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Friday’s stronger than-expected job numbers could help push Canada’s GDP to 3% in the second quarter, a development that could spur the Bank of Canada to begin hiking interest rates this summer, one economist said Friday.

Data from Statistics Canada on Friday revealed that 58,200 new jobs were added in April, following on the back of a strong March hiring spree, when the economy added 70,000 new full-time positions and 12,400 part-time jobs. That was the strongest back-to-back monthly gain in jobs for Canada since 1981.

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CIBC chief economist Avery Shenfeld said that such strong numbers could have the Bank of Canada rethinking on when to hike. Mr. Shenfeld had originally expected the Bank to leave interest rates unchanged this year, but he admits that the strong data has him weighing the possbility now.

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“[Our] call didn’t incorporate such a massive hiring binge in the March-April period, nor the surge in housing starts we saw for April,” he said. “There’s now reasonable odds that Q2 GDP will top 3%, and make up for the lost ground in the first quarter.”