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The Business Council of B.C. (BCBC) has downgraded the prospects of the provincial economy for a second time since the COVID-19 crisis unfolded.
Economists at the BCBC now forecast the province’s GDP will shrink 7.8% in 2020 — a greater contraction than the 7.3% predicted in March.
“Canada’s economy has fallen into a very deep hole,” economists Ken Peacock and David Williams wrote in their latest assessment.
“Exiting from it will be uncertain and challenging given the paucity of ready catalysts for private sector GDP generation and job growth, the limited set of remaining options for macroeconomic policy stimuli, the overhang of private and public debt, and the (necessary) ongoing public health restrictions that virtually rule out a consumer-led recovery.”
