OTTAWA -- The Canadian economy outperformed expectations in the final three months of 2016 by generating growth at an annual rate of 2.6 per cent.

Statistics Canada's latest report on real gross domestic product says the biggest contribution to the fourth-quarter increase came from household consumption, which rose at an annual rate of 2.6 per cent.

“It appears that the economy truly has turned the corner after a couple challenging years,” wrote BMO Capital Markets Chief Economist Doug Porter in a report to clients. “Just one day after the Bank of Canada delivered a relatively somber view on the Canadian economy, the evidence continues to mount that the growth landscape is shifting for the better. We believe that the Bank’s messaging will slowly shift as well through 2017.” 

A consensus of economists had predicted economic growth in the fourth quarter to expand by two per cent, according to Thomson Reuters.

The headline GDP figure also received a boost from a sharp quarterly drop in imports, which fell at an annual rate of 13.5 per cent. Statistics Canada said some of that decline was due to the one-time, third-quarter import of a large module for the Hebron offshore oil project.

StatsCan says economic growth was limited by an 8.2 per cent decline in business investment, which was the category's ninth consecutive quarterly contraction.

“The enemy of investment is uncertainty, and if there's one thing that characterizes the business climate today, and particularly the Canada-U.S. relationship, it's uncertainty,” said Perrin Beatty, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, in an interview with BNN. “The sooner that we can get clarity as to what the rules are, the easier it will be for business to be able to plan and to invest."

- with files from BNN