Hockey helped lift Canada's economy in April, StatsCan says

Jay Zhao-Murray, Bloomberg News   Jun 28, 2024

Edmonton Oilers' Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, left, and Vancouver Canucks' Ilya Mikheyev vie for the puck during the second period in Game 7 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series, in Vancouver, on Monday, May 20, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

The National Hockey League’s playoffs gave the Canadian economy a boost in April, according to the country’s statistics agency.

Spectator sports contributed the most to the growth in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector that month, “as four Canadian hockey teams qualified for the National Hockey League playoffs,” Statistics Canada said.

The arts and entertainment sector rose 0.9 per cent to $17.1 billion annualized in April, the sector’s biggest seasonally adjusted gains since last July.

To be sure, the industry represents a small share of Canada’s economic activity, accounting for just 0.8 per cent of total output.