Canada’s current account deficit (on a seasonally adjusted basis) narrowed by $2.1 billion in the fourth quarter to $8.8 billion. The decrease mainly reflected a lower trade in goods deficit, as well as higher receipts from government transfers. Details online. Capital expenditures on non-residential construction and machinery and equipment are expected to rise 2.8 per cent to $275.5 billion in 2020, … Read more
In 2018, there were 1,798 police-reported hate crimes in Canada, down 13 per cent from the record-high of 2,073 incidents reported in 2017. Despite the decline, the number of hate incidents reported in 2018 was the second highest since 2009. Details online. Just over three-quarters (77 per cent) of Canadians reported voting in the 2019 federal election, unchanged from the 2015 election. In particular, following notable increases of more than 10 percentage points … Read more
Canadian corporate operating profits grew $3.9 billion (+3.6 per cent) to $112.3 billion in the fourth quarter, marking the third consecutive quarterly increase in operating profit. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2018, operating profit was up 4.8 per cent. Details online. In Canada, the Black population is young, diverse and growing. In 2016, almost 1.2 million Black people lived in Canada, … Read more
The median after-tax income of Canadian families and unattached individuals was $61,400 in 2018, virtually unchanged from 2017. Details online. Wholesale sales rose 0.9 per cent to $63.9 billion in December, following two consecutive monthly declines. Four of seven subsectors recorded higher sales, accounting for 63 per cent of wholesale sales. Details online. Total investment in building construction edged up 0.5 per cent from November … Read more
Retail sales were virtually unchanged at $51.6 billion in December, after growing 1.1 per cent in November. Details online. Canada received a record 22.1 million international tourists from abroad in 2019, surpassing the previous year’s record of 21.1 million. The number of tourists from overseas countries (countries other than the United States) rose to 7.1 million arrivals (+454,000) in 2019, while the number of US tourists to Canada rose … Read more
In December, 448,000 people received regular Employment Insurance (EI) benefits, little changed from November. On a year-over-year basis, the number of EI recipients in Canada edged down as decreases in six provinces were partially offset by increases in British Columbia and Ontario. Details online. The employment earnings gap between workers in the top and bottom ends of the earnings distribution … Read more
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.4 per cent on a year-over-year basis in January, up from a 2.2 per cent gain in December. Excluding gasoline, the CPI rose 2.0 per cent in January. Details online. Student enrolment at Canadian public universities and colleges rose for the third consecutive academic year in 2017/2018, largely driven by higher enrolments by international students, particularly from China … Read more
Manufacturing sales declined for the fourth consecutive month, down 0.7 per cent to $56.4 billion in December. Sales were down in 11 of 21 industries, representing 42.6 per cent of the Canadian manufacturing sector. Details online. In 2018, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Shandong and Jiangsu were the primary export destinations, accounting for nearly 70% of all identified exports to China ($21.3 billion) in the context of this study. … Read more
Total donations claimed on tax returns rose 3.9 per cent in 2018 to just under $10.0 billion. While this marks a second consecutive year of increase, the growth was smaller than in 2017 (+7.7 per cent). In 2018, charitable donations rose most in Saskatchewan (+17.1 per cent), following a decrease of 0.5 per cent the previous year. Other notable increases were observed for Quebec (+5.7 per … Read more
Canada continues to be more urbanized as the population of Canada’s census metropolitan areas rose to 27.0 million (71.7 per cent). CMAs outpaced growth in the rest of the country (1.7 per cent versus 0.6 per cent). Details online. Stocks of frozen and chilled meats in cold storage totalled 128 801 tonnes as of January 1, 2020, up 9.8 per cent from October 1, 2019. Stocks of frozen … Read more
