In this edition:
- Niagara unemployment rate drops even as employed ranks swell
- Celebration of Nations receives national award
- Niagara Health Foundation celebrates over $1m in donations for new hospital
- Minister Champagne reports on commitments from largest grocers to stabilize food prices
- Enbridge CEO urges Canada to reduce global emissions and energy poverty
- Focus on Finance & Economy
Niagara unemployment rate drops even as employed ranks swell
Niagara added 4,100 net jobs between August and September, according to the latest Labour Force Survey data from Statistics Canada, while the local unemployment rate dropped from 6.9% to 6.7%, indicating that demand for workers in Niagara may be growing again. Niagara’s unemployment, employment, and participation rates (the percentage of people either working or actively seeking work) continue to lag behind provincial and national figures, but the gap closed slightly in September.
Nationally, employment rose by 64,000 (+0.3%) in September, following an increase of 40,000 (+0.2%) in August. The employment rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are employed—rose 0.1 percentage points to 62.0%, offsetting a decline in the previous month.
The unemployment rate was unchanged in September and stood at 5.5% for the third consecutive month.
Click here to access Statistics Canada’s interactive Labour Force Survey app.
Click here for more visualizations of Niagara’s labour market.
Celebration of Nations receives national award
The City of St. Catharines and FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre (PAC) have been nationally recognized for Celebration of Nations gathering of Indigenous arts, culture and heritage. They jointly accepted a Cultural Event Award from the Creative City Network of Canada (CCNC), alongside the gathering’s Artistic Director Michele-Elise Burnett and Artistic Producer Tim Johnson at the 2023 Creative Cities Summit in St. John’s, Newfoundland on Thursday afternoon.
Celebration of Nations is held annually at the PAC in early September. The weekend gathering offers a unique blend of both traditional and contemporary Indigenous perspectives. Local residents and visitors can reflect on an Elder’s shared wisdom by the Sacred Fire as the sun rises, try their hand at a traditional craft, get a better sense of the lived Indigenous experience through poetry, song, dance and film, taste Indigenous foods, cultivate new perspectives and support meaningful reconciliation.
Niagara Health Foundation celebrates over $1m in donations for new hospital
The Niagara Health Foundation is celebrating over $1 million in donations from various community supporters. The funds all go towards the “It’s Our Future Campaign” in support of the new South Niagara Hospital.
In all 14 community groups, service clubs, and businesses donated $1,375,000.
The donors include Bosch Rexroth Canada, The Byl Family, Ida & Bob Gale Sr. Community Fund, GNGH Auxiliary, Jim & Liz Grice, Knights of Columbus, Hennepin Council No.1652, The Mathur Family, The Marcella & Vincent McNamara Family, Niagara Falls Bridge Commission, Niagara Falls Canadian Polish Home, Niagara German Canadian Club, The Trabucco Family, Mitch Williams, and Sherman Zavitz.
Minister Champagne reports on initial commitments from five largest grocers to stabilize food prices
In recent weeks, François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, met with the leaders of Canada’s five largest grocery chains as well as domestic and international food processors, and he called on the industry to take action to stabilize food prices.
Price stabilization requires the full engagement of the entire supply chain, and the Minister is encouraged that grocers and manufacturers agreed to work with the government and to find solutions that are in the best interest of Canadians. Today Minister Champagne provided an update on this work.
The Minister reported that initial commitments have been secured from the top five major grocery chains. The grocers are following through on their engagement to support efforts aimed at stabilizing food prices and to propose concrete actions by Thanksgiving. Each grocer has identified an initial series of actions that will be implemented in the coming days and weeks.
Enbridge CEO urges Canada to reduce global emissions and energy poverty
Greg Ebel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Enbridge Inc., called on Canada to show leadership to the world in lowering global emissions, reducing energy poverty and supporting the progress of Indigenous communities in the country.
In a keynote address to the Toronto Region Board of Trade, Ebel made a case for Canada to play a role on the world stage, as it has at pivotal moments throughout history. From heroic efforts in world wars to standing up to apartheid, Ebel said Canada rose to the challenge.
Did you know?
Only 1.2% of the world’s water is drinkable.
20% of that water is in Canada.
Focus on Finance & Economy
Canada’s balance of trade soars from deficit to surplus
Canada’s merchandise trade balance went from a deficit of $437 million in July to a surplus of $718 million in August, the first trade surplus observed since April. These trade balances are close to the typical bounds for monthly revisions to imports and exports.
The contribution of prices to the monthly movements was noteworthy in the results for merchandise exports and imports. In real (or volume) terms, exports rose 3.0% in August compared with July, while imports in real terms increased 1.2%.
Overall, exports were up in 7 of the 11 product sections, with exports of unwrought gold and crude oil contributing the most to the monthly gain. Excluding gold and crude oil, exports were essentially unchanged in August.
Through the Daily Updates, the GNCC aims to deliver important business news in a timely manner. We disseminate all news and information we feel will be important to businesses. Inclusion in the Daily Update is not an endorsement by the GNCC.
