It’s official: Canada’s economy fell into recession in the first half of the year for the first time since the Great Recession of 2009.

Canada’s real gross domestic product shrank 0.5 per cent between April and June, following a revised downward decline of 0.8 per cent for the first three months of the year, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.

The two-quarter slump meets the technical definition of recession, fueling the federal election campaign debate over who could best lead the country out of the economic mire after the Oct. 19 vote.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whose Conservative Party has pinned its re-election hopes on its economic record, has been under attack from opponents, who see the downturn as evidence he’s taken the wrong tack.

Overall, the second quarter slump was milder than economists’ consensus forecast for a 1 per cent decline and a monthly uptick in June was seen as a sign the economy is turning a corner after five months of declines.

Still, expectations for future growth are modest as low oil prices and slow global growth continue to weigh on Canada’s resource sector. By comparison, the U.S. economy grew 3.7 per cent in the second quarter, Statistics Canada noted.

“While far from good news, the decline in Q2 GDP was a bit less nasty than expected and the good news is that the economic contraction looks to be in the rear-view mirror,” Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets wrote in a note to clients.

June’s data sets the stage for an economic recovery in the second half of the year.

“Despite the weak start to the year, there is good reason to believe that the worst is over,” TD economist Brian DePratto wrote in a commentary that forecast 2.5 per cent growth in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal is also forecasting 2.5 to 3 per cent growth.

Other economists were less optimistic.

“With exports still struggling and business investment falling in response to the fallout in the energy sector, hopes for a sustained rebound beginning in the second half of the year look misplaced,” David Madani, Canadian economist with Capital Economics, wrote in a note to clients.

The consumer, once again, led most of the second quarter growth, while business investment remained a major drag.

What the leaders have said about the economy:

Consumer spending rose 2.3 per cent, most of it on autos and houses. Savings rates fell, while payments on mortgages and others loans ate up a higher percentage of incomes.

The lower Canadian dollar helped boost exports, which gained a modest 0.4 per cent, reversing two consecutive quarters of declines, buoying hopes the U.S. recovery is finally benefitting manufacturers.

Government spending rose a modest 1.5 per cent.

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However, business investment continued to be a major drag, falling 12 per cent, as the energy sector cut spending on machinery, equipment and buildings, though at a slower pace than in the first three months of the year.

The Statistics Canada report also renewed the ongoing economic debate over the definition of a “technical” recession, which the federal government recently enshrined in its balanced budget legislation as two consecutive quarters of negative GDP.

Economists argue the definition is too narrow to reflect what’s really happening this time.

While Canada’s energy sector and the provinces that depend on it, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador, have been slammed by plunging oil prices, the rest of the country, especially Ontario and British Columbia, are reaping the benefits of a lower Canadian dollar.

“If this period is ultimately deemed to be a recession, it will be of the mildest variety and one of the strangest recessions ever — consumer spending was up in both quarters and so too was employment, far from a widespread softening in the economy,” Porter wrote.

They’ll get more ammunition later this week when Statistics Canada releases June’s merchandise trade data on Thursday, while the view of the current quarter will become clearer Friday with the publication of August’s employment figures.

The last time the economy contracted over two consecutive quarters was in 2009 during the Great Recession, when GDP pulled back by 8.7 per cent in the first quarter and 3.6 per cent in the second.

The quarterly decline was in line with the Bank of Canada’s forecast in July and is likely to keep the bank’s trendsetting overnight interest rate at current levels, economists said.

The return to growth in June “reduces the probability for any further easing by the Bank of Canada. The overnight rate is expected to remain unchanged at the current 0.5 per cent into 2016,” Paul Ferley, assistant chief economist at RBC Capital Markets, wrote in a note to clients.

The June increase was led by a 3.1 per cent boost in the mining and oil and gas sector, much of it due to an oil sands facility reopening after a temporary shutdown.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup provided a kick to the arts, entertainment and recreation sector, which rose 6.4 per cent.

Finance, wholesale and manufacturing also made broad based gains.

Looking ahead to July, the Pan Am Games is expected to provide a similar boost, along with federal budget increase in the Universal Child Care Benefit, which pumped an estimated $3 billion to $4 billion into the economy, economists said.