Harper is campaigning for a fourth term on a record of economic growth.

This fits the technical definition of a recession – two straight quarters of negative growth – but it is no cause for panic.

Canada’s GDP shrunk at an annualised 0.5% rate in the second quarter, after a 0.8% fall in the first – so the country is now technically in recession.

In the second quarter, its mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction sector posted a “notable decrease” for a second consecutive quarter, said the government statistical agency. “That’s not performance. Canadians deserve better”.

Statistics released Tuesday show Canada is in a recession, and with the three parties neck-and-neck in a federal election race, the opposition was quick go for Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s jugular.

There is now a debate whether we are in a recession in Canada.

The Canadian dollar initially rallied to a session high against the greenback following the data before giving up ground later in the day as oil prices fell.

Economists, however, expressed confidence the Canadian economy will rebound.

A Canadian of mixed Filipino and Irish descent, Devlin has campaigned in recent years to bring more attention to how Canada’s rising carbon emissions contribute to climate instability, with extreme weather events such as typhoon Haiyan causing hundreds of deaths in the Philippines.

So, what the economic numbers show is that from January to June of this year, Canada experienced a mild recession, even though the economy grew in June by 0.5%, indicating it may already be over.

Without the final numbers for the 2014-15 and 2015-16 fiscal years, it’s impossible to say with certainty whether the Harper government produced eight consecutive shortfalls.

“Employment gains, robust housing markets, and solid consumer spending are not typically hallmarks of recession”, wrote Bank of Nova Scotia vice-president of economics Derek Holt, adding that “the ingredients for a snap-back in growth, at some point, are starting to appear”.

“I think it’s more important to describe the reality of the situation rather than to have labels”, he said. The figures are Canada’s weakest results since the 2008 global financial crisis, throwing the country into recession for the second time in six years. This was quite a surprise because as oil prices decline, many Canadian companies are experiencing massive layoffs.

The Conservative campaign moves on Tuesday to northern Ontario, where Harper will first stop in Sault Ste.

“In all cases, our goal will be to set up this country as a world leader in advanced manufacturing for the decades to come”, Harper said.

The document also said the total didn’t account for the fiscal impact of some government initiatives, such as the $1.6-billion enhancement tied to the new veterans charter and the $1.1-billion change to the universal child care benefit.

“A number of positive elements are coming through”, Beata Caranci, chief economist at TD Bank, said, the Canadian Press reported. Mulcair has moved his party to the center and vowed to balance the budget.