The country added 230,700 jobs in June, beating analyst expectations of 195,000, as public health restrictions were eased in several regions of the country, Statscan said. The unemployment rate was 7.8%, just short of expectations of 7.7%.
Imports dropped 4.7% on a 22.1% plunge in shipments of motor vehicles and parts, as many manufacturers in North America and abroad stopped or slowed production.
Overall exports fell by 1.0% as shipments of motor vehicles and parts dove 18.1%.
In a preliminary estimate, Statistics Canada said the economy would have contracted 0.8% in April. By contrast, the economy expanded 1.1% in March, the 11th consecutive monthly gain, as 18 of 20 sectors posted increases.
Canada's annual inflation rate rose to 3.4%, from 2.2% in March, Statistics Canada said. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the annual rate to rise to 3.2% in April.
CPI common, which the Bank of Canada calls the best gauge of the economy's underperformance, was 1.7%, in line with analyst expectations. CPI median and trim both rose to 2.3%.
The Canadian economy grew by 0.4% in February as retail trade rebounded after lockdown measures were eased across parts of the country, Statistics Canada said. A flash estimate showed GDP jumping 0.9% in March.
Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 40.62 points, or 0.21%, at 19,215.3.
Statistics Canada said the country added 303,100 jobs in March, triple analyst expectations of 100,000, as a number of industries continued to recover from December and January shutdowns.
"This is another strong jobs report," said Ryan Brecht, a senior economist at Action Economics. "However, the outlook for April activity has been dented by the return of regional lockdowns."
All three core measures of inflation were steady in February. CPI common, which the Bank of Canada says is the best gauge of the economy's underperformance, was flat at 1.3%.
Generally speaking, you don't have emergency levels of disinflationary pressures to justify emergency levels of stimulus, in my opinion.
Canada's trade surplus with the rest of the world was C$1.41 billion ($1.11 billion) in January, the largest since July 2014. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a deficit of C$1.40 billion.
"In a sea of really bad news this is an island paradise. Everything is up," said Peter Hall, chief economist at Export Development Canada.
Domestic retail sales fell 3.4% in December to $53.38 billion ($42.37 billion), the biggest monthly drop since April, as COVID-19 restrictions hit businesses, Statistics Canada said.
Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was flat at 18,274.68 and was set to record its worst week so far this month.
The Canadian economy probably posted its biggest GDP drop on record in 2020, likely down 5.1% on the year,
"Canadian GDP ended 2020 on a much firmer footing than broadly expected, albeit after a brutal year," said Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, in a note.
Canada's 2020 GDP most likely fell 5.1%, Statscan said in a preliminary estimate. The goods-producing sector posted a 1.2% increase in November, while the service-producing sector grew by 0.5%.
The revision, undertaken to ensure the data was aligned with recent population and geographical boundary estimates, had "virtually no effect" on employment estimates for the pandemic period of March to December 2020.