Today’s double data release highlights the ongoing challenges facing parts of Canada’s economy. While some sectors continue to surge ahead others continue to be impacted by ongoing public health measures. The Labour Force Survey conducted between January 10th and January… Read More ›
Economics
E-Sight January 29: Canadian Economy Shows Surprising Strength in November
Today’s GDP release from Statistics Canada confirms just how bad the economic decline was in 2020. However, the release also provides some good news that the economy is weathering the recent public health restrictions better than expected. According to today’s… Read More ›
E-sight January 28: Recent Pandemic Control Measures Weigh on Small Business Confidence
The Canadian Federation for Independent Business (CFIB) reported this morning that both short- and longer-term confidence of small businesses was flat in January as the pandemic continues to weigh on firm’s prospects. The three-month index held steady this month at… Read More ›
E-Sight January 22: A retail party in November followed by a hangover in December
Canadian retail sales growth picked up in November 2020, rising by 1.3% to $55.2 million. The acceleration in sales was particularly welcome as it came after two months of more modest gains. The pattern of retail spending in November suggested Canadians… Read More ›
E-sight January 20: Bank of Canada Sends a Clear Message while Inflation Decelerates
The Bank of Canada left its policy rate at 0.25% this morning and sent a clear message to markets that the overnight rate would stay at that level until its inflation objective is achieved. This comes after speculation in recent… Read More ›
E-Sight January 18: Canada’s high-flying residential real estate
Canadian real estate continues to deliver a strong performance that will counter a portion of the weakness caused by renewed lockdowns and government restrictions to fight the second wave of COVID-19. Canadian home sales increased by 7.2% in December to… Read More ›
E-Sight January 12: Release of Canadian Economic Outlook
In December, we released the highlights of our economic outlook, but today the full publication in English and French is available. We had to do some adjustment to the forecast to reflect the additional government restrictions to combat COVID-19 in late… Read More ›
E-Sight January 8: Canadian Employment Falls for the First Time Since April
It’s not news that the country has been dealing with an accelerating second wave of COVID-19 infections since the fall. Since October we have seen a gradual tightening of public health measures in an attempt to slow the spread of… Read More ›
E-Sight January 7: Canada’s trade deficit narrows, but export growth is slowing
Canadian international merchandise trade continued to slow in November, with exports increasing only 0.5%. Although there was some growth, seven out of eleven product categories posted declines in November. Imports fell 0.3% in November, narrowing the trade balance to -$3.3… Read More ›
E-Sights December 18: Retail Spending Continues to Grow but Impacts of the Second Wave Beginning to Emerge
Canadian retail sales continued to grow in October, gaining 0.4% month-over-month. After October’s increase, retail sales are now an impressive 4.5% above its pre-pandemic level. In volume terms, sales were up 0.2% which will likely help the industry make a… Read More ›
Alexander Economic Views 