Our first newsletter of the term! A new section, UWES events, and more!

Written By: Peter Robertson, Judy Lee, Sumeet Dhat

Canada’s Economy at a Glance

Economics Society News, Events, and Articles 

UWES News

UWES and the Laurier Economics Club are co-hosting a Policy 101 Workshop on January 27th at 8PM! Register here.

UWES and the Laurier Economics Club are also running our first ever Policy case competition! Teams of 1 to 3 must register by January 28th. Register here.

UWES Articles

Beware Environmental Evangelism – by Andrew Gibson

News and Noteworthy

Canada’s inflation rate rises to new 30-year high of 4.8%

New data reported earlier this week showed that inflation continued to rise for the month of December, reaching a year-over-year increase of 4.8%, it’s highest level since 1991. YOY inflation rose all but one month this year. The largest increases are being seen in grocery stores, with basic foods like apples increasing in price by 6.7% over the past year.  Read more.

Supply chain disruptions, shift in consumer behaviour keep inflation elevated in Canada

This article examines the reasoning behind the continued increases in inflation we’ve seen this year. Reasons for this include supply chain delays, shifts in consumer behaviour, and unfavorable weather for growing produce. However, many economists are predicting that inflation is close to a peak, expecting it to not surpass 5%. Read more.

Homebuilding slows as housing supply hits record low in Canada, data shows

Despite Canada’s record low housing supply, the annual pace of housing starts fell by 22% across the country for the month of December. This contradicts what many experts have stated is the solution to Canada’s housing affordability crisis. New Scotiabank research also showed that Ontario would need to build 650k homes to meet Canada’s bar for average housing levels. Read more.

Economist of the Week

This new section put together by Sumeet will focus on a different economist for each newsletter!