Welcome to our Weekly Digest – stay in the know with some recent news updates relevant to business and the economy.

GDP has economists divided on when Bank of Canada rate cut will come

Canada’s economy progressively slowed throughout the early part of 2024, but economists are divided over whether that’s enough for prospective and existing homeowners to get some mortgage relief next week.

Slowest in years, monthly closures rise

Canada’s booming population isn’t enough to save its eroding business environment. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data shows business growth continued to slow in February, despite the rapidly escalating population. Even more business owners are deciding to shutter their doors as unemployment rises and incentives to operate continue to fade.

Ticketmaster owner Live Nation confirms data breach

Live Nation Entertainment said on Friday it was investigating a data breach at its Ticketmaster unit that it discovered on May 20, the latest in a string of high-profile corporate hacks in the past year. Last week, a hacking group named ShinyHunters said it had stolen user data of over 500 million Ticketmaster customers, according to various media reports.

Ottawa posts $50.9 billion deficit for 2023-24 fiscal year

The federal government ended the 2023-24 fiscal year with a deficit of $50.9 billion. The result for the April-to-March period compared with a deficit of $41.3 billion reported for the same stretch of its 2022-23 fiscal year.

Employers split when it comes to Canada’s economy

Small employers in Canada are divided when it comes to their view of the economy in the country, according to a recent report from APD.

Artificial Intelligence technologies can help address Canada’s productivity slump

Technology that boosts innovation and the rate of technological change could inject life back into Canada’s growth trajectory. Advancement in generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is currently taking place at a rapid speed and may spur faster productivity gains

Half of public sector union members say they support new federal return-to-office policy

As the federal government mandates more in-office time for its workers, new data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds a majority of Canadians (59%) support federal workers spending more time in-office and less time remotely.

All parties vote to put unions and political interests ahead of Canada’s economy with ban on replacement workers

The vote in the House of Commons in favour of Bill C-58 – a ban on replacement workers in federally regulated workplaces during a strike or a lockout – tilts Canada’s labour laws even more heavily in favour of unions, says the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).

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