Desjardins Provincial Outlook: Hiring Surge, Budget Supports Delay Provincial Slowdown Until Later this Year

Rising prices and sharply higher interest rates should continue to slow Canada’s provincial economies this year, especially in construction activity and interest-sensitive industries. We still expect housing-intensive Ontario and BC to increasingly be impacted by sharply higher interest rates, while commodity-producing regions still have the best prospects. But early 2023 surges in employment and population, plus stimulative infrastructure spending and affordability relief measures laid out in this year’s budgets, will delay the downturn until later this year.