Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is blaming Prime Minister Mark Carney’s policies for Canada entering recession territory. Statistics Canada released a report Friday that said the economy contracted slightly for the second quarter in a row to start the year — a benchmark that meets some definitions of a technical recession. Some economists weighing in after that release said the recession talk was premature and argued that while Canada’s economy is soft, the declines are marginal and do not meet the definition of a widespread downturn. Poilievre said Friday there’s nothing technical about rising rates of mortgage delinquency, increased food bank usage and five quarters of falling business investment ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

Earlier this month, Statistics Canada reported that employment fell by 66,000 jobs in August. That headline caught attention—and rightly so—but it’s important not to overreact to any single month of data. Labour force surveys can be volatile and subject to revision. What matters more is the broader trend. But, unfortunately, that looks even worse. And Canadians are feeling it ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

Graduation cap in hand, Sarah Chung is posing for photos in school regalia ahead of her convocation ceremony. The campus atmosphere is joyful, but what comes next is sobering: this honours student is graduating into one of the worst youth labour markets seen in decades. "It's bleak," said the 23-year-old graduate of the University of Calgary's media and communications program. She hasn't been able to find a job in her field and said she intends to pursue a master's degree. "I believe that it's tough just because of everything that's happening with the economy, with our society and with politics," she said. "There's a whole [lot] of talk about 'there's a recession coming.' I'm not an economist, but I can also see it as well." ... CLICK HERE for the full story

There are indisputable facts pointing to Canada heading towards a major economic slowdown or recession in 2025. There are economists on both sides of that issue presenting compelling arguments. Here's the most simple way to put it: even if those predicting a recession are wrong, all of the economists then agree on a prolonged period of low economic growth. In other words, things aren't going to get better economically. They'll remain more or less the same which is almost just as bad. It means stagnant wages and with that low revenue growth for governments. That means we'll see higher deficits or cuts to program spending or a mix of both. That's bad. If you look at the economic growth from the 4th quarter of 2024 and the 1st quarter of 2025 there is nothing to cheer about. The level of growth was anemic. The rate of inflation on necessary items like food was and still is rising far faster than the Bank of Canada's target. By any objective measure the economy is u...

... findings of Pollara’s 30th Annual Economic Outlook Study highlight a complex and evolving economic landscape in Canada. What we find is that although perceptions of recession have improved significantly, with fewer Canadians believing the country is in recession compared to last year, skepticism about the economy’s overall strength remains pronounced. A majority of Canadians still view the current economic climate as weaker than in prior years, indicating a cautious and tempered optimism. In specific terms, looking at Figure 1, we see that a strong majority of Canadians (70 percent) continue to feel our economy is in a recession—down 12 percentage points from last year. This is not new as Canadians have been living with recessionary fears since 2018. In fact, when looking over the last quarter century, Canadians have had very little confidence in the economy since the five-year period between 2003 and 2008 ... CLICK HERE for the full story

The Canadian economy may have entered a technical recession, according to the preliminary gross domestic product estimate from Statistics Canada. The federal agency released its August GDP report on Tuesday, which shows the Canadian economy remained flat in the month, while a preliminary estimate suggests it shrank in the third quarter. The report says higher interest rates, inflation, forest fires and drought conditions continued to weigh on the economy ... CLICK HERE for the full story

  Canada may avoid a full-blown recession, but it is facing a protracted economic slowdown, with B.C. expected to be hit especially hard due to higher mortgage lending rates and high consumer debt.   “There is a lot of fear about a deep recession coming in Canada, but we are only expecting a mild slowdown in the second half of the year,”  Richard Forbes, senior for the Conference Board of Canada, told BIV News.   According to the Conference Board’s new three-year outlook, B.C., along with most other provinces in Canada, is in for a protracted economic slowdown, with population growth – driven mainly by immigration – masking a fundamental lack of business productivity ... CLICK HERE for the rest of the story