Media

Canadian Economy Recovers Almost Half Its COVID-Induced Loss in May and June The Canadian economy bounced back sharply in May and June as Canadian provinces eased lockdown measures. GDP expanded 4.5% in May, and activity in June was even more robust at an estimated 5% rise. Cumulatively, GDP rose 10% in May and June, after…

Bank of Canada Holds Target Rate Steady Until Inflation Sustainably Hits 2% The Bank of Canada under the new governor, Tiff Macklem, wants to be “unusually clear” that interest rates will remain low for a very long time. To do that, they are using “forward guidance”–indicating that they will not raise rates until capacity is…

Housing Market Continued Its Rebound in June and Early July There was more good news today on the housing front. Home sales rebounded by a further 63% in June, returning them to normal levels for the month–150% above where they were in April when the pandemic-induced lockdown paralyzed the economy (see chart below). Data released this morning…

Robust Jobs Report in June, Much Better Than Expected The June Labour Force Survey, released this morning by Statistics Canada, reflects labour market conditions as of the week of June 14 to June 20. By that time, public health restrictions had been eased in most parts of the country. Tighter restrictions remained, however, in much of southwestern…

Astonishing Fiscal Red Ink Announced Today Finance Minister Bill Morneau presented his fiscal snapshot this afternoon. Most economists were expecting a budget deficit of roughly $260 billion. Instead, the government announced a deficit for the fiscal year 2020-21 of $343.2 billion–close to 16% of GDP. That compares to the $34.4 billion deficit projected before the…

Canadian Business Sentiment Is Negative  The Bank of Canada released its Summer Business Outlook Survey (BOS)* this morning, covering an interview period from mid-May to early June. In all provinces and all sectors, the sentiment was hugely negative owing to the impact of the pandemic and falling oil prices.  Since the previous survey, conducted before concerns about…

Dr. Sherry Cooper was recently featured on Episode #92 of The Everyday Millionaire podcast where she discussed various insights about the current economic situation, the power of PIVOT and focusing on the way forward. Click here to listen to the full episode. “Everybody needs to keep feeing their minds and their bodies healthfully and… continue…

In case you missed it, Dr. Sherry Cooper was recently featured on The Globe and Mail’s Housing Outlook webcast. This discussion called on various experts to outline the impacts of the pandemic on housing, along with potential paths forward. The discussion also included updates on the economic effects of COVID-19, housing market forecasts and government…

Canada’s Economy Plunged 11.6% in April The pandemic shutdown put every sector of the economy into a medically induced coma, so it was no surprise that the first full month of lockdown would be ugly. Indeed, consensus estimates were worse than the 11.6% drop in economic activity reported this morning by Statistics Canada (see chart below)….

First Formal Remarks By Tiff Macklem, Bank of Canada Governor There were no surprises this morning from Governor Macklem’s virtual presentation to the Canadian Clubs of Canada. His opening written statement was quite brief and it was followed up with a Q and A. Here are the key points that he emphasized. Negative interest rates are…