Canada fell into recession in the first half of the year, posting its weakest results since the 2008 global financial crisis, government data confirmed Tuesday.
The figures add to escalating fears about the health of the global economy, with world stock markets plunging farther on Tuesday as more gloomy evidence emerged of China’s economic slowdown — China has been a major engine of global growth.
The grim numbers were also bad news for Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, just weeks before elections.
The Canadian economy contracted 0.5 percent in the second quarter after retreating 0.8 percent in the previous three months, according to Statistics Canada.
By comparison, the US economy grew 3.7 percent in the first quarter.
Canada, the world’s fifth-largest oil producer, has been hit hard by the plunge in world oil prices from above $100 last year to about $52 now.