Canadian Employment (November 2025) - December 12, 2025
Canadian employment increased by 0.3 per cent from the previous month, with the economy gaining 54,000 jobs to 21.136 million in November. The employment rate rose by 0.1 points to 60.9 per cent, while the unemployment rate dropped by 0.4 points to 6.5 per cent. Average hourly wages rose 3.6 per cent year-over-year to $37.00 in November.
Employment in B.C. rose by 0.2 per cent to 2.948 million, with the provincial economy gaining 6,200 jobs in November. Employment in Metro Vancouver increased by 0.5 per cent to 1.695 million. The unemployment rate in B.C. decreased by 0.2 points to 6.4 per cent in November. Meanwhile, Vancouver's unemployment rate also fell by 0.2 points
Sales slowed in September. Buyers have more choice, and sellers have less room for error. That is the short version of Vancouver Island’s market right now, and it makes realistic pricing more important than ever.
VIREB recorded 562 unit sales across all property types in September, down 13% from a year ago. Active listings reached 4,457, up 4% year over year. Every major property category saw sales decline from August, with single-family homes down 6%, condos down 21%, and townhouses down 37%. Year-over-year sales were also lower across all three categories, with townhouse sales experiencing the sharpest drop at 36%.
Prices, however, have not fallen dramatically. The board-wide single-family
Canadian prices, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose 4.4 per cent on a year-over-year basis in April, a slight increase from the 4.3 per cent rate in March. Month over month, CPI rose 0.7 per cent, in large part due to higher gasoline prices, which jumped 6.3 per cent from last month.Shelter costs were up 4.9 per cent year over year, driven by much higher mortgage interest costs (up 28.5 per cent from last year) along with higher rents (up 6.1 per cent from April 2022). The homeowner's replacement cost, which tracks home prices, was up just 0.2 per cent year over year. Grocery prices were up 9.1 per cent year over year, down from 9.7 per cent last month. In BC, consumer
Canadian employment rose slightly to 20.13 million in April, up by 41,400 (0.2 per cent). The Canadian unemployment rate held steady at 5 per cent, unchanged since December. Employment gains were concentrated in wholesale and retail trade (+24,000); transportation and warehousing (+17,000); and information, culture and recreation (+16,000). Average hourly wages were up 5.2 per cent from April of last year.
Employment in BC was little changed in April, rising 0.1 per cent to 2.78 million, while declining by 0.1 per cent in Metro Vancouver to 1.564 million. The unemployment rate rose to 5 per cent in BC and to 5.4 per cent in Metro Vancouver. The rise was driven both by a rise in labour force
Victoria just tipped into buyer's market territory in September. Sales fell 16% from last year, while listings inched up. This means that buyers have a bit more room to breathe. Prices aren't collapsing, though. Core single-family benchmark is off about 2% year over year. Condos are still up a bit. Bottom line, more leverage for buyers, but not a fire sale. And if this imbalance lasts through October and November, that'll confirm a real shift, not just a blip.
By the Numbers
463 properties sold across the Victoria Real Estate Board region in September.
That's down 16.4% from September 2025 and 21.7% from August.
There were 3,811 active listings at the end of the month.
Canadian Retail Sales (February 2023) - April 21, 2023
Canadian seasonally adjusted retail sales fell 0.2 per cent in February to $66.3 billion. Sales fell in 4 of 9 subsectors, but the decrease was led by lower sales at gasoline stations and fuel vendors (-5.0 per cent) and general merchandise retailers (-1.6 per cent). Core retail sales, which strips out gasoline and motor vehicle and parts dealers, rose 0.1 per cent. In volume terms, sales fell 0.7 per cent in January.
In BC, seasonally adjusted sales fell 3.3 per cent in February. Compared to the same month last year, retail sales were down 0.3 per cent in the province. In the Greater Vancouver region, sales were down 4.4 per cent month-over-month and 2.4 per cent year-over-year.
Canadian prices, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose 4.3 per cent on a year-over-year basis in March, a decrease from the 5.2 per cent rate in February. This large drop was mostly due to base year effects; the CPI was rising quickly this month last year and fuel prices in particular are substantially down from a year ago. Grocery prices continue to rise quickly, up 9.7 per cent from last year, following seven consecutive months of double-digit increases. Mortgage interest costs were up 26.4 per cent year-over-year, the fastest pace on record, as Canadians renewed or initiated higher-rate mortgages. In contrast, the Homeowner's Replacement Cost, which tracks home prices,
Bank of Canada Interest Rate Announcement - April 12, 2023
The Bank of Canada maintained its overnight rate at 4.5 per cent this morning. In the statement accompanying the decision the Bank noted that demand in Canada still exceeds supply and labour markets remain tight and that first quarter economic growth looks stronger than expected. However, the bank expects consumption growth to slow this year as households renew mortgages at higher rates and growth in exports and investment will decline as the US economy slows substantially in coming months. On inflation, the Bank expects headline CPI inflation to fall to 3 per cent in the middle of this year before declining gradually to 2 per cent by the end of 2024. However, the Bank warned getting
Canadian Monthly Real GDP Growth (January 2022) - March 31, 2023
Canadian real GDP jumped 0.5 per cent in January, falling a 0.1 per cent contraction in December. The rise in GDP was spread across both goods-producing industries (+0.4 per cent) and services-producing industries (+0.6 per cent). Growth was led by a rebound in oil sands extraction after unplanned maintenance in December, coal exports to China, durable goods manufacturing, and construction activity. Canadian real GDP is now roughly 3.2 per cent above its pre-pandemic, February 2020 level. Preliminary estimates suggest that output in the Canadian economy rose 0.3 per cent in February.
The large jump in GDP in January bucked expectations of continued slowing as tighter monetary
Canadian Inflation (February 2023) - March 21, 2023
Canadian prices, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose 5.2 percent on a year-over-year basis in February, a decrease from the 5.9 percent rate in January. This large drop was mostly due to base year effects, as inflation increased strongly this month last year. Grocery prices continue to rise too-quickly, up 10.6 percent from last year, the seventh consecutive month of double-digit annual price growth. Mortgage interest costs were up 23.9 percent year-over-year, the fastest pace since 1982, as Canadians renewed or initiated higher-rate mortgages. In contrast, the Homeowner's Replacement Cost, which tracks home prices, continued to slow, increasing 3.3 percent
