Canada's economy shrank at an annualized rate of 8.2 percent in the first quarter as consumers stopped spending and business ground to a halt because of the coronavirus pandemic, the government reported Friday. Analysts had forecast an even bigger hit, of 10 percent. Compared to the final quarter of 2019, the decline was 2.1 percent, Statistics Canada said. The drop in GDP was the sharpest since the first quarter of 2009, the agency said. First-quarter household spending was down 2.3 pc, which was the steepest quarterly drop ever recorded, it added. jl/et/dw/ft