I do not think they are in a recession…Different parts of Canada are more leveraged to natural resources than others, so regions may differ. The east is manufacturing based so their exports are hurt by their strong dollar..But the west has the natural resources, so they tend to do better….Their financials have had some hits with exposure to the US subprime problem.
bloomberg.com has good reports on the canadian economy…EWC is a great ETF by the way…Have owned it for years….