Canada recently suffered a setback fighting its reputation as a global money laundering hub. Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), the country’s financial crimes intelligence agency, disclosed a cyber incident in March. Nearly two months later, the country’s financial crimes intelligence agency still hasn’t got 100% of its systems back up and […]
Higher interest rates may have slowed Canadians from borrowing, but they’re embracing hope. Hope that rates will be cut and the debt they’re once again accumulating will go down in cost. Bank of Canada (BoC) data shows household credit jumped in February, and has shown some mild acceleration. This presents a few concerns for the […]
Canada has historically had a reputation as a safehaven to global investors, but those days are suddenly gone. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) released its securities trade for February. The data revealed global capital continues to flee the country’s capital markets at a record pace. Even worse, domestic investors are now joining them. Canadian Investors Flee […]
Canada just announced billions in new measures to correct the housing issues it created. Last night the Government of Canada (GoC) released its latest budget, including billions in spending on new housing stimulus. BMO provided a list of the recent changes, noting they’ll have a limited impact, given most of the measures are demand stimulus. […]
Canada just lost some progress on the war against inflation. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) showing a mild acceleration for inflation in March. While minor, the move was broad based, primarily being driven by energy and shelter costs. Canadian Headline Inflation Saw Broad Based Acceleration Canadian inflation is heading in […]
Canada dropped some new real estate demand stimulus, in the name of improved affordability. Last week, the Government of Canada (GoC) announced they’ll be extending amortizations for first-time buyers in certain circumstances. There are concerns this will pour gas on the speculative fire that was finally starting to fizzle out. BMO disagrees with that take, […]
Canadian real estate had a slow start last month, but activity picked up towards the end. Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) data shows sales and new inventory both showed only minor movements in March. Prices slipped lower but haven’t moved much since last year. The big insight was the surge of activity towards month-end, and […]
Canada is rolling out new policies to help its highly indebted households support soft demand for new housing. Earlier today, the Government of Canada (GoC) announced new measures to increase the amount of capital used to buy new homes. New home sales have been weak at these prices, and rather than letting prices fall, it […]
Canadians expecting good news for mortgage rates just got the exact opposite. The Bank of Canada (BoC) made no changes to the overnight rate, as expected by the market. While no cuts were expected, it was still widely believed they would reassure the market of progress on inflation, helping to reinforce expectations of rate cuts […]
Canada’s debt-crazed households finally met their match—interest rates higher than inflation. Bank of Canada (BoC) data shows residential mortgage credit slowed even further in Q4 2023. The unusually slow quarter revealed households accumulated mortgage debt at one of the slowest rates ever, as interest rates divert capital to areas outside of housing. Canadian Mortgage Debt […]
