A strong labour market in Saskatchewan has more people looking for work. That’s just one element of the story contained in Friday’s monthly employment picture update. The StatsCan report says the province had its ninth consecutive increase …
Housing market catching up
Those in the residential real estate market these days are finding a tale of two cities. On one side, builders and those trying to sell properties are feeling the pinch of excess inventory and price pressure. On the other side, buyers are in …
Polls lack accuracy
The Alberta provincial election, to no one’s surprise, saw the United Conservative Party roll to an easy win. The polls closed at 8 p.m., and by 8:26 p.m., the media called the election. In the final days leading up to the election, something …
Upbeat forecast for Sask economy
As the quarterly updates on economic expansion expectations continue to flow in from the major banks, we now have what is probably the most upbeat outlook to date. It comes from the economists at ScotiaBank. They see Saskatchewan’s …
New vehicle sales trending up
For the past year or 18 months, the trend on purchases of new motor vehicles in this province was definite. It was pointing downward. For the majority of that period, the number of new vehicles leaving dealer lots was running between 400 and 600 …
Tax strategy up in smoke
With the federal carbon tax now a couple of weeks old, we are beginning to see the flaws in the design of this particular policy initiative. The SaskPower situation is a good case in point. But this probably isn’t a surprise. It has been troubled …
Economy trending upward
As the various private sector forecasts for Saskatchewan’s economic outlook start to flow, we are seeing something of a consensus on just how fast the economy will grow this year. The latest to add their voice to the chorus is BMO Bank of …
Home construction runs cold
The reports of tough times that have been coming from the residential home builders in this province was amplified this week with a report from StatsCan, which looks beyond the monthly tallies to examine the broader, long-term picture. In its …
Salute to Sask construction
This is Construction Week in Saskatchewan, an initiative designed to draw attention to the contribution this sector makes to the overall economy. Creating and then maintaining the built environment has always played an important role in the …
Sask labour market is hot
Saskatchewan’s labour market is hot these days as employers are creating new positions at a rate we haven’t seen in years. The monthly employment numbers for March were released last week and indicate the province generated almost 4,000 new …
