The Canadian economy got off to a good start in the first month of 2016, with the economy enjoying a 0.6% growth, sparking hopes of a year ahead of better than anticipated growth – and insurance is high among the sectors driving this surge.

Insurance and finance exhibited a 0.6% uptick in the first month of the year, according to figures released by Statistics Canada late last week. The growth was twice the 0.3% that had been predicted for the month, and triple the 0.2% increase in the last month of 2015.

Other sectors behind the rise in real gross domestic product were manufacturing, retail trade, and the oil and gas sector.

At the same time, average weekly earnings in the country’s most populous province have increased 1.3% to $963, driven once again by growth in Insurance and finance as well as manufacturing and information and cultural industries.