Good evening, let’s start with today’s top stories:
Growth in retail sales slows, but rebound marches on
The economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic appears to have slowed a tad in July, with Canadian retail sales barely edging forward after blockbuster gains in May and June, Statistics Canada reported on Friday.
Increased sales of cars and gasoline nudged retail sales up by 0.6 per cent in July, but if those two sectors are removed, sales actually declined 1.2 per cent, largely driven by sales drops at home-improvement stores and sporting goods retailers.
However, despite the slower pace, Statscan said its preliminary estimate of August sales is suggesting an increase of 1.1 per cent.
Between February and April, retail spending in Canada fell 31 per cent after were forced to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That was followed by record-setting month-over-month gains in May (19 per cent) and June (24 per cent) as lockdown restrictions eased.
Douglas Porter, chief economist at Bank of Montreal, described the July numbers as “normal.”
“We would reiterate that while the headline gain was a bit shy of expectations, the much bigger and more important picture is that retail and wholesale activity just carved out perfect V-shaped rebounds,” Porter said.
Opinion: “From one deputy prime minister and finance minister to another, John Manley has some advice for Chrystia Freeland: Lash yourself to a fiscal anchor.” - Patrick Brethour
Canada-U.S. border to remain partially closed until Oct. 21
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair and his U.S. counterpart acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf each tweeted Friday morning that the partial closure of the border between the two countries is being extended another month, to Oct. 21.
Crossings of the border have been largely restricted to trade goods, essential workers and citizens returning home since March, in an attempt to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The pandemic has continued to spread in the United States throughout the spring and summer, and cases have started to rise again in Canada.
The U.S.-Canada border crossing in Lacolle, Que., April 17, 2020.Christinne Muschi/Reuters
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Restaurants seek help in Throne Speech amid forecast that 60 per cent will fail by November
As patio season winds down, Canadian restaurants are warning that three-in-five are unlikely to survive past November unless governments – specifically the federal Liberals – offer some kind of new wage and rent supports.
More than 1,200 restaurateurs represented by the banner group Save Hospitality are calling on Ottawa to outline a plan to protect their businesses in Wednesday’s Speech from The Throne. The group says existing relief programs won’t be sufficient to save the industry, particularly as the threat of new lockdowns looms as COVID-19 cases rise.
Sectors that depend on in-person gatherings have been warning for months of impending collapse due to pandemic restrictions, and business groups have been increasingly trying to be heard ahead of the Throne Speech. The federal government has signalled that it will use the opportunity to shift from emergency supports to long-term recovery.
ALSO ON OUR RADAR
Head of Canada’s Public Health Agency resigns: The president of the Public Health Agency of Canada, the department in charge of the country’s pandemic preparedness and response strategy, has resigned. Tina Namiesniowski, who was appointed to the job in May, 2019, informed staff in an internal e-mail on Friday that she was stepping aside.
Teddy tracking toward Atlantic Canada: The Canadian Hurricane Centre warned Maritimers on Friday to start planning for potential power outages next week as Hurricane Teddy churns northward in the Atlantic Ocean. The storm recorded maximum wind speeds of more than 200 kilometres an hour on Friday, and potential tracks cited by the centre show the storm arriving in the Maritimes as early as Tuesday, with winds at 120 km/h.
Ontario reports 401 new COVID-19 cases, highest daily increase since early June: Ontario reported 401 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, a daily increase not seen since early June. Health Minister Christine Elliott says Toronto is reporting 130 new cases, with 82 in Peel Region and 61 in Ottawa. She says nearly 70 per cent of the new cases are in people under the age of 40. The province is also reporting 11 new COVID-19 cases related to schools, including at least five among students.
MARKET WATCH
North American stock markets dipped to close a relatively flat week on signs of slowing U.S. recovery and weakness in the technology sector.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 47.75 points to 16,198.97.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 244.56 points at 27,657.42. The S&P 500 index was down 37.54 points at 3,319.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 116.99 points at 10,793.28.
The Canadian dollar traded for 75.84 cents US compared with 75.76 cents US on Thursday. - CP
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TALKING POINTS
For the sake of our sanity, we’d better warm to winter
“We need community leaders to step up and think outside the (ice)box. A good proportion of city-dwellers don’t have access to any private outdoor space, and those leaders are going to need to provide public places to gather and have some fun.” - Elizabeth Renzetti
To help combat COVID-19, we need a preplanned lockdown. I’m calling for a ‘Covatical’
“The question to ask is: If another lockdown is likely in the cards, can we preplan and preschedule it as a ‘Covatical’ and benefit from a reduction in COVID-19 transmission while averting many of the harms of suddenly imposed interruption?” - Vincent Lam
‘Tough on China’ is a winning idea for Erin O’Toole – if he can decide what ‘tough’ means
“There’s a sense, often well-justified, that Mr. Trudeau has been slow to reflect those views and impose countermeasures against China while providing more overt support for dissidents. That gives the Tories an opening, for the first time in a while.” – Doug Saunders
LIVING BETTER
Thanks, Obama. This year’s fall book season – always the busiest time of year in the publishing trade – was already bursting with titles thanks to releases delayed because of COVID-19. Then this week, Penguin Random House announced the former president’s 768-page memoir, A Promised Land – the first of two volumes – would be available in November. It’s now the most hotly anticipated book of the season. To help you sort through the deluge of fiction, non-fiction, memoirs and poetry coming to shelves this fall, we present a list of 68 best picks to curl up with on a chilly autumn day.
TODAY’S LONG READ
UN humanitarian chief urges Canada to push global financial institutions to help poorest countries fight COVID-19
The head of humanitarian affairs at the United Nations says Canada has the moral clout to push global financial institutions and governments to use their firepower to help the poorest countries fight the COVID-19 pandemic before it overtakes their ability to prevent mass deaths.
Sir Mark Lowcock, the Briton who has been UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief since 2017, said he hopes the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and other global lenders can come together to help stem the pandemic the way they did in 2008-2009, when the financial crisis came close to sinking the global banking system.
He thinks Canada, which is co-chair of the Initiative for Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond, has the standing to push banks and governments into action. – Read the full story by Eric Reguly and Michelle Carbert.
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