American business executives with ties to Canada are wary of the country’s economic future, causing their sentiment on the Canadian economy to reach an all-time low, according to a new survey.
The chair of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Canada, which conducted the survey, says sentiment is “definitely at a record low,” citing ongoing economic uncertainty as the main reason why.
“There’s no secret that the economy right now is really kind of teetering on the edge, and people don’t know whether it’s going to get much worse, or if it’s going to get better, so that uncertainty plays a lot into it,” Dave Olsen told BNN Bloomberg in a Friday television interview.
“The other thing that we saw in the numbers is that there’s a lot of legislation right now in Parliament in Canada, and there’s a lot of uncertainty around that, and I think that also contributes to the sentiment right now.”
Olsen said many American businesses have been discouraged by the regulatory landscape in Canada, including tax policies that have created challenges for companies looking to invest in the country.
He said AmCham Canada is currently in discussions with the federal government about these issues, and he’s been pleased with the level of engagement so far.
“In the last month, I can think of three or four different meetings we’ve had in Ottawa to address really specific concerns and regulations, and tax issues as well,” Olsen said.
“So, the engagement is there, and now it’s really how we reach middle ground and common ground.”
IMMIGRATION ‘ATTRACTS INVESTMENT’
Olsen said another challenge for American companies looking to invest in Canada is a significant drop off between the productivity of U.S. and Canadian workers.
On the other hand, Olsen said Canada’s current immigration policies “attract investment,” and make it easier for companies to hire people and find the right talent.
“I think that’s our magnet that brings investment in,” he said. “Most of our companies here that are expanding in Canada are expanding just for that reason.”
UNCERTAINTY AHEAD
Olsen said that while Canada’s economy is in a technical recession and economic activity in the U.S. is livelier for the time being, uncertainty exists south of the border as well.
“In the late first or early second quarter, we are expecting a recession in the U.S. – a mild one, but still a recession,” he added.
“So, I think there’s uncertainty there, but I think the uncertainty is probably more clear here in Canada right now.”
Olsen said that despite the uncertainty, “there’s no better place to invest than North America,” adding that if Canada is successful in finding common regulatory ground with U.S. companies, it will clear the way for future investment.
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.
