Latest news with #StatCan
Hamilton Spectator
17 hours ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Canada's economy contracts in May even as some sectors rebound from tariffs
OTTAWA - Canada's economy contracted for a second straight month in May even as some sectors held up in the face of U.S. tariffs. Real gross domestic product fell 0.1 per cent in May, Statistics Canada said Thursday, matching the decline in April. The agency said goods-producing sectors were to blame for the drop, particularly in mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction. RBC pointed to wildfires in the Prairies temporarily dragging down oil and gas activity. Marc Ercolao, an economist with TD Bank, said in an interview that Canada's services sectors are holding up relatively well even as trade-exposed industries feel some sting from U.S. import duties. 'We're still in the early days, but we are seeing the impact of tariffs flow through some of these industries,' he said. Manufacturing, one of the most tariff-exposed sectors of the economy, continues to face headwinds. Though the sector grew 0.7 per cent in May, that wasn't enough to fully recoup a 1.8 per cent drop in April. StatCan's early estimates also see the industry contracting again in June. Transportation and warehousing also rebounded from an April decline. 'The good news here is that the Canadian economy seems to have soldiered through the period of maximum trade uncertainty with less damage than initially expected,' wrote BMO chief economist Doug Porter in a note to clients Thursday. StatCan's early estimates for June show an expected rebound of 0.1 per cent in real GDP. The agency pointed to strength in retail and wholesale trade driving the growth. Taken together, the agency said its advance reading for the second quarter of the year shows the economy was essentially flat. Its early estimates will be updated with the release of the June GDP figures next month. Ercolao said he expects these conditions to broadly persist until Canada can secure a trade deal with the United States. 'As long as there is this lingering uncertainty, it's going to impact economic activity across industries, it is going to impact investment decision making, and that would probably lead to another weaker Q3,' he said. U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed a Friday deadline to strike a deal with Canada, or else he has threatened to put a 35 per cent tariff on Canadian goods. The Bank of Canada said in its monetary policy report Wednesday that it expects real GDP fell 1.5 per cent on an annual basis in the second quarter amid considerable uncertainty tied to U.S. tariffs. Porter noted that the StatCan monthly GDP figures measure output by industry, while the Bank of Canada's estimates will track actual spending in the economy. 'The output and spending estimates don't always line up, especially when there is a big change in exports and imports, as was certainly the case in each of the past two quarters,' he wrote. Porter said a sharp drop in Canada's export volumes tied to the U.S. trade disruption will likely drag down second quarter GDP based on spending — figures StatCan will release at the end of August. The Bank of Canada held its policy rate steady at 2.75 per cent for a third consecutive time on Wednesday amid what it called signs of resilience in the Canadian economy. Ercolao said that, since the May GDP figures were roughly in line with expectations, the Bank of Canada probably won't be swayed one way or another by the latest data. 'We just had the Bank of Canada meeting yesterday and they seem to be OK with where the economy is,' he said. The central bank will get two more looks at inflation before its next interest rate decision on Sept. 17, which Ercolao said would have a bigger say in where interest rates head from here. Financial market odds of an interest rate cut at the September meeting were broadly unchanged at around 14 per cent by noon Thursday, according to LSEG Data & Analytics. StatCan said a busier May for home resales, particularly in Toronto, saw activity tick up in the real estate and rental industry. Ercolao said it's too soon to say whether this is the start of a new trend in the housing market or just a blip, 'but there's some early signs that there might be some recovery on the horizon.' With three Canadian teams advancing to the second round of the NHL playoffs, StatCan said the spectator sports industry was on the rise in May as well. The public sector meanwhile saw declines after a run-up of activity tied to the federal election in April. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 31, 2025.
Edmonton Journal
2 days ago
- Edmonton Journal
Temitope Oriola: Numbers show crime is down but troubling trends emerge
Article content Statistics Canada has just released its annual ' Police-reported crime statistics in Canada. ' The publication comes from data garnered from police services through the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) survey, in operation since 1962. Article content It provides a barometer for understanding trends and patterns of criminality. This is an important resource for criminologists for research, teaching and advisory purposes; police services as they assess how they compare with their peers across Canada; and policymakers concerned with public safety. Article content Article content Article content The caveat is that only a fraction of criminal episodes (29 per cent of violent and non-violent incidents and six per cent of sexual assaults, according to the 2019 General Social Survey on Victimization by StatCan) come to the attention of the police. Nonetheless, several areas stand out regarding the latest (2024) year in focus. Article content Article content The crime severity index (CSI) decreased by four per cent across Canada. This is noteworthy partly because CSIs increased in the previous three years. The CSI is a composite statistical measure of both the 'volume' and 'seriousness' of Criminal Code incidents, as well as other federal-statute-related incidents. Article content Compared to 2023, the CSI in Alberta declined by nine per cent. Across Alberta, while CSI declined by 20 per cent in Red Deer, Edmonton saw a five-per-cent decline and Calgary recorded a 14-per-cent reduction. Article content The homicide rate is always worth noting. There was a four-per-cent decline in the homicide rate in Canada. That translated to 788 homicides in 2024 versus 780 in 2023. Article content However, an important fact lurks underneath: In 2024, while 34 fewer men were killed, 28 more women were killed compared with 2023. In particular, spousal and intimate partner homicides continue to be quite worrisome. In 2023, 32 per cent of female victims of homicide were killed by a spouse or intimate partner. That increased to 42 per cent of female victims of homicide in 2024. Article content The fundamentally gendered nature of this crime is evident in the fact that six per cent of male victims of homicide in 2024 were killed by a spouse or intimate partner (in other words, seven times higher for women compared to men). Article content There were 225 victims of homicide identified as Indigenous in 2024. This is 29 homicides more than the 2023 figures. The Indigenous homicide rate of 10.84 per 100,000 persons is higher than the national average of 1.91 per 100,000 persons. Victims of homicide identified as visible minorities constituted 29 per cent.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Winnipeg Free Press
Auto theft sees sharp drop in first half of 2025, industry association says
OTTAWA – The pace of auto theft is dropping in Canada thanks to collective efforts to crack down on thieves, says an industry group focused on insurance fraud and crime. Équité Association said in a report released Monday that the number of vehicles reported stolen nationally dropped 19.1 per cent in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. Just over 23,000 vehicles were reported stolen in the first six months of the year in Canada, the report said. The decline is particularly stark in Ontario and Quebec, which saw annual drops of 25.9 per cent and 22.2 per cent, respectively. The year-over-year drops are more modest in Atlantic Canada and Western Canada at roughly nine per cent. Alberta saw a decline of 12.5 per cent. Bryan Gast, national vice-president of investigative services at Équité Association, credits greater public awareness of the threat and efforts by various levels of government and law enforcement agencies to collectively tackle the problem. 'It's really definitely a collaborative effort,' he said. Gast said law enforcement agencies in Ontario and Quebec in particular have stepped up enforcement with police units dedicated to vehicle theft. So far this year, residents of Ontario and Quebec have reported 9,600 and 3,889 vehicle thefts respectively — high numbers that Gast attributed to the provinces' larger populations and proximity to the Port of Montreal. With 4,411 vehicles reported stolen over the first half of 2025, Gast said Alberta continues to lead the country in auto theft on a per-capita basis. Statistics Canada data released earlier this week confirms national progress on the file. The agency reported a 17 per cent annual drop in the rate of police-reported motor vehicle thefts, down to 239 incidents per 100,000 people last year. In 2023, the number of auto thefts had increased 40 per cent over the historic low recorded in 2020, StatCan said. That trend came to a head last year when the federal government convened a summit in February to address car thefts. Ottawa followed up by giving the Canada Border Services Agency millions of dollars in new funding to track vehicles leaving through the country's ports, after having given Ontario $121 million in January of that year to tackle gang crime and auto thefts. Gast said some of the progress can likely be attributed to Canadians' heightened awareness of the issue. 'Now I think you can talk to anybody and, if their car hasn't been stolen, they know somebody's car that has been stolen,' he said. 'I think they are taking those precautions and some of those steps to make their vehicle less of a target.' Vehicle recovery rates also rose 3.4 percentage points year over year to 56.5 per cent in the first half of 2025, Équité Association said. The organization said that was nearing the 'pre-crisis' level of 57.2 per cent recorded in 2021. Despite progress on vehicle theft, the Insurance Bureau of Canada warned it's still a 'significant concern' and 'far from the only factor contributing to rising auto insurance costs.' 'A combination of inflation, tariffs, rising repair and vehicle replacement costs, legal pressures, and regulatory challenges are driving rates up across the country,' the bureau said in a media statement. Tariffs on vehicle parts are driving up the costs of repairs and replacement cars, the bureau noted. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Gast said that while it's not clear yet, tariffs might be playing a role in the increase Équité Association is seeing in domestic chop shops and vehicle parts being sent overseas. He said that whenever there's a disruption to supply chains — like the one that made semiconductor inputs a hot commodity during the COVID-19 pandemic — the criminal element tends to adapt to meet that demand. While he's encouraged by the progress Canada has posted to date in tamping down auto theft, he said now is not the time to let up. 'Don't consider the problem solved,' he said. 'To keep it manageable and the numbers trending in the right direction, I think we still need to focus on it.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2025.
Hamilton Spectator
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Hamilton Spectator
Auto theft sees sharp drop in first half of 2025, industry association says
OTTAWA - The pace of auto theft is dropping in Canada thanks to collective efforts to crack down on thieves, says an industry group focused on insurance fraud and crime. Équité Association said in a report released Monday that the number of vehicles reported stolen nationally dropped 19.1 per cent in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. Just over 23,000 vehicles were reported stolen in the first six months of the year in Canada, the report said. The decline is particularly stark in Ontario and Quebec, which saw annual drops of 25.9 per cent and 22.2 per cent, respectively. The year-over-year drops are more modest in Atlantic Canada and Western Canada at roughly nine per cent. Alberta saw a decline of 12.5 per cent. Bryan Gast, national vice-president of investigative services at Équité Association, credits greater public awareness of the threat and efforts by various levels of government and law enforcement agencies to collectively tackle the problem. 'It's really definitely a collaborative effort,' he said. Gast said law enforcement agencies in Ontario and Quebec in particular have stepped up enforcement with police units dedicated to vehicle theft. So far this year, residents of Ontario and Quebec have reported 9,600 and 3,889 vehicle thefts respectively — high numbers that Gast attributed to the provinces' larger populations and proximity to the Port of Montreal. With 4,411 vehicles reported stolen over the first half of 2025, Gast said Alberta continues to lead the country in auto theft on a per-capita basis. Statistics Canada data released earlier this week confirms national progress on the file. The agency reported a 17 per cent annual drop in the rate of police-reported motor vehicle thefts, down to 239 incidents per 100,000 people last year. In 2023, the number of auto thefts had increased 40 per cent over the historic low recorded in 2020, StatCan said. That trend came to a head last year when the federal government convened a summit in February to address car thefts. Ottawa followed up by giving the Canada Border Services Agency millions of dollars in new funding to track vehicles leaving through the country's ports, after having given Ontario $121 million in January of that year to tackle gang crime and auto thefts. Gast said some of the progress can likely be attributed to Canadians' heightened awareness of the issue. 'Now I think you can talk to anybody and, if their car hasn't been stolen, they know somebody's car that has been stolen,' he said. 'I think they are taking those precautions and some of those steps to make their vehicle less of a target.' Vehicle recovery rates also rose 3.4 percentage points year over year to 56.5 per cent in the first half of 2025, Équité Association said. The organization said that was nearing the 'pre-crisis' level of 57.2 per cent recorded in 2021. Despite progress on vehicle theft, the Insurance Bureau of Canada warned it's still a 'significant concern' and 'far from the only factor contributing to rising auto insurance costs.' 'A combination of inflation, tariffs, rising repair and vehicle replacement costs, legal pressures, and regulatory challenges are driving rates up across the country,' the bureau said in a media statement. Tariffs on vehicle parts are driving up the costs of repairs and replacement cars, the bureau noted. Gast said that while it's not clear yet, tariffs might be playing a role in the increase Équité Association is seeing in domestic chop shops and vehicle parts being sent overseas. He said that whenever there's a disruption to supply chains — like the one that made semiconductor inputs a hot commodity during the COVID-19 pandemic — the criminal element tends to adapt to meet that demand. While he's encouraged by the progress Canada has posted to date in tamping down auto theft, he said now is not the time to let up. 'Don't consider the problem solved,' he said. 'To keep it manageable and the numbers trending in the right direction, I think we still need to focus on it.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2025.
Economic Times
17-07-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Canada's rich getting richer, poor getting poorer, income gap reaches historic high as wages decline and investment surges
TIL Creatives Canada income gap hits record high top 20 percent see gains from wages and investments while poorest struggle with falling wages and rising costs StatCan reports The income gap between Canada's richest and poorest households hit a record high in the first quarter of 2025, according to new data released by Statistics Canada on Tuesday(July 15).The federal agency said the difference in the share of disposable income between the top 40 percent and bottom 40 percent of households widened to 49 percentage points, the largest gap ever recorded in the data series. The report highlights growing economic inequality in a country often ranked among the world's most livable. The income gap has steadily increased each year since the COVID-19 pandemic began, reversing gains made in the early in the top 20 percent of the income distribution experienced a 7.7 percent increase in their average disposable income compared to the previous year. The group benefited from higher wages (up 4.7 percent) and strong returns on investments, which surged 7.4 percent year-over-year. By contrast, households in the bottom 20 percent experienced only a 3.2 percent increase in disposable income. Their average wages actually declined by 0.7 percent, reflecting reduced hours and job instability, particularly in retail, service, and part-time work. The poorest Canadians also saw a steep 35.3 percent drop in investment income, widening the income divide. Many in this group rely on social benefits, which helped cushion some of the losses.'We're not just seeing statistical gaps, we're seeing lives stretched thinner every month,' said David Soberman, a professor at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. 'Inflation, job cuts, and interest rates don't hit everyone equally.' The growing income divide raises questions about economic resilience, affordability, and long-term stability. Rising debt loads and stagnant wages are putting pressure on low-income Canadians, while wealth continues to concentrate at the top. According to a related Statistics Canada report, the wealthiest 20 percent of households now control nearly 65 percent of the country's net worth. The bottom 40 percent hold just 3.3 percent. While middle- and upper-income households benefited from cooling inflation and slightly lower interest rates in early 2025, lower-income families continued to struggle with rent hikes, high grocery bills, and unstable employment. The data comes ahead of the next federal fiscal update, where calls are mounting for targeted support measures such as expanded housing assistance, minimum wage hikes, and stronger labor warn that if current trends continue, social and economic polarization could deepen. Statistics Canada is expected to release its second-quarter income data on October 9, which will show whether the trend is continuing or beginning to level off.
