A Robust U.S. Economy Will Ensure that Slow Growth will not be Canada’s new normal (Audio)

A number of factors are allegedly restraining the trend of growth, including the lingering impact of the 2008 financial crisis, an aging population and even a slowdown in the underlying rate of innovation and technological change. According to Christopher Ragan, Canada’s governments have run out of options to stimulate the economy; others cite the uncertainty
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Alberta Facing ‘Two Years of Tough Times,’ Conference Board of Canada Says

In January, the Conference Board of Canada warned that Alberta could slip into recession and today, opinion regarding the province’s economy remains unchanged. Speaking to the board’s Western Business Outlook event on Tuesday in Edmonton, the conference board chief economist Glen Hodgson said, “My fear is that the forecast is still a little bit too
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Canada’s Economy Beats Forecasts, Grows 0.3% in October

The Canadian economy performed surprisingly positively in October and is set to extend its broadly-based growth with higher exports to the U.S., but uncertainty remains over the impact of lower oil prices on the energy sector. According to Statistics Canada, Gross domestic product rose 0.3 per cent to an annualized $1.65-trillion in October, after a
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U.S. and Canada Job Numbers Tell of Different Economic Recoveries

Two closely linked economies but two very different recoveries: that’s what you get when you compare Canada’s performance with that of the U.S. over the past few years. According to Douglas Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, the most notable difference between the US and Canada is the widely diverging performance of the two
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Biggest corporate profits in 3 years just the tonic Canada’s sluggish economy needs

Canadian companies are posting their best profit in three years, fueling hopes that business spending will resolve the sluggish economic growth seen in recent times. Statistically, 78% of companies in the Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index reported higher revenue than a year ago, as companies such as Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. and Magna International Inc.
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Alberta’s Economy is Booming, but so is Household Debt

If you are thinking of an immigration project to Alberta (via a work permit or Canadian permanent residence) it is noteworthy that while there are plenty of employment opportunities, there is also a lot of personal household debt. A report from Bank of Montreal puts average household debt in the western Canadian province at 124,800 Canadian
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Oil Fuels Economic Growth for Canadian Provinces

Canada’s oil-producing provinces have been ranked among the world’s top economic performers in a newly released think-tank report. Each year, the Conference Board of Canada ranks 16 of the world’s richest countries in terms of economic performance, based on factors such as growth and employment rates. This year, however, the Canadian think-tank not only analyzed
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How Quebec Could Prevent University Grads from Leaving

Quebec has a great record when it comes to finding new ways of doing things. However, one sector that continues to search for a solution is Quebec’s higher education system – the prime question for many people in the previous election, some 19 months back. This time though, it has been conspicuous by its absence.
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Top Canadian Economist Champions Immigration

Canada must recognize the potential economic advantage that immigrants bring if it wishes to remain globally competitive, according to one of the country’s top economists. In a recent piece for the Globe and Mail, Royal Bank of Canada chief executive officer Gordon Nixon, calls for more efforts to tap into under-utilized immigrant skills. He points
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American Middle Class Losing its Sheen as the World’s Most Affluent

As wealthy Americans continue to forge ahead of several of their global peers, the American middle class – for long the most affluent in the world – seems to have lost that distinction, according to an analysis conducted by New York Times. The analysis, based on surveys conducted over the past 35 years, shows that
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