In this edition:
- Government of Canada announces $1.3M in funding for Niagara tourism organizations
- Central bank expected to cut interest rate despite growth in Q2
- Federal stance on immigration forces Canada to reckon with labour shortages
- CHBA index finds builder sentiment still negative
- Minister Boissonnault announces increases to student loans and grants
- Focus on Finance & Economy
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From left: NOTL Musuem managing director and curator Sarah Kaufman, NOTL Museum president Mona Babin, Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey, St. Catharines MP Chris Bittle. Photo credit: Mike Balsom
Government of Canada announces $1.3M in funding for Niagara tourism organizations
Today, on behalf of the Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), Vance Badawey, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport and Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre; and Chris Bittle, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, and Member of Parliament for St. Catharines, announced an investment of over $1.3 million for 11 tourism organizations across the Niagara Region and surrounding areas that are diversifying their offerings and contributing to attracting new visitors to the region, including $100K for the Niagara-on-the-Lake museum, pictured above.
Photo credit: primestockphotograpy / Adobe Stock
Central bank expected to cut interest rate despite growth in Q2
Economists say the Bank of Canada is still on track to cut interest rates next week, despite economic growth coming in stronger than expected in the second quarter.
Statistics Canada said on Aug. 30 that the economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.1 per cent in the second quarter — beating the Bank of Canada’s forecast.
But real gross domestic product continued to shrink on a per-person basis, marking the fifth consecutive decline. Economists typically look at GDP per capita to assess the standard of living.
Photo credit: Evgenia Parajanian / Adobe Stock
Federal stance on immigration forces Canada to reckon with labour shortages
The Liberal government’s decision to reel in the temporary foreign worker program after loosening the rules to help businesses find workers after the pandemic is sparking a contentious debate about whether governments should even try to address labour shortages.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Sep. 2 that his government is bringing back stricter rules to stem the flow of low-wage temporary foreign workers, and he urged businesses to hire and train Canadian workers.
Photo credit: adragan / Adobe Stock
CHBA index finds builder sentiment still negative
The recently released Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) 2024 Q2 Housing Market Index (HMI) found home builder sentiment is negative for the eighth consecutive quarter and is even lower than Q1 across key regions of the country.
The HMI is a sentiment indicator that assesses current selling conditions, expectations for selling conditions over the next six months and the level of sales office traffic. It’s an indicator of expected housing starts six months and beyond.
Photo credit: Brad Demers
Minister Boissonnault announces increases to student loans and grants
Changes to the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program came into effect for this school year and will continue to improve access and affordability for students in post-secondary education. This includes extending the Canada Student Loan limit increase to $300 per week of study for full-time students and the 40% increase to Canada Student Grants for full-time students, part-time students, students with disabilities and students with dependants, by one year.
These changes also include permanently eliminating the credit screening requirement for students aged 22 and older who are applying for student financial assistance for the first time.
Did you know?
Focus on Finance & Economy
Bank of Canada rate cuts and your mortgage: what homeowners, prospective buyers can expect
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.
