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Quebec’s economy grew faster than the overall Canadian economy during the first three months of 2017, according to a new report from the provincial statistics agency.

Quebec’s gross domestic product was up 1.1 per cent during the first quarter of 2017, when compared to the previous quarter, the Institut de la statistique du Québec says. Overall, Canada’s GDP grew by 0.9 per cent during the same period.

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On a year-over-year basis, Quebec’s economy grew by 2.9 per cent, while the overall Canadian economy grew by 2.3 per cent.

Quebec’s economy has now outperformed the overall Canadian economy during three of the past four quarters.

The increase brings Quebec’s GDP to over $400 billion, on a seasonally-adjusted and annualized basis, for the first time.

Final domestic demand in Quebec during the first quarter increased 0.9 per cent from the previous three-month period, the ISQ said, the seventh consecutive quarterly increase.

That was driven largely by an increase in household consumption, though a small increase in government spending and investment, by both government and the private sector, also played a role.

However, Quebec saw a 3.3 per cent decline in overall exports during the quarter. While exports to other Canadian provinces increased 0.8 per cent, international exports were down 7.2 per cent.

That increased Quebec’s trade deficit for quarter to $12.3 billion, up from $ 7.4 billion during the fourth quarter of 2016.