We’ve been here before so we’re going to find some things that are new. That’s the gist of a message from business advisor Rick McPartlin. It is pretty much a universal one these days. We saw a provincial government issue half of a budget – just …
Saskatchewan
Economic forecast isn’t pretty
This is the time when the banks start to issue their forecasts for the provincial economy for the final quarter of the year. The first out of the gate is RBC Royal Bank - their narrative is not especially pretty for Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan, the …
Residential permits buck trend
This might sound a little out of the ordinary, but Saskatchewan in June posted one of the higher increases in the value of residential permits issued across the country. We have generally been in negative territory on this particular indicator …
Skewing the statistics
Hey sports fans, Saskatchewan has the highest density of sports clubs that charge admission fees of any province in Canada. That is, of course, on a per capita basis. We have 1.8 teams that charge admission per 100,000 people. In real numbers, …
Sorting latest job numbers
The volatile swings in the monthly employment figures were evident in the numbers released for July. They came out late last week and showed a drop of almost 11,000 full-time positions in the month. There was a corresponding increase in part-time …
Home ownership realistic in Sask
This is something our economic development agencies may want to use in their promotional activities. The latest quarterly report on housing affordability issued by RBC Royal Bank says home ownership in Vancouver, Toronto and Victoria is an …
Shopping in the future
Retail spending in this province is relatively steady these days – up slightly one month and down about the same the next month. But what is changing is the way we do our shopping - it is going to change even more in the future. Of course, there …
Consumer spending remains flat
If you’re an investor who wants to track which way an economy is headed, there are a few categories or segments that you’ll want to watch. A few of the key ones are business investment, exports, labour markets, housing and consumer spending. That …
Sask population growth slowing
The pace of population growth in this province is slowing. The latest quarterly population estimate from StatsCan showed an increase of 708 residents in the first quarter of this year, bringing Saskatchewan’s population to 1,169,131. That is …
Summer is buying season
We have two seasons in this province – winter and construction, especially road construction. That may have caused people to defer the decision to buy a new vehicle. We recently received the monthly sales figures for automotive dealers in …
