06:32 AM EST, 11/08/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Western Canada led the real gross domestic product growth pack in 2023, with each of British Columbia (2.4%), Alberta (2.3%) and Saskatchewan (2.3%) coming in above the 2%

mark, noted Bank of Montreal (BMO).

Quebec lagged at just 0.6%, but that province was impacted by labor strike activity late in the year and has

since seen growth pick up, said the bank.

Ontario was right down the middle at 1.4%.

A few things stand out, stated BMO. First, almost all provinces have seen a steady slowdown in growth since the

post-pandemic recovery -- no surprise there.

The disparity in growth across the county is also very

narrow by historical standards, pointed out the bank. Excluding Newfoundland & Labrador -- which tends to see GDP growth swing "violently" due to various temporary

production shutdowns -- the gap between the strongest provincial growth rate and the weakest, at 1.7 ppts, was the lowest in at least 30 years in 2023.