- 2,018,238 doses have been administered in Canada, as of writing. 3.8% of Canadians have received at least one dose and 80.3% of doses delivered have been administered.
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Percent of population vaccinated: Israel: 55.1%, U.K: 29.9%, U.S: 15.2%, E.U: 4.9%, Canada: 3.8%
- Canada will receive 500,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine this week, and the clock is ticking because 300,000 will expire within a month.
- Scientists warn that a COVID variant found in Brazil can re-infect people who have already had the virus, but this does not necessarily mean it can evade vaccines.
March 02, 2021
Two economies
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Markets
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TSX | 18421.60 | 0.67% |
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S&P 500 | 3870.29 | -0.81% |
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DOW | 31391.52 | -0.46% |
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NASDAQ | 13358.79 | -1.69% |
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Gold | 1734.10 | 0.03% |
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Oil | 59.42 | -0.55% |
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Dollar | 0.79 | 0.0886% |
Depending on what headline you read yesterday you might have come away with the impression that Canada's economy was revving up or really in the tank.
Well, both are true depending on how you look at things.
By the numbers:
- GDP grew by 2.3% in Q4 of 2020. That's 9.6% annualized growth, well above expectations.
- Growth continued in January, with GDP up by 0.5%. There were worries that second wave lockdowns would contract the economy again, but that did not happen.
- At the same time, GDP shrank by 5.4% in 2020 — that's the worst decline on record (the data goes back to 1961).
Behind the numbers: Recent growth in the economy was driven largely by gains in the natural resource sector and a red hot housing market. Retail and trade continued to fall.
- However, the household savings rate is up and Canadians who kept their jobs have stashed away plenty of extra cash over the past year — once things re-open, that money could kick start depressed sectors.
What's next: BMO upgraded its forecast for growth this year by a point to 6%, declaring that "it's not precisely a V-shaped recovery, but it's very close."
The 5-year fixed mortgage rate increased from 1.39% to 1.64%, the first jump since January 2020.
Why it matters: Low mortgage rates have made it cheaper for people to buy homes. A record 550,000 homes were sold last year and the Canadian Real Estate Association's home price index rose 13.5% in the first month of 2021.
- Higher rates could reduce the number of potential buyers in the market and cool down the market.
What's next: Rates are still extremely low, and a small increase isn't likely to change people's behaviour much. In fact, signals that rates are going up might cause more people to rush into the market while they can afford it.
+ New StatsCan data shows that residential investment — our housing market, essentially — now makes up almost 10% of Canada's GDP, a share 30% larger than U.S. market before their crash in 2007-08.
You’re not alone. 78% of Ontarians are concerned about the health risks of people entering their homes right now. Pandemic or not, showing your home to potential buyers is just plain disruptive.
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Sky Regional Airlines, a mid-sized Canadian airline, announced yesterday that they're shutting down operations in March.
Owners and Operators: Sky Regional operated a number of routes out of Toronto for Air Canada Express. Airlines often outsource short-haul routes with partners to save costs on staff, maintenance, and aircraft.
Slash and Burn: Air Canada's new CEO Michael Rousseau is slashing costs to keep the airline alive. Instead of maintaining relations with multiple operators, Rousseau's opted to consolidate all of Air Canada's Express routes under one operator, Jazz Aviation.
- Air Canada expects to save $400 million over the next 15 years of the agreement.
This deal terminated Sky Regional's biggest contract and forced the operator to shut down. Of the 650 people Sky Regional employs, only the 300 pilots will begin negotiations to transfer to Jazz.
Zoom out: A statement by Sky Regional's CEO praising his company's ability to adjust to travel restrictions and "thus far without sector-specific support" leaves us wondering if these jobs could've been saved with faster government intervention.
Instacart is becoming an insta-smart investment thanks to supercharged growth driven by the pandemic.
The company just raised a huge $265 million USD funding round led by VC big boys Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital.
- In the last year Instacart has raised a total of $525 million USD, this latest investment values the 8-year-old company at $39 billion.
Insta-what? Instacart is an app that relies on the “gig economy” of independent contractors to pick-up groceries at local stores and deliver them to users' homes.
- 500,000 “shoppers” work on a contract basis for Instacart.
- They deliver from 600 retailers across 45,000 stores in the US and Canada.
The pandemic created the perfect storm for Instacart. Millions of people are stuck at home, not wanting to travel to a grocery store and millions of people are out of work who have no choice but to shop for other people.
What’s next: The company is rumoured to be eyeing an IPO.
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China is sounding the alarm over a global financial asset bubble.
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Carbon pricing is about to get an endorsement from the most powerful American lobbying association for oil companies.
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Uber is spinning out the delivery robot operation it acquired with Postmates into a separate startup.
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Beyond Meat has signed a 3 year global supply deal with McDonald's, KFC, and Pizza Hut.
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The CMHC has a new CEO: Romy Bowers will succeed Evan Siddall in April.
- Cable television had its worst year ever for cord-cutting in 2020.
- Inside the sneaker reselling scandal that toppled a top Nike exec.
- How Neopets' in-game stock market predicted the booms and busts of social media driven meme stocks.
- Early Years Education Fact #1: Additional investment in Early Childhood Education would stimulate the economy and address workforce shortages. Learn more at www.ECEforCanada.ca.*
- The terrifying results of animating old portraits of Joseph Bloor, a Toronto historical figure not exactly known for his looks.
If Bill Gates has his way Canada’s oil patch will be completely...reprogrammed, rebooted? We’re very good at computer jokes at The Peak.
What Bill Wants: Bill Gates wants the global economy to reach net zero emissions by 2050. This means any human made carbon emission is offset by at least an equal amount of carbon removal.
- The Microsoft founder shared his plan for a decarbonized economy this week at a large annual energy conference, speaking specifically about Canada’s role.
What Does This Mean For Canada?
Achieving net zero emissions requires a drastic reduction in fossil fuel production. Without a replacement plan, this could cost thousands of jobs in Alberta.
But according to Bill Gates, Canada’s oil patch can thrive in a bright green future:
- Green hydrogen will be a “gigantic” part of the clean energy grid. Pipelines will need to be repurposed and retrofitted to carry hydrogen across the country.
- Carbon capture and sequestration projects will rely on the drilling expertise and technology developed in the oil sands.
Big Picture: Whatever fuel we’re using, talent and skilled labour will be required. We think Canadians are up to the challenge.