HAMILTON — The 2023 Grey Cup provided economic gain for both the city of Hamilton and province of Ontario.
According to a study by Sport Tourism Canada, the game and ’23 Grey Cup festival generated a net economic impact of $41.9 million, including $35.4 million for Ontario and $29.2 million for Hamilton, which staged the game. The Montreal Alouettes defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 28-24 at Tim Hortons Field.
“These numbers show that regionalizing the festivities not only supported local economies in both Hamilton and the Niagara region but they also offered a better experience for fans who travelled from all across Canada,” said Neil Lumsden, Ontario’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport.
The study stated the game and festival generated over $73.5 million in total national economic activity. The net impact came following the accounting for initial expenditures.
Some 223,216 people attended the six-day festival and championship game. The 33,835 individuals who visited the region averaged 3.4 days in Hamilton and spent about $20.8 million.
“This unforgettable week wasn’t just about touchdowns, but also about celebrating our community spirit and the unifying force of sport,” said Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath. “The festivities supported local jobs and businesses and boosted tourism, which contributed positively to Hamilton’s economy.”
The study was commissioned by the CFL and Hamilton Tiger-Cats with the STC managing the data-collection process. It found there was $61.5 million in overall economic activity within Ontario and 64 per cent of the 1,151 surveyed attendees indicated the Grey Cup was their sole reason for visiting Hamilton.
Forty-two per cent said they came to Hamilton from outside of Ontario.
“The results of this study echo everything I heard during that remarkable week in November,” said CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie. “That this was a truly special and unforgettable celebration of our great game.
“I applaud our tremendous event organizers and staff, and especially the many volunteers for all their incredible work in creating an event that mirrored the unbelievable passion and pride that our country has for Canadian football.”
OTTAWA – The parliamentary budget officer says the federal government likely failed to keep its deficit below its promised $40 billion cap in the last fiscal year.
However the PBO also projects in its latest economic and fiscal outlook today that weak economic growth this year will begin to rebound in 2025.
The budget watchdog estimates in its report that the federal government posted a $46.8 billion deficit for the 2023-24 fiscal year.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland pledged a year ago to keep the deficit capped at $40 billion and in her spring budget said the deficit for 2023-24 stayed in line with that promise.
The final tally of the last year’s deficit will be confirmed when the government publishes its annual public accounts report this fall.
The PBO says economic growth will remain tepid this year but will rebound in 2025 as the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts stimulate spending and business investment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says the level of food insecurity increased in 2022 as inflation hit peak levels.
In a report using data from the Canadian community health survey, the agency says 15.6 per cent of households experienced some level of food insecurity in 2022 after being relatively stable from 2017 to 2021.
The reading was up from 9.6 per cent in 2017 and 11.6 per cent in 2018.
Statistics Canada says the prevalence of household food insecurity was slightly lower and stable during the pandemic years as it fell to 8.5 per cent in the fall of 2020 and 9.1 per cent in 2021.
In addition to an increase in the prevalence of food insecurity in 2022, the agency says there was an increase in the severity as more households reported moderate or severe food insecurity.
It also noted an increase in the number of Canadians living in moderately or severely food insecure households was also seen in the Canadian income survey data collected in the first half of 2023.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct 16, 2024.
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.
