Economy & Affordability

The Canada Observatory leaf in the Economy & Affordability colour

How fast the economy is growing, what it costs to live, and whether incomes are keeping up: Canada measured against a broad group of 16 OECD peers.

Growth & Productivity

GDP and GDP per capita, growth, productivity, and business investment, Canada beside 16 OECD peers.

Jobs

Unemployment month by month beside Canada’s peers, the change in employment, unemployment by age and by city, and the employment rate.

Trade

Where Canada’s exports go, the balance with the United States and the rest of the world, trade with the European Union and China, and the Canadian dollar.

Living Standards

GDP per capita and real household disposable income beside 16 OECD peers, and median after-tax income in Canada.

Cost of Living

Inflation against the Bank of Canada’s target, what’s driving it, and the minimum wage in nominal and real (inflation-adjusted) terms.

Housing

House prices, the gap between prices and incomes, rent, starts and vacancy, and household debt. Affordability mapped by city and neighbourhood.

Homeownership

Who owns a home, by age, at every census since 1971; three generations compared at the same age; and young adults’ homeownership by city.

Income & Inequality

Wages and incomes, the Gini coefficient and redistribution, poverty, and the income distribution over time.

Borrowing Costs

The policy rate over the long run, mortgage rates, and government bond yields by term.