Economic activity contracted sharply in August, largely the result of the blackout in Ontario. Gross domestic product (GDP) plummeted0.7%. The last time the economy experienced such a large setback was in September2001, when GDP fell0.6%. Ontario represents about42% of the total Canadian economy.
The weakness in the economy was widespread, with most industries reporting slight to sharp declines in output. Much of the downturn can be attributed to the power blackout in Ontario and the subsequent request for reduced consumption. It is not possible to isolate and quantify the exact impact of the blackout on August's GDP, although there were very few areas of the economy that were not affected. Reduced electricity generation hampered manufacturing plants and service producing establishments, hindering production, transportation and distribution of goods as well as the sales and delivery of a wide range of business, personal and government services. The public administration sector was highly impacted, since most government offices operated at minimal capacity to conserve electricity needed to fuel the private sector economy. Unlike manufacturers, most service producing industries were unable to recuperate their time lost.//