Canada’s financial crime watchdog appears to have just woken up. This week, FINTRAC announced they fined two of the country’s biggest banks for anti-money laundering (AML) non-compliance. Sampling just a small number of transactions, the agency found serious gaps in reporting procedures that may have allowed dodgy money to slip through the system. RBC Failed […]
The only bond stronger than a mother and its baby is the one between rising interest rates and the arson of new homes under construction. Commercial insurer Northbridge Insurance is warning home builders to look out for arsonists. In a letter this week, the firm explained they expect new home arson to rise as financial […]
Greater Toronto real estate is unlikely to have a Christmas rally like some had hoped. Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) data shows home prices fell further in November. Home sales continue to fall while inventory builds, easing market conditions. In fact, the erosion of market pressures is occurring at one of the fastest rates […]
Canadian policymakers are floating the idea of capping study permits, but they don’t need to. Government of Canada (GoC) data shows a sharp decline in the number of study permit applications in September. When policymakers first pitched the idea of limiting students to help affordability, it appears they were attempting to save face. The public […]
Time for your cheat sheet on this week’s top stories. Canadian Real Estate Canadian Unemployment Rises, Immigrants Sold On Non-Existent Opportunities The latest data for Canadian employment was better than expected—but analysts weren’t expecting good news. The economy added 22k jobs in November, which would be good news had the economy not added even more […]
Canada’s labor market is stronger than expected, but most weren’t expecting much. Today’s Statistics Canada (Stat Can) Labor Force Survey (LFS) update shows the economy added more jobs than expected in November. However, the data also revealed more laborers were added than work, boosting unemployment. The trend is seen continuing near-term, with recent immigrants bearing […]
The Canadian economy is slowing… or booming. It really depends on when you read the statistics, apparently. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) released real gross domestic product (GDP) data this morning, revealing a sharp contraction in the third quarter. However, it was accompanied by a massive second quarter revision, indicating the economy was performing much better […]
Canada is known for its generous immigration policies but that might change soon. A new survey from Canadian Press and Leger looked at the public opinion on immigration and its impact on services. Most households feel Canada is pursuing an overly aggressive immigration policy contributing to an affordability crisis, and a net negative impact on […]
Canada’s latest trade data was an emotional rollercoaster, showing improvements rather than wiping them out. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) published data for the Q3 2023 current account, which shows the balance of goods and services trade. Some improvements were observed, but not enough to counter the rapid outflow of investment occurring. One of the country’s […]
Canadian real estate has been in growth purgatory for nearly a year, and we should expect another. That’s the takeaway from Scotiabank’s macroeconomic scenarios in their Q4 2023 earnings report. The bank generally expects home prices to fall over the next year, and move much slower than usual in the following years. Canadian Real Estate […]
