Consumer spending on track for worst year in decade, says National Bank

A slowing Canadian economy will result in consumer spending falling to its lowest level in a decade this year, according to a new report from the National Bank of Canada. Economists at the bank expect real consumption growth – which is calculated once the impact of inflation is stripped out – to hit 1.3 per cent in 2019, which would be the lowest since 2009 when it fell to 0.2 per cent amid the global financial crisis.