Canada is trying to exit a tough situation with the only trick it knows – cheap money. Bank of Canada (BoC) data shows the effective interest rate paid by households plummeted for the week of April 10, 2020. The rate paid by households is now the lowest it’s been in years, accompanied by one of […]
Canadian businesses are getting used to the lock down, but things are still going to get worse. Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) data shows an improvement of business sentiment in April. The improvement is still relatively mild, as most small to mid-size enterprises (SME) prepare for more layoffs over the next few months. About […]
Canadians knew they were in for a whopper of an employment report, but most didn’t expect these numbers. The Statistics Canada (Stat Can) Labour Force Survey shows a historic drop of employment in March. Job losses for the country came in at roughly double what analysts were expecting. Digging deeper into the data, we also […]
Greater Vancouver’s detached real estate market was stabilizing going into the pandemic… sort of. Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) data shows a big jump in detached homes for March. The month still came in historically low however, with prices rising less than one percent. Detached Real Estate Prices Rise Less Than 1% Greater […]
Greater Toronto real estate buyers were still confident in their purchases last month, despite pandemic. Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) data shows sales made a big jump in March, despite a provincial lockdown. Despite the appearance of a sales boom, last month was still one of the slowest Marches on record. Even so, exuberant […]
Canadian insolvency filings have been pushing to new highs recently. Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada (OSB) data shows insolvencies rising quickly in February. Filings over the past year are now at the highest level since 2010, with growth accelerating… and this is before the pandemic was declared Canada Insolvency Filings Reach Highest Level […]
Canadian households didn’t need incentive to borrow, as credit growth was already accelerating. Bank of Canada (BoC) data shows the outstanding balance of household debt reached a new high in February. The rise of debt was due entirely to inflating mortgage balances. Consumer credit, the other major segment, continued to nosedive – printing a second […]
Greater Vancouver real estate buyers didn’t yield to warnings of pandemic. Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) data shows a big climb in real estate sales for March. Despite warnings of a public health emergency, buyers still jumped into the market. It wasn’t until the province declared a state of emergency did buyers slow. […]
Despite a lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of people in Toronto still bought a home. Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) data shows a big increase in March sales. The rise in sales was due to the first-half of the month, prior to the board’s request to stop face-to-face activity. Despite the request, […]
Canada’s restaurant apocalypse is bad, and about to get a lot worse in the next few weeks. Restaurants Canada estimates the industry lost 800,000 jobs in March, and a tenth of restaurants have already permanently closed. The organization is forecasting Canada will lose almost a third of restaurants by month end. Why Do You Care? […]
