Invest in Canada

Canadian manufacturing sales show turnaround

Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 1.9 per cent to $39.7-billion in June, partially reversing a 4.9-per-cent decline posted in May.
The agency attributes the increase to strong sales in the aerospace industry and a rise in the price of petroleum and coal products.
Constant dollar manufacturing sales rose 1.1 per cent in June, indicating that greater [...]

Five signs a housing recovery is on the way

Larry MacDougal

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1) Housing starts are expected to rise
While the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts decreased to 132,000 units in July from 137,000 units in June, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says starts statistics – which mark the actual, shovel-in-the-ground beginning of construction – are expected to improve throughout 2009.
The reason?
“Over [...]

Canada plays catch-up in race for trade with China

AFP/Getty Images

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When the world’s biggest import market crashed last year and economists advised Canadian exporters to chase growth in emerging markets, Winnipeg plastics manufacturer Craig McIntosh did just the opposite: He hired more salespeople and redoubled his efforts south of the border.
Half of Acrylon Plastics’ $40-million in sales come from exports to [...]

50 Best Employers in Canada

For the past four years, BC Biomedical Laboratories has topped our list of the 50 Best Employers in Canada. But in 2006, we crown not one but two new champions. Among medium-sized companies (300 to 1,499 employees), the Winnipeg-based financial services firm Wellington West Capital took the top honour; Cintas Canada, meanwhile, ranked first among [...]

Unemployment rises, but less than feared

Canada’s economy lost 7,400 jobs in June, far less than expected, even as the country continued to struggle through an economic downturn.
The unemployment rate rose to an 11-year high of 8.6%, up from 8.4% in May, Statistics Canada said Friday.
“Full-time employment continued its downward trend in June, offsetting gains in part-time,” the federal agency said. [...]

Leap in home building offers hope

Construction of new homes has surged by a surprising eight per cent in June, prompting analysts to say the housing market in Canada has turned the corner and begun recovering.
The annual pace of housing starts rose to 140,700 units in June from 130,300 in May, with the increase in activity spread across different types of [...]

Alberta’s oil sands show signs of life

Unlimited overtime pay was just one of the many perks John Halbauer enjoyed as a welder during Alberta’s super-sized energy boom.
That’s disappeared, along with 11 of the 25-year-old’s 13 co-workers who got laid-off in January. “I was worried. I didn’t know if I was going to have to move back home or what,” the Kimberley, [...]

Condo resales are on a roll

The new-condo market may be just starting to warm up again but the resale market is hot. Units in highly sought after areas are drawing multiple offers and selling quickly.

The new-condo market may be just starting to warm up again but the resale market is hot, according to May statistics from the Toronto Real Estate [...]

Pace of economic decline is slowing – Economy improving

The outlook for the economy continues to improve, based on Statistics Canada’s leading indicator.
The statistics gathering agency said Wednesday the pace of decline in its leading indicator index slowed sharply in May to just 0.1 per cent. That marked the smallest of nine consecutive declines, Statistics Canada said.
In fact, the month-over-month change – from a [...]

RBC predicts recession will end next quarter

Royal Bank of Canada has become the first of the country’s major banks to officially predict the recession will end in the third quarter as fiscal and monetary stimuli begin to heal the economy.
With housing resales up, manufacturing declines slowing and the third quarter just two weeks away, Canada can look forward to better times [...]