The BCREA Nowcast estimate of provincial economic growth (expressed as year-over-year growth in real GDP) for April 2024 is 2.1 per cent. For comparison, year-over-year growth in the Canadian economy in April was 1.1 per cent. Our preliminary estimate for May shows growth falling back to 1.5 per cent year-over-year. For the first five months of the year, the Nowcast estimate of BC's real GDP growth is 1.5 per cent.

At a regional level, our economic region Nowcast shows a strong rebound in growth across all regions except the Thompson-Okanagan where it continues to show a struggling economy.

To view the full interactive BCREA Nowcast, click here.
To download the PDF, click here.

Growth of provincial GDP is a key indicator of economic activity, but provincial GDP data is only available annually and with a considerable delay. That's why we developed the BCREA Nowcast – a tool for tracking monthly growth in the BC Economy. The Nowcast compiles monthly economic data into one easy to understand number, expressed as the year-over-year growth in the BC economy.

As the underlying economic data is released with a one- or two-month lag, our estimates for monthly growth will also lag real-time by two months (e.g., estimated growth in January will be published at the end of March). There are no adjustments to the model estimate except for those due to revisions to the underlying data.

For more information, please contact:
Brendon Ogmundson
Chief Economist
Direct: 604.742.2796
Mobile: 604.505.6793
Email: [email protected]

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