Gains in manufacturing and wholesale trade helped drive the country’s economy in May.

Statistics Canada said Friday that the country’s real gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.3 per cent.

That followed a slight uptick of 0.1 per cent that was reported the previous month.

Manufacturing advanced 1.6 per cent in May while wholesale trade was up 2.9 per cent.

StatCan said the easing of supply chain issues related to semiconductor chip supplies aided the increases.

The public administration sector, which was up 3.1 per cent, also helped drive the overall GDP increase.

It came as most workers represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada returned to work following strike action that began in April.

Meanwhile, forest fires in Alberta hampered growth in a number of energy-related industries, with the energy sector down 2.1 per cent.

This was the sector’s first decline in five months and its largest since August 2020, according to StatCan.

Elsewhere, activity at the offices of real estate agencies and brokers and activities related to real estate advanced 7.6 per cent as demand for real estate remained strong.

The construction sector contracted 0.8 per cent, driven by declines in home alterations and improvement and construction of new single-detached homes.

Looking ahead to June, StatCan said early indications suggest GDP decreased 0.2 per cent, with downward movements in the wholesale trade and manufacturing sectors more than offsetting the May increases.

You can view the full report on Statistics Canada’s website.