Canada went into recession in the first quarter of 2020. The C.D. Howe institute Business Cycle Council says, preliminary data suggests we entered a recession in the first quarter with a peak in February. The council is comprised of Canada’s preeminent economists in the field. The Council defines a recession as a pronounced, persistent, and pervasive decline in aggregate economic activity. The council used Statistics Canada’s GDP data on April 15th that shows a nine per cent drop in March GDP, resulting in a quarterly drop of 2.6 per cent. That was the largest one quarter drop on record. They also considered employment data for the first three months of the year. There was a 1.5 per cent drop in total employment in the first quarter, with a 5.3 per cent drop on March alone.