Canada news and discussion

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Canada Jobless Rate Hits Record Low on Labor Force Exodus

-- Labor force declines by nearly 100,000 on voluntary exits

-- Wage growth accelerates, adding to inflation pressures

By Theophilos Argitis
July 8, 2022, 8:30 AM EDT

Canada’s jobs market showed signs of extreme tightening last month, with the unemployment rate falling to a record low, wage gains accelerating and large numbers of Canadians dropping out of the labor force.

The economy shed 43,200 jobs in June, Statistics Canada reported Friday in Ottawa, a surprise negative reading compared to the 22,500 gain anticipated by economists. But the drop appears to reflect the voluntary exit of workers from the labor force, which dropped by nearly 100,000 in June -- the biggest one-month decline on record outside of the pandemic.

The drop in the number of workers pushed down the jobless rate to 4.9%, a low in data going back to 1976. ... Reflecting the dearth of workers, the average hourly wage rate shot up 5.2% from a year ago, an acceleration from 3.9% in May. ... The numbers illustrate the extent to which the nation’s labor market has run up against maximum employment, and will struggle to grow further without continuing to fuel wage gains. The imbalance between demand and supply of jobs is a primary reason why the Bank of Canada is tightening monetary policy so aggressively.

More highlights:

-- Wage growth for permanent workers -- a key gauge for the Bank of Canada -- rose to 5.6% in June, from 4.5% in May
-- The decline was all self-employed workers, with their numbers falling by 59,200. Losses were concentrated in the retail and wholesale sectors
-- Part-time employment levels fell by 39,100, while the number of full-time jobs were down by 4,000
-- The decline in both employment and labor force were led by youth, and older workers
-- Participation rate fell to 64.9% in June, from 65.3% previous. Hours worked rose 1.3% last month, the first gain since March

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Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... rce-exodus

[weatheriscool]

Hold onto your wallet: Inflation jumps to 8.1 per cent

Statistics Canada says it’s the largest yearly change since January 1983.

By Josh Rubin Business Reporter
Wed., July 20, 2022

The cost of living keeps on skyrocketing. ... According to new data from Statistics Canada released Wednesday morning, the Consumer Price Index — the main measure of inflation — rose 8.1 per cent in June. ... That’s higher than the 7.7 per cent figure seen in May, and is the highest year-over-year increase since January 1983.

The biggest driver was the price of gasoline, which continued soaring. Canadians paid an average of 54.6 per cent more for gas than they did a year earlier. ... The price of food rose 8.8 per cent.

As Canadians begin to travel more as COVID-19 restrictions ease, they’re also paying more for hotels, with prices shooting up 49.7 per cent year over year, including a 68 per cent rise in Ontario.

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The Bank of Canada has raised its key overnight lending rate four times this year in an attempt to control inflation. On July 13, the bank shocked markets by raising the rate by a full percentage point, to 2.5 per cent.

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Read more: https://www.thestar.com/business/2022/0 ... ll-us.html

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Canada loses 30,600 jobs, unemployment rate stays at record low 4.9%
Reuters

OTTAWA, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Canada's economy unexpectedly lost a net 30,600 jobs in July as the public sector contracted, while the unemployment rate stayed at a record low 4.9%, Statistics Canada data indicated on Friday. ... Analysts polled by Reuters had expected an increase of 20,000 positions and for the jobless rate to edge up to 5.0%.

July marked the second month in a row of relatively moderate losses. Between May 2021 and May 2022, the economy added a hefty 1.06 million jobs as the recovery from COVID-19 took hold.

The average hourly wages of permanent employees - a figure the Bank of Canada watches closely - rose by 5.4% from July 2021, down from the 5.6% year-on-year increase seen in June but sharply higher than the 2.4% seen at the start of the year.

The central bank last month surprised markets by raising its main interest rate by 100 basis points in a bid to crush inflation, and said more hikes would be needed.

read more

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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/ ... 022-08-05/

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Canada bans new handgun sales in latest gun control action
Source: Reuters

Oct 21 (Reuters) - Regulations prohibiting the sale, purchase or transfer of handguns within Canada took effect on Friday, as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the measure builds on earlier efforts banning handgun imports. The handgun freeze was announced in May alongside proposed legislation that would implement the nation's strongest gun control measures in 40 years as part of Trudeau's plan to tackle gun violence, his office said. But the freeze was criticized by the government of the western province of Alberta, which has previously said it will resist other gun control measures proposed by Ottawa.

"We have frozen the market for handguns in this country," Trudeau said at a news conference in Surrey, British Columbia, attended by family members of gun violence victims and other advocates. "As we see gun violence continue to rise... we have an obligation to take action," Trudeau added. "Today our national handgun freeze is coming into force." Friday's action stops people from buying, selling or transferring handguns within Canada, and prevents them from bringing newly acquired handguns into the country, according to the prime minister's office.

Canadian Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino called it the most significant action on gun violence in Canada in a generation. Trudeau's ruling Liberal government introduced bill C-21 to fight gun violence, and his office said Friday's move will help "keep Canadians safe" while the legislation is debated. In August, it banned imports until the law passes. "We've got to get that law passed as quickly as possible," Mendicino said, speaking alongside Trudeau.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/ ... 022-10-21/

[wjfox]

Canada’s Population Grows by Over 1 Million for First Time

22 March 2023

• Annual expansion of 2.7% is fastest among advanced economies
• Rush of newcomers strains housing market, health-care system

Canada’s population grew 2.7% in 2022, the fastest expansion among advanced economies and on par with many African nations.

The country added a record 1,050,110 people over a one-year period to Jan. 1, bringing the total population to 39,566,248, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday in Ottawa. International migration accounted for 95.9% of the growth — a testament to Canada’s decision to counter the economic drag of an aging populace by throwing its doors open to newcomers.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... ify%20wall

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Canada Passes 40 Million Population This Friday
https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2023/06/c ... ore-183609
June 12, 2023 by Brian Wang

Canada is adding about 3050 to 3150 people per day and will pass 40.0 million people this Friday. Canada will add another 600,000 people by the end of 2023 and is adding about 1.10 to 1.14 million people each year.

This population growth is primarily through various forms of immigration, refugees and increases in non-permanent residents. The non-permanent residents can transition into permanent residents.

2022 was the first 12-month period in Canada’s history where population grew by over 1 million people, and the highest annual population growth rate (+2.7%) on record since that seen for 1957 (+3.3%). International migration accounted for nearly all growth recorded (95.9%).

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[firestar464]

Yet another hung parliament...

[Time_Traveller]

Canadian province Alberta cancels bid for 2030 Commonwealth Games

10 hours ago

The government of Alberta has pulled its support for a bid to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games due to rising costs.

Tourism and Sport Minister Joseph Schow said the bill was estimated at C$2.7bn (£1.5bn; $2bn) - a burden "too high for the province to bear".

The organiser of the Games has said it is "sorry to hear that Alberta is no longer developing its bid proposal".

Last month Australia pulled out of hosting the 2026 Games in Victoria due to budget blowouts.

Alberta's withdrawal means there are currently no other firm bids to host the 2030 Games.

In a statement, the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) thanked all of those who worked on the application and said it believed the Canadian province "could be a fantastic host" for the Commonwealth Games in the future.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66402140

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Canada's House of Commons elects first Black speaker
Source: ABC News/AP

October 3, 2023, 7:37 PM

OTTAWA, Ontario -- Canada’s House of Commons on Tuesday elected Greg Fergus as its new speaker, making the Liberal lawmaker the first Black Canadian to hold the position.

The election was triggered by the resignation of Anthony Rota, who stepped down last week after he invited — and honored — a man who fought for a Nazi military unit during World War II.

Just after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke before the Canadian parliament last month, Canadian lawmakers gave 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka a standing ovation when Rota drew attention to him. Rota introduced Hunka as a war hero who fought for the First Ukrainian Division.

Observers later began to publicize the fact that the First Ukrainian Division also was known as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, or the SS 14th Waffen Division, a voluntary unit that was under the command of the Nazis. Rota later apologized saying he had not been aware of that. Fergus, 54, is a Quebec Liberal lawmaker.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wi ... -103705627

[weatheriscool]

Supreme Court of Canada Voids Most of Trudeau Environment Law
Source: Bloomberg

October 13, 2023 at 9:45 AM EDT

A law passed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to review major resource and infrastructure projects was largely struck down by Canada’s top court, which ruled it intrudes on provinces’ jurisdiction.

The law, known as the Impact Assessment Act, had been opposed by Canada’s oil industry, which argued that it increased the complexity of the approval process for major projects like pipelines and gave too much weight to input from parties that aren’t directly affected by the projects.

Trudeau and his government said that a tougher approval process would make projects more likely to survive court challenges, increasing certainty for companies and investors.

While a portion of the law that applies to federal projects is constitutional and can be separated from the remainder of the law, the bulk of the measure “exceeds the bounds of federal jurisdiction” and “intrudes more than incidentally into the provinces’ sphere,” the Supreme Court of Canada ruled.

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... nd=premium

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[caltrek]

New Humanitarian Pathway in Canada
November 21, 2023

Introduction:

(Amjambo Africa) “We are determined to uphold our humanitarian tradition and support those in need. Providing safe, legal pathways for displaced people to start new lives in Canada not only delivers on that commitment, but also strengthens our country through the profound contributions newcomers make in their communities, including growing our economy and filling labour market gaps.”

– The Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

A new pathway

With record numbers of people displaced internationally, Canada is providing an alternative to irregular migration through a family-based humanitarian pathway that would provide permanent residence to Colombian, Haitian, and Venezuelan foreign nationals.

To qualify for the pathway, the principal applicant must be a child (regardless of age), grandchild, spouse, common-law partner, parent, grandparent or sibling of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who agrees to support them and their family members as an anchor for one year.

Those coming to Canada through the new humanitarian pathway will receive pre arrival services, including an employment skills assessment and a referral to a settlement service provider organization in their community. They may also be eligible for transitional financial assistance from the Resettlement Assistance Program.

Read more here: https://www.amjamboafrica.com/new-huma ... nitaire/

[firestar464]

I've been to Quebec. Nice place.

And then I see them do this "refugees bad" shit

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