberta (0.42 percentage points) led the country, with the three provinces accounting for nearly three quarters of national GDP growth in 2025.

Oil and gas extraction (7.3 per cent), as well as mining and quarrying (9.4 per cent)—including increased output in copper, nickel, lead and zinc ore—were among the top contributors to the province’s growth, according to the report.

B.C. services-producing industries were the main driver, contributing 1.44 percentage points to real GDP, while goods-producing industries contributed 0.59 percentage points.

“Growth in the value-added of services-producing industries slowed in every jurisdiction in 2025, with growth in seven jurisdictions slowing for the second consecutive year,” read the report.

B.C., along with Newfoundland and Labrador, was one of the only two provinces that “outpaced its growth rate from the previous year,” said the report. B.C.’s real GDP growth grew 1.2 per cent in 2024, according to Statistics Canada.

Nationally, Newfoundland and Labrador recorded the fastest year-over-year GDP growth in 2025 at 3.5 per cent, followed by Prince Edward Island (2.8 per cent) and Alberta (2.7 per cent). The Northwest Territories was the only jurisdiction to post negative growth at minus two per cent.

The public sector remained a significant contributor to nationwide growth, although expansion slowed in 2025 compared with 2024 in most jurisdictions, according to the report.

Growth in the educational services sector moderated nationwide, while the health care and social assistance sector continued to expand for the second consecutive year, albeit at a slower pace than in 2024 for most jurisdictions.

“Manufacturing output decreased in 10 jurisdictions, acting as a significant drag on growth in [some provinces],” reads the report.

“Construction activity increased in most jurisdictions in 2025.”

[email protected]

x.com/xiong_daisy