Latest news with #StatisticsCanada
CTV News
11 hours ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Federal minister plans to hold consultations this summer on immigration intake
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Lena Metlege Diab rises during Question Period on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Thursday, June 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld OTTAWA — Immigration Minister Lena Diab says the federal government will consult this summer on its immigration levels plan and whether the student visa system is 'sustainable.' In a recent interview with University Affairs, Diab says the annual consultations will reach out to the provinces, university administrators and students themselves. An Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada spokeswoman says the government expects schools to only accept students they can 'reasonably support' by providing housing and other services. Post-secondary institutions across the country are posting deficit budgets this year, laying off staff and cutting programs as international student enrolment drops. The government last year announced a cap on study permit applications and a gradual decrease in the number of student visas. Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner says her party wants to see an 'immediate and massive' reduction in student visas due to high youth unemployment and the housing crisis. In May, Statistics Canada reported the unemployment rate among returning students had hit 20 per cent, a three per cent increase over the previous year. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2025. David Baxter, The Canadian Press
Globe and Mail
12 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Stocks Slump as Gold Falls
Canada's main stock index opened lower on Friday, dragged by losses in heavyweight mining shares after gold fell to a near one-month low, while investors assessed a mixed bag of economic data. The TSX Composite Index declined 49.86 points to open Friday at 26,702.09 The Canadian dollar retreated 0.02 cents to 73.28 cents U.S. Global investor sentiment was lifted after a White House official said late on Thursday that Washington has reached an agreement with China on how to expedite rare earths shipments to the U.S. On the economic front, Statistics Canada reports real gross domestic product edged down 0.1% in April, driven in large part by declines in the manufacturing and wholesale trade sectors. ON BAYSTREET The TSX Venture Exchange slid 7.82 points, or 1.1%, to 720.97. Still, eight of the 12 TSX subgroups gained, with health-care ahead 2%, real-estate chugging 0.6%, and utilities better by 0.4%. The four laggards were weighed most by gold, duller by 3.6%, materials, off 2.8%, and consumer staples dipping 0.3%. ON WALLSTREET The S&P 500 rose to a new record on Friday, the culmination of an improbable turnaround for U.S. stocks this year as they overcame trade turmoil and geopolitics to reclaim the record set in February. Friday's gain was driven by hope that trade deals with China and other countries are coming soon. The Dow Jones Industrials zoomed 314.95 points to 43,701.79. The much-broader index advanced 33.1 points to begin the week's last session at 6,174.12. The NASDAQ Composite tacked on 119.13 points to 20,287.04, also a new record high. Late Thursday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Bloomberg News that a framework between China and the U.S. on trade had been finalized. Lutnick added that the Trump administration expects to reach deals with 10 major trading partners imminently. President Donald Trump also said Thursday 'we just signed with China yesterday.' A White House official later clarified he meant China agreed to 'an additional understanding of a framework to implement the Geneva agreement.' China's Ministry of Commerce also said Friday that the two countries had confirmed a trade framework that would allow the export of rare earths to the U.S. and ease tech restrictions. After rising to a new high in February on hopes for business-friendly policies from Trump, stocks tumbled as the president decided to instead implement stiff tariffs first. At its low in April, the S&P 500 was down nearly 18% for 2025. The benchmark then began a stunning comeback after Trump walked back his stiffest tariff rates and the U.S. began negotiations for trade deals. Nvidia hit an all-time high again on Friday, up 0.9%. Microsoft notched a new record as well before hovering around the little-changed mark. Prices for the 10-year treasury dropped slightly, raising yields to 4.26% from Thursday's 4.24%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. Oil prices resurged 52 cents to $65.76 U.S. a barrel.
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Canada's economy shrinks in April, with broad-based declines in manufacturing
Canada's economy shrank 0.1 per cent on a monthly basis in April, Statistics Canada said on Friday, a slower pace than analysts had expected. The contraction was largely the result of broad-based weakness in the manufacturing sector during a month characterized by heightened trade tensions with the U.S. Economists had estimated Canadian real gross domestic product (GDP) would remain unchanged from March, according to consensus estimates published by BMO Economics. Statistics Canada's flash estimate for April, published at the end of May, was for growth of 0.1 per cent. "The resilience that the Canadian economy was previously showing in the face of U.S. tariffs and related uncertainty appears to be fading," CIBC economist Andrew Grantham wrote in a note following the data release. Grantham assessed the April decline as "only marginal," and wrote that "the economy is certainly not falling off a cliff," but appears headed for a 0.3 per cent contraction in the second quarter. Although an interest rate cut from the Bank of Canada (BoC) at the end of July remains possible, Grantham wrote, "upcoming employment and inflation data will be more important in determining whether policymakers feel comfortable making a move at that time." In Friday's release, Statistics Canada revised its March real GDP growth higher, to 0.2 per cent on a monthly basis. The agency had previously stated that real GDP grew 0.1 per cent from February. Manufacturing dropped 1.9 per cent in April, the largest since April 2021, driven by large declines in durable goods subsectors connected to motor vehicle and other transportation equipment production. The contraction in those sectors came as car and light truck exports shrank, Statistics Canada notes, "as some motor vehicle manufacturers scaled back production amid uncertainty related to tariffs imposed on motor vehicle exports to the United States." Food, petroleum and coal product manufacturing had the largest declines in the non-durable goods sectors. Finance and insurance grew 0.7 per cent on the month, with financial investment services, funds and other financial vehicles driving the growth. "The announcement of U.S. tariffs on April 2 heightened trade tensions and prospects of a global economic slowdown, leading to unusually high activity on Canadian equity markets in April," Statistics Canada says. Wholesale trade also dropped 1.9 per cent, which Statistics Canada noted in its release is the largest monthly fall since June 2023, with declines in seven of nine subsectors. Statistics Canada's flash estimate for May forecasts another 0.1 per cent drop, with preliminary data showing slowdowns in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction, public administration and retail trade. Friday's numbers come after data on Tuesday showed inflation remaining flat from the previous month at 1.7 per cent annualized. Some economists said the Bank of Canada was unlikely to be swayed by the consumer price index (CPI) numbers and would be on the watch for further signs of a weakening economy ahead of their July 30 announcement. Reuters reported Thursday that market odds for an interest rate cut stood at 40 per cent. This story will be updated. John MacFarlane is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jmacf. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.
CTV News
15 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Statistics Canada says real GDP down 0.1% in April as manufacturing slowed
Canadian flags are seen flying behind the National Archives building in Ottawa Friday, Feb 14, 2025 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says real gross domestic product edged down 0.1 per cent in April as the manufacturing sector slowed. The agency also says its advance estimate for May points to another 0.1 per cent decline for that month. The pullback in April came as goods-producing industries fell 0.6 per cent, with manufacturing accounting for nearly all the decline. The manufacturing sector was down 1.9 per cent in April, the largest drop since April 2021. Durable goods manufacturing fell 2.2 per cent in April, while non-durable goods manufacturing dropped 1.6 per cent. Meanwhile, services-producing industries edged up 0.1 per cent for the month. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2025.
15 hours ago
- Business
Canada's GDP shrank in April, with hefty decline in manufacturing
Canada's economy shrank by 0.1 per cent on a monthly basis in April, Statistics Canada said on Friday, with the data agency's advance estimate for May showing a similar decline in activity. The manufacturing sector alone dipped 1.9 per cent — the steepest drop since April 2021, per Statistics Canada — driving a decline among goods-producing industries. Transportation equipment manufacturing was hit hard, which the data agency attributed to uncertainty caused by the trade war in the auto industry as car manufacturers pulled back on production in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff on vehicle exports. Wholesale trade also fell in April, particularly in sub-sectors related to autos and motor vehicle parts, as exports and imports of those products dropped Investment activity largely drove the country's economic growth in April, with the finance and insurance sector growing 0.7 per cent — specifically financial investment services, funds and other financial vehicles. The announcement of U.S. tariffs on April 2 heightened trade tensions and prospects of a global economic slowdown, leading to unusually high activity on Canadian equity markets in April, noted Statistics Canada. That led to a trading frenzy on the Toronto Stock Exchange in the four days that followed the announcement, which the data agency said was the main contributor to elevated activity in April. Public sector activity also rose in April, mostly because of the federal election, while the arts, entertainment and recreation sector increased 2.8 per cent that month as several Canadian NHL teams qualified for the playoffs. Jenna Benchetrit (new window) · CBC News
