Before business and government leaders convened last week in New York City for Climate Week, the United Nations warned that emissions pledges are falling unacceptably short of the ambition required to avert climate catastrophe. As the natural world reaches irreversible tipping points and we rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic, the circular economy presents an unparalleled opportunity.
Simply put, the circular economy is a model in which waste and pollution are designed out of the system. The idea takes inspiration from the elegance of nature’s cycles and the wisdom of Indigenous worldviews. Put into action, every object we use is either refurbished, disassembled to be reused, recycled into a new high-value product, or composted. When virgin materials are needed, regenerative and sustainably managed resources are prioritized. Examples of the circular economy are now emerging everywhere: from major companies repairing electronics and individuals mending clothes to buildings designed for disassembly and materials’ reuse.
While best known for their waste-curbing impacts, circular strategies could provide an invaluable solution by tackling the largely neglected 70% of global emissions connected to all the materials involved in our consumer society.
A report released earlier this year by non-profit Circle Economy found that doubling the globe’s circularity could cut global greenhouse gas emissions by 39% from 2019 levels, limiting global warming to below 2°C. And, the benefits would go further: reductions in the consumption of virgin materials would help alleviate pollution, ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss.
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development has predicted that accelerating demand for finite natural resources will lead to future shortages, rising prices and supply chain interruptions. This could put $4.5 trillion of global economic growth at risk by 2030, according to global consultancy Accenture Strategy. Some governments have taken note. Fast-moving countries, led by the European Union members, China, and Japan, are positioning themselves to shield their citizens from these risks through comprehensive strategies and policy frameworks that support resource efficiency, new business models and supply chain collaborations.
Successful but isolated examples of the circular economy in our homes, communities and businesses now need to be scaled urgently, and expanded to our whole economic system.
Small business owners and large corporate leaders alike are also seeing a strong rationale for reducing waste. After all, there are greater greenhouse gas emissions associated with using predominantly virgin materials, and recycling or reusing those materials after the end of their first life reduces the amount businesses pay for landfill. Others see opportunity in new business models such as product-as-a-service. In these, customers pay for a membership-based service instead of actual products. Communauto, Evo and Modo are a few Canadian examples of companies that offer on-demand access to fleets of cars as an alternative to individual car ownership. In South Africa, Bushveld Energy leases the vanadium used in batteries and fully reclaims and reuses the mineral at the end of battery life. Every industry and sector now needs to consider its plan to compete in a world that demands longer-lived materials and products that are reusable, repairable, recyclable, re-manufacturable and regenerative.
Examples of the circular economy in our homes, communities and businesses are, however, still isolated. They need to be scaled urgently and expanded to our whole economic system.
This month’s World Circular Economy Forum, co-hosted by the Government of Canada, highlighted the rich universe of possibilities to deepen emission cuts under the Paris Agreement. It profiled a bounty of circular solutions for materials as diverse as plastics, minerals and metals, textiles, and food, across sectors as varied as construction, manufacturing, mobility and finance. It featured creativity from many, including multinationals, start-ups, social enterprises and community groups.
As the shift to a more circular economy gains traction worldwide, it’s past time for Canada, too, to develop a national circular economy strategy that should fully reinforce our climate goals. In a rapidly changing global context of intersecting crises, transitioning to a circular economy can boost prosperity and keep Canada competitive globally while dramatically lessening environmental impacts.
If we do this right, and learn from past mistakes, we can redesign the economy to serve all citizens rather than just the privileged few. While we didn’t collectively choose the inequities, economic uncertainty, and environmental issues that we face, the economic and social systems are ours to design.
Stephanie Cairns is the director of circular economy at Smart Prosperity Institute, and an established leader who has focused on environment, economy and fiscal policy research initiatives for 25 years.
Alice Irene Whittaker is a writer and environmental communications leader who writes and speaks about the circular economy. She is the director of marketing and communications at Smart Prosperity Institute and The Natural Step Canada.
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.
