Category: Gradually Then Suddenly

False Alarm!

Canada’s Bolsheviks Gradually Then Suddenly It's Probably Nothing New Governor 9 Comments

I see the court economists are at it again, carrying water as they do for the new PM. They need to understand that massive spending on money losing, capital consuming circuses like FIFA does not add to GDP; that should actually be counted as a subtraction.

While CIBC was already expecting a “healthy rebound” in the second quarter, Grantham said the period was also “flattered somewhat by a rebound in mining, oil and gas, as well as potentially a boost from FIFA World Cup spending and preparations.”

Circling The Drain

Gradually Then Suddenly It's Probably Nothing New Governor 6 Comments

Say goodbye to rate cuts from the Bank Of Canada, at least for the time being.

According to Statistics Canada data, gasoline prices were up by 33.2 per cent year-over-year in May following a 28.6 per cent rise in April. These are the biggest increases since July 2022, officials said.

Food inflation also accelerated in May, rising to 4.3 per cent year-over-year compared with 3.8 per cent in April, driven mainly by higher prices for fresh fruits and vegetables.

 

Circling The Drain

Gradually Then Suddenly It's Probably Nothing New Governor Shiny Pony 20 Comments

The problem with the technical recession label is that it obscures the fact that Canada has already been in an effective recession for about ten years.

Whether or not Canada’s quarterly GDP grew or shrank fractionally over the past six months is of trivial importance compared with the inarguable fact that per capita growth has stalled since 2015. Our economy has not just had a bad couple of quarters, it has faltered for a decade, mostly because of persistently weak business investment.

The Government They Voted For

Gradually Then Suddenly Great Moments In Socialism nannystate New Governor 30 Comments

Globe & Mail, June 1st: As Canada faces crippling debt, it must do the unpopular thing and cut elderly benefits…

Blacklocks, June 9th.;

Parliament spends more than $14 billion a year on Old Age Security for pensioners with household incomes over $60,000, records show. A federally-funded research group has petitioned cabinet to tighten income testing for seniors: “It’s appropriate to ask retirees with six-figure incomes to accept fewer taxpayer dollars.”

Are you feeling softened yet?

Circling The Drain, Literally

entitlement generation Gradually Then Suddenly It's Probably Nothing nannystate 5 Comments

There’s a simple solution for alleged funding problems for sewer and water networks: have the user pay, just like they do for internet. If usage fees cover repairs as well as future upgrades and expansion, bottlenecks won’t occur. Municipal governments, on the other hand, prefer to wait for “others”, namely provincial and federal taxpayers, to pony up for things they don’t want to charge local voters for.

She said municipalities largely rely on property taxes and user fees for revenue, which account for roughly one-tenth of total government revenues in Canada despite them being responsible for a majority of core local infrastructure.

“We know what we need to do,” she said. “The concern is we don’t have the fiscal capacity to do it at the speed and scale that housing targets require.”

Lipstick On The Pig

Gradually Then Suddenly It's Probably Nothing Media New Governor 19 Comments

Inquiring minds want to know: what’s in it for court water carriers who engage in mindless cheerleading for the government of the day? It’s like the scene in The Holy Grail where the armless knight declares, “‘Tis but a scratch!”

Luckily, economists say there is more to a recession than just two quarters of negative growth — namely the 3 Ds — depth, duration and dispersion.

This decline is not even close on depth — amounting to just 0.6 per cent annualized over the two quarters, “barely a scratch in GDP terms,” said Robert Kavcic, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in a note.

Oh, that explains it!

Canadian Prime ‌Minister Mark ‌Carney, pressed about statistics ​showing the country is in a technical ‌recession, on ⁠Tuesday told reporters that ⁠as the government pressed ​ahead with ​reforms “the ​data will ‌be uneven”.

Gradually, Then Suddenly

Gradually Then Suddenly Great Moments In Socialism New Governor 31 Comments

Indeed. Who’s laughing now, Brantford Boomer?

The old white people aren’t MAIDing away as quickly as they’d hoped for;

The Carney government regularly describes its fiscal approach as “ambitious” and “transformational,” but in reality it’s simply perpetuating a fiscal decline that’s plunging Canada deeper into red ink. To truly transform federal finances, the Carney government must reduce spending, even in areas that are politically unpopular. And to truly be ambitious, it should start by reducing elderly benefits – Ottawa’s largest single spending item.

First, some context. The Carney government plans to run annual budget deficits ranging from $66.9-billion in 2025-26 to $53.2-billion in 2030-31. Cumulatively, this six-year period in the red represents $362.4-billion in borrowing. Over that same period, Ottawa’s total debt will rise from a projected $2.3-trillion, or 72 per cent of the economy, to more than $3-trillion, or 78 per cent of the economy.
Open this photo in gallery:

According to the Carney government’s spring economic update, elderly benefits will grow faster than any other single spending item in the budget, except debt interest costs.

I just threw that graphic in there. For context.

An “as I was saying” update: A new academic study is calculating how much money the government could save by dramatically expanding euthanasia .. including “non-voluntary” scenarios for vulnerable people.

Gradually, The Unexpectedly

Gradually Then Suddenly New Governor 13 Comments

Financial Post;

Canada’s real gross domestic product unexpectedly contracted slightly in the first quarter of 2026, marking the second consecutive quarterly decline and meeting the technical definition of a recession.

The results came as a surprise: Preliminary estimates in April had suggested the economy grew to start the year, but data released Friday by Statistics Canada showed an increase in imports — up 2.9 per cent in the first quarter, mainly driven by gold imports — dragged real GDP growth into negative territory on an annualized basis.

Falling On Deaf Ears

Canada’s Bolsheviks Gradually Then Suddenly It's Probably Nothing New Governor 14 Comments

It’s not just the federal government that isn’t that interested in Balsillie’s advice. Most provincial governments couldn’t care less either.

Balsillie said those who thrive in today’s economy own and control intangible assets such as data, AI and IP, and the U.S. has “turbocharged their capture,” but Canada’s economic game plan has stayed stuck in the decades-old “tangible production economy era,” while the new assets of the new economy require different strategies.

Empty Piggy Banks

entitlement generation Gradually Then Suddenly It's Probably Nothing 14 Comments

Here’s something these folks need to ponder: over 40 years of falling interest rates, often hovering near zero, have made defined benefit pension plans nearly impossible to maintain. The go-to “solution” is to get that magical entity known as “others” to make up any shortfall. But those “others” are growing tired of handing over their capital to be consumed.

Fed into the performance-based formula, those figures have meant former Queen’s employee Gordon Crawley has received no increases since he retired in November 2021. Meanwhile, the consumer price index (CPI) has risen by more than 16 per cent over that time frame, according to Bank of Canada data.

He says it’s been difficult, especially knowing he won’t get any additional payments to top up his pension and help deal with inflation until the fund’s returns have made up for lost ground.

Circling The Drain

Gradually Then Suddenly It's Probably Nothing nannystate New Governor 11 Comments

The first thing a business run by sane people would do when faced with torrents of red ink would be to identify the sectors with the highest costs and highest losses and cut them loose. But when you’re Canada Post, for some reason you do exactly the opposite.

“For now, people who already receive their mail via rural mailboxes will see no change,” the statement said. “These addresses are not part of the initial announcement targeting the four million addresses that still receive home delivery and will eventually be converted to community mailboxes.”

 

Stiff Upper Elbows, Mates

Gradually Then Suddenly New Governor 31 Comments

‘Things are going to get a whole lot worse’

The London region has recorded the highest unemployment rate among Canada’s large cities for April, reaching 9.2 per cent, according to the latest figures released by Statistics Canada.

The month saw a loss of 1,800 jobs in the area, which includes London, St. Thomas and Strathroy.

The statistics paint a challenging economic picture, with experts warning of further declines.

Canada Strong

Gradually Then Suddenly New Governor 4 Comments

So grateful they gave us a new Governor to turn the economy around.

A Winnipeg-founded retail chain is seeking a Manitoba court’s approval to liquidate its 128 stores across the country.

Warehouse One announced Wednesday that it had begun proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) that would allow the denim retailer to begin shutting down.

“After careful consideration of all reasonably available options, the company has made the difficult decision to commence the CCAA proceedings to allow for an orderly wind down of its operations, including all Warehouse One and Bootlegger retail locations,” Warehouse One wrote in a news release.

The company currently operates 128 retail stores under its Warehouse One and Bootlegger banners in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Yukon.

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