Canadian Chamber of Commerce Business Data Lab SME Institute

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Businesses Showing Remarkable Resilience: Key Findings from Business Insights Quarterly (Q3 2025)

Businesses are learning to live with uncertainty as more firms take proactive steps by diversifying suppliers and increasing their use of CUSMA preferences.
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Economic Commentary

Oct 10, 2025

Labour Force Survey September 2025: A broad-based jump in employment most likely to push interest rate cut to December

September’s rebound in hiring is welcome but fragile. A 60,000-job gain, led by full-time manufacturing work, suggests the labour market still has some strength left — but with unemployment stuck at 7.1% and youth joblessness the highest since 2010, it’s clear the recovery remains uneven.
Economic Commentary

Oct 07, 2025

Merchandise Trade August 2025: Tariffs, Gold Swings, and Lumber Duties Sink Canada’s Exports – Trade Gap Hits 18-Month High

Tariffs are taking a toll, and trade diversification isn’t yet delivering. Canadian exporters are still overwhelmingly relying on the U.S. market, even as new tariffs bite into shipments of aluminum, machinery and lumber. The Business Data Lab’s Q3 analysis show that only 1 in 4 Canadian merchandise exporters are planning to diversify their sales markets in the year ahead, with most focused instead on finding new suppliers. That imbalance limits how fast Canada can pivot in an increasingly protectionist world.
Report

Sep 29, 2025

Businesses Showing Remarkable Resilience: Key Findings from Business Insights Quarterly (Q3 2025)

Businesses are learning to live with uncertainty as more firms take proactive steps by diversifying suppliers and increasing their use of CUSMA preferences.
Economic Commentary

Sep 26, 2025

GDP July 2025: Positive but not promising

Real GDP growth in July is positive but stalled. Combined with a weakening labour market, this calls for an all-hands-on-deck effort to steer the economy toward sustainable growth.
Economic Commentary

Sep 19, 2025

Retail Sales July 2025: Cautious consumers slow spending in summer

Canada’s retail sales fell 0.8% in July, a natural give-back after June’s surge but also a sign of consumer caution. Core sales and volumes slipped, with food, clothing, and durables hit by high prices, tariffs, and weaker job prospects. Outliers like liquor and e-commerce helped, and an August rebound of 1.0% is expected, showing households are selective, not collapsing.

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