Weakening conditions in sectors like manufacturing are masking the true state of the Canadian economy, notes a new report from CIBC World Markets.

“Despite some softer pockets, the national economy is still standing stronger than it looks,” says Avery Shenfeld, managing director and senior economist, in his latest Provincial Forecast.

Shenfeld says a range of data, from rising incomes, export revenues and employment, to the possibility of better-than-expected provincial revenues, suggest that Canada’s economy is more than just a story about uneven and uncertain economic growth.

“One can hardly call Q1 the first quarter of recession, with real personal disposable incomes up 7.3% annualized, and employment up 2% annualized from the prior quarter,” says Shenfeld who expects to see slight economic growth across the country in second quarter.

He further notes that the talk about Ontario potentially becoming a “have-not” province ignores that Ontario’s after-tax incomes are still above the national average and “other provinces that had earlier seen harder times are coming out of their shell and benefiting from improvements in their economic base,” says Shenfeld. “This is a positive story of improved income equality.”

While some may regard recent declines in real gross domestic production as a sign of looming recession, nominal GDP, which includes gains in prices as well as volumes, is the number to look at right now, says Shenfeld. He notes “shrinking volumes of goods have been exported to others at rapidly climbing prices, and the resulting revenues flow to incomes that let Canada buy more from the rest of the world in exchange.”

The rising price of exported goods should also put provincial coffers in better shape than expected, says Shenfeld. He’s forecasting that budget surpluses in western provinces will exceed estimates on the strength of the higher resource prices. Alberta revenues will likely surge the most if recent energy price gains hold up says Shenfeld, adding that similar gains are in store for its neighbours. “As a result, we expect that aggregate provincial deficits will still be lower than forecast, even with disappointments in real growth in the eastern half of the county.”

However, despite the signs of economic strength across the country, the fate of provincial economies will continue to be directed by how closely linked they are to the booming global materials markets and the U.S. economy.

In provinces “where oil, gas, potash and metallurgical coal and other commodities in high global demand are the core of the economy, growth is constrained only by tight labour markets,” says Shenfeld. “Where core products are autos and parts, lumber, tourism and other goods and services aimed at U.S. buyers, Canada is, like its American cousin, verging on or in recession this year.”