The Financial Post reports in its Saturday, March 30, edition that the Canadian economy surprised to the upside as it posted its strongest monthly growth in a year, which may keep the Bank of Canada "on its toes," some economists say, as the first interest rate cut looms. The Post's Naimul Karim write that real gross domestic product edged up by 0.6 per cent in January, according to Statistics Canada, beating analysts' expectations of 0.4 per cent. The agency also expects a 0.4 per cent rise in GDP during February. Bank of Montreal economist Douglas Porter says, "To put that two-month flurry of growth into perspective, the combined 1 per cent gain is as much as the economy grew in the entire 12 months of 2023." He adds, "After a prolonged lull through much of last year the economy looks to have caught some strong tailwinds early this year." The rise in GDP was due to broad-based growth in 18 of the 20 sectors measured by Statistics Canada. Toronto-Dominion Bank economist Marc Ercolao says while the BOC has received "solid evidence" in the past two months that inflation is co-operating, "strong GDP data prints" will "keep them on their toes." Mr. Ercolao expects the first interest rate cut to take place in July.