Interest rate cuts could come in spring this year, Deloitte says

Deloitte Canada's latest forecast predicts stagnant growth in the first half of this year will give way to a return to growth in theSummer and fall.

Chief economist Dawn Desjardins says the Canadian economy could enter into a technical recession -- that is --two quarters or more of negative G-D-P growth. But she doesn't believe the economy will see the deep decline or labour market rout that typically accompanies a true recession.

She adds Deloitte has a pretty substantive recovery in its forecast. Deloitte Canada says momentum in the economy and the job market are poised to improve in the second half of this year as confidence starts to recover.

It predicts the Canadian economy will return to growth in the second half and that the Bank of Canada will start cutting interest rates as early as this spring. But chief economist Dawn Desjardins doesn't expect interest rates to return to their pre-pandemic lows.