Ontario saw real gross domestic product growth of 1.5% in the first quarter, the provincial government announced, marking the third consecutive quarterly gain.

Economic growth in the quarter was broadly based, the government said, with exports, consumer spending, housing construction, business investment and government all providing support.

Consumer spending rose 0.6% in the period, slowing from a 0.8% gain in the fourth quarter of 2009, as consumers increased their purchases of furniture and appliances, clothing and footwear, electricity and natural gas.

Business investment on plant and machinery rebounded by 2.8% in the first quarter, after falling 7.9% in the fourth quarter; and investment in residential construction rose by 6.5% in the quarter, reflecting strong new housing construction spending (+11.0%) and renovation activities (+7.9%).

Government capital spending also grew by 5.5% in the first quarter, after increasing about 7.0% in each of the previous four quarters.

Exports and imports were both higher, although imports rose at a faster rate, and as a result, the real trade deficit widened to $5.6 billion in the quarter.

Industries with notable gains include manufacturing, construction and wholesale trade. Output of the finance, insurance and real estate and leasing sector grew 0.6% in the first quarter, following a 2.4% gain in the fourth quarter. The gains were led by banking (+1.3%) and insurance (+0.6%), which more than offset declines in rental and leasing services (-1.6%) and other financial services (-0.1%).

IE