New Brunswick election: Fewer events, promises mark Tories’ ‘different’ campaign

OTTAWA – Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts in September was up five per cent compared with August.

The national housing agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 223,808 units in September, up from 213,012 in August.

The increase came as the pace of starts in urban centres rose six per cent to 210,002 units in September compared with 199,035 in August.

The rate of starts for urban multi-unit projects such as apartments, condominiums and townhouses increased six per cent to 163,400 units, while the pace of starts of urban single-detached homes rose five per cent to 46,602.

The annual rate of rural starts was estimated at 13,806 units for September.

CMHC says the six-month moving average of the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 243,759 units in September, down from 246,972 in August.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales in August fell to their lowest level since January 2022 as sales in the primary metal and petroleum and coal product subsectors fell.

The agency says manufacturing sales fell 1.3 per cent to $69.4 billion in August, after rising 1.1 per cent in July.

The drop came as sales in the primary metal subsector dropped 6.4 per cent to $5.3 billion in August, on lower prices and lower volumes.

Sales in the petroleum and coal product subsector fell 3.7 per cent to $7.8 billion in August on lower prices.

Meanwhile, sales of aerospace products and parts rose 7.3 per cent to $2.7 billion in August and wood product sales increased 3.8 per cent to $3.1 billion.

Overall manufacturing sales in constant dollars fell 0.8 per cent in August.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says that in the coming days it will start building a 500-metre-long berm to protect a low-lying land link between the province and New Brunswick.

The Chignecto Isthmus is increasingly prone to flooding and other climate change-related damage, and the total cost to upgrade the land link is estimated to be $650 million.

New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have gone to court to get the federal government to pay for all of the project, while Ottawa says costs should be shared.

The Nova Scotia premier says that in the interim, his province will build the lengthy four-metre-high soil barrier along the LaPlanche River for $2 million to act as backup for the existing “aging and eroding” dike.

Houston says in a statement that this work needs to be done now in order to protect people living and working in Amherst, N.S., from extreme weather.

Climate researchers have forecast that one severe tidal storm moving up the Bay of Fundy is capable of overcoming dikes, flooding communities, disconnecting the province from the rest of Canada, and stopping ground or rail transport of goods and services.

“While we put contingency plans in place like this berm, we need the federal government to acknowledge the national importance of the Chignecto Isthmus and take the climate change threats we face seriously,” Houston said in a statement.

“I am again calling on Liberal MPs to show leadership on this crucial issue, fully fund the project and do what is right for Nova Scotians.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.