TORONTO —
The prime minister of Grenada says the country is working to rebuild its economy and boost tourism in an effort to continue funding pandemic supports for its residents.
Prime Minister Keith Mitchell told CTV News Channel on Sunday that it has COVID-19 stimulus packages specifically for the poor and vulnerable, but worries whether the country will be able to provide this aid for much longer.
He said the pandemic may continue for a “long time,” and the country needs revenue to continue supporting its people.
“Basically we are trying to do what we can to rebuild the economy of the country because that’s crucial,” Mitchell said. “So getting the economy back, investment back in[to] the country… and of course the support of the regional and international community.”
Mitchell, who is also Chairman of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Authority, says Grenada has done well in handling the pandemic, given that it is the southernmost island in the Caribbean Sea with a population of approximately 112,000.
The country saw an increase in case numbers in September, but Mitchell says hospitalization rates and deaths have since come down.
“Yes, we have a lot of problems like many countries around the world, but because of the united effort of the people in the country, we are now seeing a serious reduction in the spikes,” Mitchell said.
According to data tracked by the World Health Organization (WHO), there have been 5,531 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Grenada since the pandemic began, in addition to 167 deaths. On Sunday, the country reported 47 new cases in the past 24 hours.
Following the country’s uptick in cases in September, the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a travel advisory from Grenada, advising Americans to avoid all travel there. For those who must travel to the island, the CDC recommends they be fully vaccinated before they go.
The Public Health Agency of Canada does not have any special advisory in place for Grenada but continues to advise Canadians to avoid non-essential travel outside of the country and to use extra caution if they must travel.
While the country is open to tourists, Grenada has some of the strictest travel policies in place to ensure everyone is kept safe, according to Mitchell.
Effective July 31, all travellers entering Grenada are required to be fully vaccinated. In addition, they must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test result 72 hours prior to their flight’s departure. Once arriving in Grenada, travellers will have to take another PCR test and quarantine for up to 48 hours while they await their results.
Once that second test comes back negative, Mitchell says tourists are then free to visit their friends and family, and tour the island “as they wish.”
Grenada is one of the world’s top producers of some of the most common spices including nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and turmeric, all of which Mitchell says Canadian travellers love to get their hands on when they visit.
“We tell them we have a lot of supply here, so please come,” he said.
Mitchell said September’s surge in COVID-19 infections actually encouraged more locals to get vaccinated and is hopeful the trend will continue, despite case numbers decreasing.
Grenada has administered a total of 58,985 COVID-19 vaccine doses as of Oct. 1, according to the WHO, and the number of Grenadians fully vaccinated against COVID-19 currently sits between 31 and 32 per cent. But Mitchell says is still “much too low.”
“We hope that is not just a temporary thing that people will consider this as very serious evidence that they must protect themselves, they must vaccinate, they must be adhere to the protocol all the time — where your masks, social distance, and of course sanitize and wash your hands on a regular basis,” Mitchell said.
He says misinformation about the vaccine, spread through social media, has hampered Grenada’s vaccination campaign.
“The misinformation is enormous,” he said. “Just like in Canada, there’s a lot of misinformation coming from quarters that you don’t expect.”
Despite this, Mitchell says Grenadians living abroad have actually returned home to help with the country’s vaccine rollout. In addition, he said there has been people living in other countries, including Canada, continue to send supplies to aid Grenada’s fight against COVID-19.
“We have seen a collective effort by the people of the country,” he said.
OTTAWA – Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.
Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.
Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.
Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.
Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.
Despite ongoing softness in the labour market, however, strong wage growth has raged on in Canada. Average hourly wages in October grew 4.9 per cent from a year ago, reaching $35.76.
Friday’s report also shed some light on the financial health of households.
According to the agency, 28.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older were living in a household that had difficulty meeting financial needs – like food and housing – in the previous four weeks.
That was down from 33.1 per cent in October 2023 and 35.5 per cent in October 2022, but still above the 20.4 per cent figure recorded in October 2020.
People living in a rented home were more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs, with nearly four in 10 reporting that was the case.
That compares with just under a quarter of those living in an owned home by a household member.
Immigrants were also more likely to report facing financial strain last month, with about four out of 10 immigrants who landed in the last year doing so.
That compares with about three in 10 more established immigrants and one in four of people born in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.
The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.
CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.
This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.
While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.
Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.
The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.
Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.
A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.
More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.
Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.
“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.
“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”
American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.
It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.
“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.
“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”
A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.
Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.
“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.
Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”
“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.
“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
