Shoppers walk in downtown Montreal on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
Getting caught up on a week that got away? Here’s your weekly digest of the Globe’s most essential business and investing stories, with insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies and more.
Canadian economy regains momentum, boosting odds of soft landing
The Canadian economy picked up speed towards the end of 2023. In a report from Statistics Canada earlier this week, real gross domestic product grew 0.2 per cent in November. In a preliminary estimate, the agency said the economy accelerated to a 0.3-per-cent gain in December. Matt Lundy reports that those numbers suggest the Canadian economy grew at an annualized rate of 1.2 per cent in the fourth quarter – a good sign after the economy had stalled since around the middle of last year. Statscan will release more comprehensive data on fourth-quarter performance on Feb. 29.
Leon’s Furniture plans to build new Toronto neighbourhood
Leon’s Furniture is making its first foray into residential building. The company that has been selling home furnishings for more than 100 years has now decided to also sell homes, Rachelle Younglai reports. Leon’s plans to turn a large plot of land it owns on the outskirts of Toronto into nearly 4,000 new homes, including rental apartment buildings, single-family houses, townhouses and condos. The residential project is slated for a 40-acre parcel that lies between two major highways – the 401 and the 400 – north of the city.
Public sector workers missed a record number of workdays
Public sector workers took more sick days than private sector workers in 2023, according to Statistics Canada. Government workers missed an average of 13.4 days because of illness and disability last year, compared with 7.5 days for private sector employees. Jason Kirby reports that this is the widest the gap in absenteeism between the two classes of workers has been in nearly 40 years. Factors of the sick day gap may include demographics – public sector workers tend to be older than those in the private sector – and the far higher rate of unionization for public sector workers. Get a closer look in this week’s Decoder.
Air Canada takes couple to court over flight delay compensation
Air Canada is taking a couple to court over a complaint they filed to Canadian Transportation Agency about a delayed flight in January, 2020. CTA, a regulator that also handles air passenger claims against airlines, ordered Air Canada in November, 2023 to pay Andrew and Anna Dyczkowski $1,000 each in compensation by Dec. 28 – nearly four years after the couple had submitted their complaint. Instead, the couple received a notice that Air Canada was taking them to Federal Court – and that they might be on the hook for the airline’s legal costs.
Why owning a dog or cat has become so expensive
It’s getting more expensive to own a cat or a dog in Canada. Chris Hannay and Erica Alini report on a complex web of factors affecting pet owners, including a boom in pandemic pet adoptions, a veterinarian shortage, manufacturing issues driving up the costs of drugs and food, and private equity buying up veterinarian clinics. As many in the industry look for solutions, Toronto Humane Society has described the affordability challenges as an “unprecedented crisis” that’s forcing a growing number of owners to surrender their animals.
How to plan for your CPP benefits
In our ongoing Planning for the CPP series, Brenda Bouw explores the decisions behind when Canadians take CPP benefits and reviews different aspects of the beloved and often-debated government-sponsored pension plan. The Globe Advisor series recently asked three Canadians about why they took their CPP benefits at 60, what triggers the decision, and the human trait that causes people to take their CPP benefits early.
Now that you’re all caught up, test your knowledge with our weekly business and investing news quiz and prepare for the week ahead with the Globe’s investing calendar.