Now that Saskatchewan has announced its plan to slowly reopen its economy, pressure is mounting on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the federal government to roll out a strategy for restoring economic activity across the country.
Today, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer called on Trudeau to deliver such a plan.
“Certain provinces have been able to flatten the curve and are now starting to talk about when they may be able to slowly start revising health restrictions over the coming weeks and months,” Scheer said.
“This has raised concerns about a possible patchwork approach across the country. Other countries have released national frameworks. So why hasn’t Canada? Does the federal government have a plan to start revising health restrictions in an orderly fashion when this crisis passes?”
Trudeau said that until Canada gets a vaccine, life here will not return to normal — but in the coming months restrictions will be eased across the country on a province-by-province basis.
Watch: Trudeau asked when Canadians can return to a normal life:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with reporters including the CBC’s Julie Van Dusen on Thursday. 2:26
“We recognize that different provinces will make different decisions about how and where to start re-starting and re-opening their economies,” Trudeau said Wednesday.
The prime minister expanded on that idea today, saying that provinces and the federal government will look at what other countries are doing to restart their economies.
“In the coming months we will be able to loosen a number of the restrictions and rules that we have right now on personal mobility, in certain sectors [and] on the economy,” he said.
“What we’re doing at the federal level is attempting to pull together and coordinate all different provinces so that we are working from a similar set of guidelines and principles to ensure Canadians right across the country are being kept safe as we look to those next steps.”
Beginning May 4, restrictions on certain medical practices in Saskatchewan, such as dentistry, optometry and chiropractic therapy, will be lifted along with restrictions on fishing and boating. Golf courses will open mid-May and campgrounds on June 1.
Watch: Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer’s full April 23 news conference:
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer held a news conference and took reporter questions on Thurs. April 23 in Ottawa. 23:38
The second phase of the province’s plan is to begin May 19, when some retail businesses, such as bookstores, jewelry stores, sporting goods stores and electronics shops, will reopen.
The last three of the five phases Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe announced Thursday had no specific dates attached to them. But even when the province arrives at the last stage, large gatherings will still be prohibited and the mandatory self-isolation rule for people returning from international travel will remain in place, as will restrictions on visiting family and friends in long-term care homes.
“We are going to work to coordinate so that we’re basing ourselves on shared values, principles and scientific approaches right across the country,” Trudeau said.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said that, regardless of when individual provinces begin to open up again, the process must be informed by science.
Watch: Tam questioned on what benchmarks will allow the economy to reopen:
Dr Theresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Public Health officer spoke to reporters on Wednesday 2:48
“It is so essential that we, not too prematurely, lift restrictions currently in place,” she said.
Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said that provinces should look to reopen their economies only when the epidemic wave is brought under control.
She said that point will happen some time after a province has passed the peak in its infection curve.
“When we’re seeing that peak, it means that we still got the sort of downward slope of that curve, if you like, and you need to get to the bottom of that wave,” she said.
Sask. <a href=”https://twitter.com/PremierScottMoe?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@PremierScottMoe</a> presented a five-phase plan to reopen his province beginning May 4. “We have to find the middle ground that continues to keep our case numbers low… while at the same time allowing for businesses to reopen,” he said. Read more: <a href=”https://t.co/BBiJlsE8qC”>https://t.co/BBiJlsE8qC</a> <a href=”https://t.co/AVQA6ACUH2″>pic.twitter.com/AVQA6ACUH2</a>
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.