Goldy Hyder is the president and chief executive officer of the Business Council of Canada.
Farmers prepare to seed sunflowers in a field in Cherkaska Lozova, outskirts of Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, on May 28.Bernat Armangue/The Associated Press
Ukraine’s new ambassador-designate in Ottawa, Yulia Kovaliv, describes her country’s economy as the “third front” in the war caused by Russia’s unprovoked invasion. This is a decisive front on which Canada can engage. Just as we are already supplying humanitarian aid and military equipment, we must also help support Ukraine’s economy.
Ukrainians have committed countless heroic acts of resistance since Russian troops poured over the border in February. Any such list must include those who risk their lives daily to protect Ukraine’s economy. Every morning, millions of Ukrainians go to work even though their places of business could be targeted by missile strikes.
Remarkably, despite the devastation in those areas subjected to the most horrific fighting and bombing, as of last month less than half of all Ukrainian-based businesses had been forced to scale back operations because of Russia’s invasion, and fewer than 5 per cent of Ukrainian companies had been forced out of business entirely.
Still, no modern, advanced economy can sustain itself without trade and investment. Ukraine wants to do business with Canada and, to that end, here are three ways Canada’s public and private sectors can answer the call.
First, we must update our 2017 free-trade agreement. Our two countries had committed to doing so prior to the invasion and those efforts must now be given greater priority. We should focus, in particular, on expanding the agreement to cover investment and trade in services as Ukraine’s services sector has proven especially resilient.
In recommending this, we know Ukrainian officials are seized with the tragically urgent situation at home. Canada should therefore look to areas where it can act unilaterally. That is why the Business Council of Canada supports the removal of tariffs on goods from Ukraine and urges the removal of other unnecessary barriers to trade.
The reopening of our embassy in Kyiv is an important development given that negotiating in person is always more efficient, effective and conducive to reaching an agreement. The gradual restoring of greater access to our trade commissioner service will also help Ukrainian businesses connect with potential Canadian customers.
A second way we can help support and sustain Ukraine’s economy is by looking for opportunities to work with Ukraine’s agricultural sector. Ukraine and Canada are among the world’s Top 5 wheat exporters. Notwithstanding the war, Ukrainian farmers have planted crops in 70 per cent of the country’s arable land.
Given the Russian offensive in eastern regions of the country, a looming challenge to the Ukrainian economy may be a shortage of agri-food processing and exporting capacity for the resulting fall harvest. Here, Canadian food processors, equipment manufacturers and others in the agri-food sector may be able to help.
During his recent visit to Ukraine, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged that the government would help Ukraine find ways to export grain that it has in storage and is ready to ship. Here, again, Canadian businesses, those in the transportation and logistics sectors, may be able to offer some assistance.
Finally, a third area where we should seek to expand bilateral business ties is the energy sector. Russia’s invasion has had a seismic effect on global energy markets, particularly in terms of oil and gas. Both Ukraine and Canada have called for the acceleration of the energy transition to renewable and low-emission resources.
In this, we must deal with both geopolitical and geological realities. Canadian companies have been working for years with Ukrainian partner agencies to help reduce reliance on Russian resources, including uranium. This work continues even now, and it has never been more important to Ukraine or to the rest of Europe.
Russian forces have damaged – and in some cases destroyed – vital energy infrastructure in Ukraine. Hence their greatest need may be for Canadian engineering and construction companies to help with the rebuilding and recovery effort both now and, as Ms. Kovaliv asserts proudly, “after the victory.”
All of us look forward to the day when Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity have been restored, and when circumstances allow business leaders to travel to Kyiv and meet with their Ukrainian counterparts. In the interim, the best way for Canada to help Ukraine – outside of military support – is to support their economy.
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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.
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