Canadian Northern Economic Activity Increases Despite Pandemic, New Index Suggests

Published at: Jan 12 2021 - 09:19 / Updated at: Jan 12 2021 - 09:25

A report published Fridayshows that economic activity, measured across a variety of indicators, actually increased in Yukon and Nunavut since September of last year, according to CBC North.

According to the index, Yukon saw between 2.4 and 3.9 per cent more economic activity this September than in September 2019, while Nunavut saw growth of 5.6 per cent — the most in the country.

“The signal that seems to be coming out is that the North was not as impacted as the South during that first kind of wave of COVID-19,” said Ryan MacDonald, the principal researcher with Statistics Canada behind the new index.

The new index was developed by researchers with Statistics Canada to provide a picture of the country’s economic activity in between annual estimates.