Canada’s economy added 150,000 jobs in January, blowing past expectations for the second month in a row.
Statistics Canada reported Friday that most of the jobs — more than 120,000 — were of the full-time variety.
Canada’s economy added 150,000 jobs last month, Statistics Canada reported Friday. (Anis Heydari/CBC)
The gains come on the heels of an initial report of more than 100,000 jobs in December, a report that the data agency later revised down to just 69,000. But that still brings the two-month tally to more than 220,000 new jobs. January’s gain was also ten times more than the amount of jobs that economists were expecting to have been added.
Every province except Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick added jobs, but most of the gains were in Ontario and Quebec.
And most of the jobs were in the private sector, which added 132,000 new positions.
The construction industry was a leading source of strength, adding 16,000 new jobs in January. In the past year, the construction industry has added 114,000 jobs, an expansion of more than seven per cent, “making construction one of the fastest-growing industries over the previous 12 months,” the data agency said.
Booming demand in the construction sector comes as no surprise to Jenna Wood, director of human resources at TSX-listed construction firm Aecon Inc.
The company has been in need of workers since even before the pandemic started, which is why it launched a training program targeting women, who are traditionally underrepresented in the industry.
“We’ve seen a huge increase in interest, which is awesome,” she told CBC News in an interview. “It’s a great place to be [because] there’s a labour shortage that’s going to continue to grow in the coming years.”
Loren Buchanan is in training to be a construction worker through a program led by Aecon Ltd. (Shawn Benjamin/CBC)
Loren Buchanan signed up for the program, and she’s loving her choice so far.
“I just like the hands-on aspect of it. You’re actually out there doing things and time kind of flies by when you are doing things like that,” she told CBC News. “It’s really helpful in the sense that you’re building part of your community. You can look at things and say that, ‘I built that.'”
Strong demand for workers
Aecon is investing in training programs to meet its need for workers, but construction is far from the only sector facing a labour crunch.
Human resources firm Robert Half says a majority of firms it deals with are planning to add full-time workers in the next six months, which is an encouraging sign for anyone looking for work, or a better-paying job.
“We hear of some layoffs at some big tech firms but we’re also hearing of many small- to mid-sized companies having trouble attracting … high-skilled talent,” the company’s national director Michael French told CBC News in an interview.
“Even though there are some headwinds, we are finding that the job market is still very, very strong. Managers can’t find the people they want.”
Strong demand for workers is pushing up wages, with the average hourly salary hitting $33.01 during the month. That’s up by $1.42 in the past year, which is an increase of 4.5 per cent. That’s a decent raise by historical standards, but it’s still short of the 6.3 per cent increase in the cost of living in the past year.
Marwa Abdou with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce said the strong job gains show that fears that Canada’s economy may be on the verge of a recession are overdone.
“January’s blockbuster jobs report is proof that there is still plenty of wind in the sails for Canada’s labour market,” Abdou said. “The big takeaway from this morning’s data is that calls for a recession … will have to wait.”
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
