Holiday entitlements in Canada

In Canada, all employees are entitled to two weeks of paid holidays (annual leave) per year, either taken or received. This means that an employee can either take the two weeks off with pay, or get paid for two weeks more than he or she actually worked. After six years of employment [...]

New vehicle sales stall

Lower sales of North American-built passenger cars were offset by higher sales of trucks and overseas-built passenger cars as the number of new motor vehicles sold remained unchanged at 128,426 in January. Statistics Canada reports preliminary industry data indicate the number of new motor vehicles sold increased seven per cent in February.
Sales [...]

Workplace health and wellness initiatives are among the first to be cut

A large majority of Canadian organizations surveyed by The Conference Board of Canada take the overall health of their employees into consideration in the design of their benefit programs. However, only about one-quarter of respondents feel that their organization has developed a comprehensive wellness [...]

Surprising new evidence on the impact of Canadian Dollar volatility

Manufacturing industries, along with the mining and oil and gas extraction industries, are—contrary to the conventional view—most likely to weather a volatile Canadian dollar because they have more ways to hedge against currency fluctuations. Service industries may be more exposed to currency volatility, since they have [...]

Canada's recovering economy continued to churn out new jobs

Canada’s recovering economy continued to churn out new jobs last month, adding 60,000 full-time positions — mostly in the public sector and many filled by men aged 55 or more. It’s the February unemployment rate of 8.2 per cent was the lowest reported by Statistics Canada since last [...]

Consumer confidence may be turning the corner

The latest results from TNS Canadian Facts’ Consumer Confidence Index suggest that Canadians are becoming ever-so-slightly more confident in the Canadian economy. They are not only feeling a bit better about the current economic situation but concern about the future may also be abating. Overall, the index continued to [...]

The New Housing Price Index rose 0.4% in January, registering the same month-over-month growth rate for the third consecutive month.

The New Housing Price Index rose 0.4% in January, registering the same month-over-month growth rate for the third consecutive month.
Between December and January, prices rose the most in St. John’s (+1.7%), followed by Winnipeg (+0.7%), and [...]

Tips for your business success

If you are thinking of starting a business in Canada, it pays to know the resources available to help get it launched properly. Federal and provincial governments, along with many financial institutions, offer special programs, services and support to help newcomers become successful business owners in Canada.
Dale Sturges, director of [...]

Tim Hortons adding 600 new locations in Canada

The Tim Hortons coffee chain plans to add 900 new outlets over the next three years across North America as part of an ambitious strategy the company announced. The Oakville, Ont.,-based company told an investors conference it hopes to add 600 outlets in Canada by 2013. It already has [...]

Good news as jobs increased across most of Canada

Employment increased by 43,000 in January, all in part time, pushing the unemployment rate down 0.1 percentage points to 8.3%. January marks the fourth employment gain in six months. Despite the recent increases, employment still remains 280,000 below the level of October 2008.
Employment gains in January were driven by women aged 25 to 54 and youths. This was the [...]