Electricity, food and taxes are going up but there is some speculation that interest rates (and maybe house prices?) will drop in 2024
British Columbians feeling the pinch of the soaring cost of living may be hoping that 2024 will be better. However, many costs — including electricity and grocery bills — will continue to go up.
Here are a few changes that consumers can expect in 2024:
The B.C. government said in October that the province’s power utility is applying for a 2.3-per-cent rate increase starting in April, adding about $2 a month to the average residential bill.
It says rates are currently 15.6 per cent lower than the cumulative rate of inflation over the last seven years, starting in 2017-18, and 12.4 per cent lower than the 10-year rates plan established by the previous government in 2013.
The ministry says the “modest” rate increase application comes after consideration of a variety of options and their long-term impacts, and the B.C. Utilities Commission is expected to decide on the plan by the end of February.
Those renting a home may see their rent go up, although the amount landlords can hike rent is capped. The B.C. government has set the 2024 maximum allowable rent increase at 3.5 per cent, below the inflation rate of 5.6 per cent.
It applies to rent increases starting Jan. 1, 2024. Landlords can only increase rent once every 12 months, and have to provide three full months’ notice to tenants.
Home prices in B.C. are expected to be “sluggish” heading into the New Year, according to Re/Max’s 2024 forecast. The agency says prices in Metro Vancouver, Canada’s most expensive market, are expected to rise two per cent to an average of $1.52 million, while Victoria prices will likely dip about two per cent to $942,000.
With the economy on track for a downturn, the Mortgage Professionals Canada and Oxford Economics forecasts prices to drop by up to 10 per cent in some Canadian markets.
A Royal LePage forecast says the average price of all properties in Greater Vancouver is expected to increase by three per cent to $1,281,732. The average price of a detached property in Metro Vancouver is expected to rise 2.5 per cent to $1,778,785, according to the report, while the price of a condo will likely go up by four per cent to $795,808.
Canada’s annual food report says most products will have an average inflation rate increase between 2.5 and 4.5 per cent in 2024. That’s down from the up to seven per cent forecast in 2023. However, it does mean grocery bills will likely go up again.
Federal pricing analysis from the U.S. Department of Agriculture projects that food prices will continue to rise through 2024. Food price increases are expected to continue to decelerate but prices are not expected to drop. In 2024, all food prices are predicted to increase about 2.9 per cent, according to the USDA.
The Royal Bank predicts the Bank of Canada will cut rates by 50 basis points in the third quarter of 2024 and another 50 basis points in the fourth quarter. So that would bring the overnight rates to four per cent by the end of 2024, still well above the previous neutral level of two per cent, but down from five per cent.
The bank says the expectation is that rates will hold steady and may even come down toward the end of next year.
The minimum wage in B.C. is $16.75 per hour as of June 1, 2023. There hasn’t been any indication it will rise again this year.
According to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, nearly every Canadian will pay higher federal income taxes in 2024. This includes an increase in payroll tax, increases in contributions for the Canada Pension Plan and employment insurance premium hikes.
The City of Vancouver is looking at ways to increase licence fees so that property taxes don’t spiral. Licenses for running businesses and adopting exotic birds are among the things that could be getting more expensive. Property taxes are the city’s primary means of raising revenue, and last year Vancouver required a 10.7 per cent increase, the largest in more than a decade. In 2024, the city is looking at a 7.6 per cent tax increase.
In Vancouver, the city will increase its short-term rental business licence fee from $109 to $1,000 a year effective Jan. 1 — an 820 per cent increase. And if you don’t pay on time, a $100 penalty will be added.
The Vancouver park board has approved fee hikes next year for some of the most popular attractions, including city-owned golf courses, the VanDusen Botanical Garden and the Stanley Park train.
The average fee hikes range from four per cent for the Burrard Marina to 13 per cent for parking.
The Championship Golf and Pitch and Putt will go up seven per cent, as will the VanDusen Botanical Garden, Bloedel Conservatory and Celebration Pavilion.
The cost to hold a special event or to film will go up nine per cent, while recreation services and the Stanley Park train will increase by six per cent.
B.C. Ferries’ fares are set to rise an average of 3.2 per cent a year for four years, starting April 1, although actual increases must still be determined and are expected to vary by route.
B.C.’s carbon tax is set to rise from $65 a tonne to $80 a tonne on April 1, 2024. The carbon tax will cost 17 cents a litre of gas, 21 cents a litre of diesel and 15 cents a cubic metre of natural gas.
Meanwhile, the federal government’s carbon tax is also set to increase to $80 a tonne from $65 a tonne on April 1. That will increase the current 14.3 cents a litre carbon tax to 17.6 cents a litre of gas for provinces that don’t have their own carbon tax.
Minimum piece rates for hand harvesting of specified farm crops will increase by 6.9 per cent on Jan. 1, according to the B.C. government.
The increase applies to 15 crops harvested by hand as specified in the employment standards regulation. The hand-harvested crops are peaches, apricots, brussels sprouts, daffodils, mushrooms, apples, beans, blueberries, cherries, grapes, pears, peas, prune plums, raspberries and strawberries.
The increase is based on B.C.’s average annual inflation rate in 2022.
According to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, the alcohol escalator tax will increase the excise taxes on beer, wine and spirits with inflation on April 1, 2024.
The alcohol escalator will result in a 4.7 per cent increase in the federal excise tax on beer, wine and spirits in 2024. This increase will cost taxpayers about $100 million in 2024-25.
CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.
It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.
The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.
TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.
The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.
“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”
Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.
BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.
The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.
BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.
It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.
The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”
Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. trimmed its financial guidance as it reported its second-quarter revenue fell compared with a year ago.
The luxury clothing company says revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 29 totalled $267.8 million, down from $281.1 million in the same quarter last year.
Net income attributable to shareholders amounted to $5.4 million or six cents per diluted share, up from $3.9 million or four cents per diluted share a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Canada Goose says it earned five cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 16 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
In its outlook, Canada Goose says it now expects total revenue for its full financial year to show a low-single-digit percentage decrease to low-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a low-single-digit increase.
It also says it now expects its adjusted net income per diluted share to show a mid-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a percentage increase in the mid-teens.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GOOS)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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