COVID

As businesses across Canada embark on a new era, there are plenty of bright prospects across several industries in the Canadian economy. But which sectors will come out ahead?

Online experience  |  2-min read
September 21, 2022

After an extended period in coasting mode, the Bank of Canada has put interest rates in gear and stomped on the accelerator. Along with the US Federal Reserve (the Fed), the Bank’s goal is to bring inflation to heel before it becomes more embedded in the psyche of businesses and consumers. With luck, the two financial institutions have gotten the timing right.

Online experience  |  8-min read
September 21, 2022

Is the U.S. economy about to slip into recession over the near term? The signs are certainly ominous, as stock markets have been trending downward and consumer confidence has slipped over the past few months. High inflation is closely linked to the pandemic, which disrupted global supply chains; the massive stimulus implemented by the federal government; and the war in Ukraine, which has led to surging prices for commodities like oil and wheat.

Online experience  |  8-min read
August 26, 2022

Over the past 30 months, the global and Canadian economies have experienced more dramatic change and volatility, by most measures, than in the prior 30 years. Pandemic, inflation, and war have made prognostications about the future, or the path ahead for the economy, challenging at best. And even as we hope for pandemic waves to settle and the war to end, a return to “normal” may in fact look very different from the pre-pandemic past.

Issue briefing  |  12-min read
August 15, 2022

Organizations planning to return to the office full-time need to understand that their employees may have a different agenda and that it may impact the organization’s ability to attract and retain talent. Overwhelming research shows that many employees who have been working from home for the past two years do not want, and are not willing, to return to the office full-time.

Issue briefing  |  7-min read
August 11, 2022

Before the war in Ukraine began toward the end of February, we expected the global economy to expand this year. The war has added to the inflationary pressures in the world economy that were already in place. Energy and food prices have surged even higher while, at the same time, supply chain disruptions, while easing, remain challenging.

Online experience  |  8-min read
August 11, 2022

The pileup of events around the war in Ukraine, continuing supply chain difficulties, and a seemingly never-ending line of Omicron subvariants has pushed prices worldwide beyond central banks’ tolerance levels. Canada is not as far up the inflation ladder as the United States. Canada’s economy suffered the COVID waves more deeply and did not recover as robustly through 2021.

Online experience  |  8-min read
August 9, 2022

Value-based procurement of health technologies and services is an advanced approach to procurement at the system or organizational level. In contrast to the traditional focus on lowest acquisition price or short-term savings, VBP looks at the overall value of a product or solution in terms of its ability to improve patient outcomes and experiences from healthcare interactions.

Issue briefing  |  10-min read
August 5, 2022

In Canada’s modern, knowledge-based, and service-centric economy, employers are increasingly thinking about work from a skills perspective. Old-fashioned labels like “blue collar” and “white collar” are no longer relevant. As well, factors such as educational attainment or work experience are only proxies for assessing the skills of workers. This means that we need a more sophisticated way to talk about employment opportunities.

Issue briefing  |  10-min read
August 3, 2022
Partner—Future Skills Centre

The last time the index experienced four consecutive declines was during the 2007–08 financial crisis. Our latest survey indicates that firms continue to have concerns about the coming six months, especially when it comes to the rising cost of labour and capital; the shortage of qualified staff; and more recently, interest rate hikes.

Online experience  |  8-min read
August 2, 2022

One in five Canadian employees works at a job that’s vulnerable to automation. The clean economy is a rapid-growth sector that needs workers. Is there a way to solve for both? Employees working high-risk, low-mobility (HRLM) jobs have few options to transition into lower-risk occupations without undergoing retraining.

Online experience  |  8-min read
July 28, 2022
Partner—Future Skills Centre

To help prepare Canadians for the future of work, our researchers and data scientists proudly developed the MOST on behalf of the Future Skills Centre. A sophisticated and data-rich projection tool, the MOST is designed to offer unique insights into the skills that will power Canada’s future labour markets.

Online experience  |  8-min read
July 27, 2022
Partner—Future Skills Centre

Although the threat of COVID-19 is far from over, the economies of most major cities across Canada are back on track and weathering the storm of soaring inflation, rising interest rates, and—in a number of cities—cooling housing markets. Employment will keep growing this year, particularly in sectors of the economy hardest hit by the pandemic.

Online experience  |  8-min read
July 21, 2022

Slow but consistent declines in cancer incidence and mortality rates have been observed over the past decade. Yet, interprovincial disparities in cancer outcomes persist. Canada’s universal healthcare system is not unique in offering the promise of equitable access to needed healthcare regardless of geographical location, age, gender, income, level of education, race, or health status.

Primer  |  31-min read
July 6, 2022

Once the pandemic loosens its grip on Canada and the world, economic growth will slow down sharply from the plus 4.0 per cent increase forecast for 2022 as the economy returns to some state of normalcy. Growth prospects are comparatively weak because the aging of Canada’s population will lead to a slowdown in labour force growth, which will limit consumer and investment spending.

Online experience  |  8-min read
June 21, 2022

This platform monitors progress toward a clean energy growth economy. It tracks the movement of indicators under three themes: economy, environment, and society. Since this platform was released in 2021, Canada’s energy transition has come into sharper focus. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) released the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan in March 2022, and the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act (CNZEA) was introduced in July 2021.

Online experience  |  8-min read
June 9, 2022

Although wage growth remains below its pre-pandemic peak, it too has begun to accelerate as the final missing piece in the labour market puzzle falls into place. It is true that some individuals have not fully benefited from the recovery. But, in aggregate, Canada’s labour market is the tightest it has been in decades.

Issue briefing  |  9-min read
June 7, 2022

Tourism in Canada may have reached a turning point. Two years of pandemic malaise have battered the industry, but the fever might finally be lifting. Canada’s doors are opening to visitors from far and wide. Attitudes toward the pandemic are changing. And businesses are hiring in anticipation of better times ahead.

Online experience  |  8-min read
June 1, 2022

Canada lags behind other developed nations in health system investment in healthcare capital, strategies to stabilize capital investment, innovative capital financing tools, and capital planning and allocation. For the last two decades, methods to track the status of MI equipment have focused largely on the age and density of machinery per population catchment area.

Issue briefing  |  16-min read
May 25, 2022

Everyone needs career options, including people with disabilities. The Conference Board of Canada, on behalf of the Future Skills Centre, is leading a study to support the job transitions of people with disabilities. The study aims to promote labour market retention and career mobility for this equity-deserving group.

Online experience  |  8-min read
May 16, 2022
Partner—Future Skills Centre

Our world has become more and more digital in recent decades. Prior to the pandemic, the pace of digitalization was consistently increasing with the non-stop introduction of new digital tools and technologies. The pandemic hit, and that pace accelerated even more.

Online experience  |  8-min read
May 11, 2022
Partner—Future Skills Centre

Major forces are the trends that shape our world. They push our societies, businesses, and governments to recalibrate their decisions and pursue the opportunities they provide. For example, major forces such as climate change force businesses to become more sustainable, and an aging workforce requires governments to find creative solutions to social safety net challenges.

Issue briefing  |  22-min read
May 3, 2022

Transitioning to a hybrid workplace model will provide organizations with an opportunity to redefine their workplace culture. Transparency and clear communication when redefining workplace values and culture can give employees a sense of excitement and a renewed purpose. To encourage employee engagement, it is imperative that leaders collaborate with their employees on how to build and contribute toward a new workplace culture.

Online experience  |  8-min read
May 2, 2022

E-commerce growth is being fuelled by retail innovation and shifting consumer behaviour. Consumers and businesses are increasingly comfortable with digital purchasing and attracted to the convenience and choice provided by digital shopping environments. Retailers are improving the quality of the online storefront experience and increasing the efficiency of logistics operations.

Issue briefing  |  14-min read
April 28, 2022

After two years of working remotely, many workers are reluctant to return to the office full-time, with most demanding at least some flexibility in where and when they work. As public health measures begin to lift, many employers are beginning to design and implement their return-to-the-office policies, with many choosing or considering a hybrid work model.

Issue briefing  |  9-min read
April 13, 2022

Across Canada, in-person learning opportunities for nursing students became limited or stopped completely at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. To meet learning criteria, nursing programs had to pivot. For example, some expanded the use of virtual simulations and scenarios as an alternative to in-person care in hospitals, long-term facilities, or community-based experiences.

Online experience  |  8-min read
April 7, 2022
Partner—Future Skills Centre

In 2016, the Government of the Northwest Territories launched Skills 4 Success, an initiative to develop education and training programs that more effectively respond to employer, community, and industry needs. Skills 4 Success has never been more relevant. As the territory confronts COVID-19, it also faces deeper challenges to renew and diversify its economy.

Online experience  |  8-min read
April 1, 2022

Innovation is important at the firm level, as organizations that innovate successfully enhance their competitiveness and position themselves for growth. Canada exhibits relatively weak innovation performance, while Nordic countries are recognized as global innovation leaders. Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway all outperform Canada on The Conference Board of Canada’s Innovation Report Card, which examines various indicators of innovation capacity, activity, and results. This has been the case for several years.

Impact paper  |  30-min read
March 28, 2022

Inflation has surged in Canada after remaining largely dormant since the end of the 2008–09 global recession. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, causing demand in the Canadian economy to collapse and holding the increase in consumer prices. However, a combination of factors, including the reopening of the economy, base effects, supply chain disruptions, soaring oil prices, and widespread shortages of semiconductors and other key products, has caused consumer prices to expand at a 4.0 to 5.0 per cent pace since the spring of 2021—well above the Bank of Canada’s upper target range.

Issue briefing  |  16-min read
March 25, 2022

As the population ages, retirement rates are increasing. At the same time, not enough young people or immigrants are entering the workforce to make up for the labour losses. Over the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic reduced Canada’s immigration levels, further tightening the Canadian labour market. And COVID-related lockdowns and layoffs (e.g., in retail, hospitality) resulted in widespread resignations, with workers leaving for industries that were less impacted by public health restrictions and offered benefits such as remote work, less exposure to the virus, and increased stability.

Data briefing  |  7-min read
March 25, 2022

After a two-year roller coaster, the territorial economies are trending upward, driven by a bright outlook for many minerals extracted in Canada’s North. The tourism sector will also enjoy a much-needed boost in the short term following the loosening of travel restrictions in Canada and around the globe. And over the next two decades, travel activity in all three territories is poised to grow, as investments in infrastructure and a growing Canadian population drive a greater number of visits to the North.

Online experience  |  8-min read
March 24, 2022

The cyber threat landscape continues to evolve, with Canadian organizations getting attacked every single day. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many organizations have accelerated their digital transformation. However, the perimeters of Canada’s organizations have changed drastically, thereby increasing their risk profiles. For this reason, cybersecurity must not become an afterthought.

Impact paper  |  34-min read
March 23, 2022

A rise in national listings helped sales of existing homes to rise nearly 5 per cent in February, building on a 1 per cent gain in January. February's level was the second highest on record for that month, behind only the February 2021 figure. Listings nonetheless remain scarce, having trailed year-earlier levels for seven consecutive months, and the currently strong market should have no difficulty absorbing further listings increases over the near term at least.

Online experience  |  8-min read
March 23, 2022

The pandemic is refusing to go away quietly, leaving an indelible mark on short- and long-term prospects for the provincial economies. The rebound in output and employment to their pre-pandemic highs is nearly complete, but the COVID virus’s nasty habit of morphing into new variants is keeping Canada from getting to the next stage—reclaiming lost economic potential.

Online experience  |  8-min read
March 23, 2022

For several years, education and skills leaders and employers have been thinking and talking about the future of work. The COVID-19 pandemic turned the volume way up on those conversations. It has not been an easy time for employers: seven in 10 small businesses have taken on debt due to COVID-19, and four in 10 businesses say they do not anticipate normal profits again before early 2022.

Impact paper  |  17-min read
March 14, 2022
Partner—Future Skills Centre

How can workers be sure they have the skills they will need to succeed? How we learn and demonstrate skills through qualifications is also changing. For example, while there is much uncertainty around the future of microcredentials, these new, short-term offerings are becoming increasingly common.

Impact paper  |  16-min read
March 10, 2022
Partner—Future Skills Centre

Although the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted many plans for the post-secondary space, it accelerated positive changes: streamlined virtual learning options made learning more inclusive to older students and those living in remote communities, experiential learning opportunities were expanded outside of major cities, and enrollment across post-secondary education (PSE) programs increased. For many education stakeholders, these pandemic developments are key elements of how to re-envision existing PSIs to ensure a brighter future for Canada.

Impact paper  |  21-min read
March 3, 2022
Partner—Future Skills Centre

The pandemic has intensified existing challenges. For example, the nearly two-thirds of rural households with no access to high-speed Internet have had much greater difficulty accessing school, work, and services than those living in urban areas with near-universal Internet access.

Impact paper  |  23-min read
February 17, 2022
Partner—Future Skills Centre

Changing our built environment has tremendous potential to help Canadians live healthier lives. Throughout the pandemic of 2020–2022 we are learning lessons that can advance the thought process. But reflection is key to this advancement. Through a series of interviews and assessment, this report gathers new insights that inform: how the design of the built environment can contribute to community wellbeing and the research and editing of the Community Wellbeing Framework, version 2.

Impact paper  |  22-min read
February 8, 2022