News Room

All eyes remain laser-focused on inflation. As the Bank of Canada cranks up interest rates, flagging consumer and business confidence are early signs of an economic slowdown. This would translate into reduced hiring and the prospect of potential job losses. But given the significant unmet labour demand in the economy, the labour market appears well-positioned to absorb job losses and limit the economic cost as interest rates start to bite.

Quick take  |  2-min read
June 30, 2022
Focus Area—Canadian Economics

Another month, another uncomfortably high inflation reading. Price growth was broad-based across categories, though the usual suspects appeared again in May. Gasoline price increases, for example, remain astoundingly high. This month’s release also included used car price data for the first time and combined with a recent update to the CPI basket likely mechanically increased price growth in May’s published figures..

Quick take  |  3-min read
June 22, 2022
Focus Area—Canadian Economics

This month recorded a decrease in the long-term (3-year) inflation expectations and an increase in the short-term inflation expectations (1-year). This signals that consumers are more worried about the immediate future regarding inflation and remain relatively confident that inflation will be under control in the long term.

Quick take  |  3-min read
June 20, 2022
Focus Area—Canadian Economics

Housing price increases over the past few years severely eroded housing affordability and galvanized national attention. It is essential to remember that, in any market, prices are determined by both supply and demand. This means that while Canada certainly needs more homes, attention must be paid to demand-side questions like who is buying them, how purchasers are paying for them and what buyers are doing with them.

Op-ed  |  4-min read
June 29, 2022
Focus Area—Canadian Economics

Canada has an ambitious emissions reduction agenda. Lowering greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 40–45 per cent relative to 2005 levels by 2030 means a reduction of 295–330 Mt CO2e in the next eight years. How do we get there? While heavy-duty freight and other transport sectors are undergoing transition as well, technologies for those segments are not advancing fast enough to deliver on the government’s timeline.

Op-ed  |  5-min read
May 5, 2022
Focus Area—Sustainability

One in five Canadian employees is working a job that is at considerable risk of automation. And for these 3.5 million people, there are few or no options to transition into lower-risk occupations without undergoing significant retraining. This isn’t to say that these workers will lose their jobs and have to find new ones, rather, their roles will likely undergo major changes in the coming years. In this sense, transition also means transformation.

Op-ed  |  4-min read
March 30, 2022
Focus Area—Innovation & Technology

Canada recently announced plans to bring an unlimited number of Ukrainians to Canada on a three-year visa with the right to work while they are here. It’s an exciting and new plan for humanitarian migration. It also raises an important question. How do we deliver on the promise we make when we offer people resettlement in Canada?

Commentary  |  5-min read
June 28, 2022
Focus Area—Immigration

Canada’s immigration response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine is both inspiring and unprecedented. Despite its reputation as a welcoming country, Canadian policy often makes it difficult for people needing protection to reach Canada. The Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) tackles one of the biggest hurdles—visa requirements. Travel to seek asylum is a human right. But the Canadian government imposes visa requirements on countries that send a high number of refugee claimants.

Commentary  |  3-min read
June 15, 2022
Focus Area—Immigration

Positive mental health allows us to cope with changes and difficult challenges in our day-to-day lives, personally as well as professionally. The pandemic blurred this boundary as employees worked from home, many simultaneously caring for children and other loved ones while living a more isolated lifestyle.

Commentary  |  3-min read
May 4, 2022
Focus Area—Human Resources