The agency says its preliminary estimates indicate the economy grew by 0.8 percent in February, saying that many sectors that declined in January rebounded after a month.

Statistics Canada adds that real GDP grew by 0.2 percent in January, a month marked by restrictions due to rising COVID-19 cases.

The report stated that goods-producing industries led the gains in January, with the agency noting construction sector growth for the third time in four months, which was the largest monthly gain since July 2020.

Residential construction grew by 4.3 percent in January, which Statistics Canada noted more than offset the contraction in the previous two months and was the largest monthly gain since March 2021.

The same cannot be said for the services sector, which recorded zero overall growth in January.

Notably, accommodation and food services and the arts, entertainment, and recreation sector experienced their largest monthly decline since the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020.

The agency says its preliminary estimates indicate the economy grew by 0.8 percent in February, saying that many sectors that declined in January rebounded after a month.

Statistics Canada will calculate its figures for February at the end of April.

It says the early February number represents strong growth.

Andrew Grantham, Chief Economist at CIBC, said that the resilient January figure and the early estimate for February growth put first-quarter economic growth ahead of what he and the Bank of Canada expected at the start of the year.

But Grantham says growth during the remainder of the year is likely to be slower due to the impact of high inflation on household finances, potential supply chain issues resulting from Russia's unjustified invasion of Ukraine, and rising interest rates which will slow the housing market boom.