TORONTO - Ontario's economy grew by an unexpectedly strong 1.6 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2009, the province's best quarter in six years and the best performer in Canada and the United States.
It was the second consecutive quarter of growth, but overall Ontario's gross domestic product fell 3.4 per cent in fiscal 2009 because of the recession that started the previous year.
Finance Minister Dwight Duncan says there were gains across the board in the fourth quarter, including consumer spending, exports and imports and investment in residential construction.
He says the higher consumer spending shows critics who claim consumers are worried about the impact of the 13 per cent harmonized sales tax are wrong.
Duncan says international investors are looking at Ontario as one of the strongest economies on the planet.
He admits unemployment remains "stubbornly high," but says the government hopes to see a gradual reduction in the jobless rate.
The figures confirm the recession was especially hard on Ontario's manufacturing sector, with the auto industry down 28.7 per cent last year after falling 24 per cent in 2008. Manufacturing overall was down 13.7 per cent for the year.
