September 2020 edition

This module provides a concise summary of selected Canadian economic events, as well as international and financial market developments by calendar month. It is intended to provide contextual information only to support users of the economic data published by Statistics Canada. In identifying major events or developments, Statistics Canada is not suggesting that these have a material impact on the published economic data in a particular reference month.

All information presented here is obtained from publicly available news and information sources, and does not reflect any protected information provided to Statistics Canada by survey respondents.

COVID-19 timeline

  • The Government of British Columbia announced on September 1st that it had formally extended the provincial state of emergency until September 15th. On September 15th, the Government extended the state of emergency until September 29th. On September 29th, the Government further extended the state of emergency until October 13th.
  • The Government of the Northwest Territories announced on September 1st that it had extended the territory-wide Public Health Emergency until September 15th. On September 15th, the Government extended the Public Health Emergency until September 29th. On September 29th, the Government further extended the Public Health Emergency until October 10, 2020.
  • The Government of New Brunswick announced on September 3rd that the state of emergency mandatory order was renewed.
  • The Government of Nunavut announced on September 3rd that it had extended the territory's public health emergency until September 17th. On September 17th, the Government extended the public health emergency until October 1, 2020.
  • The Government of Yukon announced on September 9th that it was extending the state of emergency under the Civil Emergency Measures Act (CEMA).
  • The Government of Manitoba announced on September 10th that it was extending the provincewide state of emergency for a period of 30 days.

Selected COVID-19 responses

  • The Government of Ontario announced on September 3rd that it was extending protection to prevent temporary layoffs from becoming permanent job losses via a regulatory amendment which delays the payout of terminations and severance liabilities. The Government said this extension will give businesses more time to reopen and return to full operations, and that the extension will last until January 2, 2021.
  • The Government of Canada announced on September 8th that the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses would be extended by one month to help eligible small businesses pay rent for September. The Government said all provinces and territories continue to participate in this initiative.
  • The Government of Quebec announced on September 8th that, in view of a potential second wave of COVID-19, additional measures will be deployed to ensure the health and safety of Quebecers over the coming months, including an alert system and regional interventions.
  • The Government of British Columbia on September 17th released its Stronger BC for Everyone: BC's Economic Recovery Plan which includes $1.5 billion in economic recovery spending measures, $660 million in tax measures, and more than $1.86 billion in federal and provincial restart funding for municipalities, transit, and education.
  • The Government of Ontario announced on September 17th that it had introduced the Helping Tenants and Small Business Act that would, if passed, freeze rent in 2021 for most rent-controlled and non-rent-controlled residential units. The Government said the Act also proposes to change the Commercial Tenancies Act to extend the temporary ban on evictions for commercial tenants, initially in place from May 1, 2020 to August 31, 2020, to align with the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses.
  • The Government of Ontario announced on September 17th that it had amended order O. Reg 364/20: Rules for Areas in Stage 3 under the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020, setting a new limit reducing the number of people permitted to attend unmonitored social gatherings and organized public events in three regions experiencing higher rates of transmission of COVID-19. The Government said this includes functions, parties, dinners, gatherings, BBQs or wedding receptions held in private residences, backyards, parks and other recreational areas and will only apply to persons within the boundaries of Ottawa Public Health, Peel Public Health, and Toronto Public Health.
  • The Government of Canada announced on September 18th that Canada and the United States had agreed to extend the temporary restriction of all non-essential travel across the Canada-U.S. border until October 21, 2020.
  • The Government of Yukon announced on September 24th that the Yukon Business Relief Program had been extended until March 31, 2021 and that businesses impacted by COVID-19 will continue to receive support.
  • The Government of Canada announced the introduction of Bill C-2, to create three new temporary Recovery Benefits to support Canadians who are unable to work for reasons related to COVID-19. The Government said the legislation includes (i) a Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) of $500 per week for up to 26 weeks, for workers who are self-employed or are not eligible for EI and who still require income support; (ii) a Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) of $500 per week for up to two weeks, for workers who are sick or must self-isolate for reasons related to COVID-19; and (iii) a Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB) of $500 per week for up to 26 weeks per household, for eligible Canadians unable to work because they must care for a child under the age of 12 or a family member because schools, day-cares or care facilities are closed due to COVID-19 or because the child or family member is sick and/or required to quarantine.
  • The Government of Canada announced on September 25th that it is proposing to extend the current treatment of furloughed employees under the wage subsidy program for the upcoming four-week period, from September 27 to October 24, 2020. The Government said employers who qualify for the wage subsidy would be able to continue to claim up to a maximum benefit of $847 per week per employee to support remuneration of their furloughed workers until October 24, 2020.
  • The Government of Ontario announced on September 30th a $2.8 billion COVID-19 fall preparedness plan which focuses on six key areas: (i) maintaining strong public health measures; (ii) implementing a flu immunization campaign; (iii) identifying, managing and preventing COVID-19 outbreaks; (iv) accelerating efforts to reduce health service backlogs; (v) preparing for surges in COVID cases; and (vi) recruiting, retaining, training and supporting health care workers.

Resources

  • Calgary-based Suncor Energy Inc. announced that its 2020 Updated Full Year Outlook for capital expenditures is between $3.6 billion and $4.0 billion.
  • Calgary-based Crescent Point Energy Corporation announced that its 2020 capital expenditures are now expected to be approximately $665 million, in-line with the lower end of its prior guidance range of $650-$700 million.
  • Calgary-based Imperial Oil Limited confirmed on September 2nd that it was undertaking a controlled ramp down of its Kearl oil sands operation due to an ongoing outage on a third-party diluent pipeline. The company said that all production at the Kearl operation had ceased. On September 14th, the company said its Kearl oil sands operation had safely started ramping up production to normal rates following the return to service of the third-party diluent pipeline.
  • Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. announced it would restart the east segment of Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac after receiving authorization from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and approval from the Michigan Circuit Court. Enbridge said the west segment returned to operation in July.
  • The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador announced the establishment of a new offshore exploration initiative to provide companies with the incentive to drill more wells. The Government said the policy will allow forfeited security deposits to be reinvested into offshore exploration projects.

Manufacturing

  • Bombardier announced that it had signed a definitive Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Alstom SA of France and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec for the sale of its Transportation business to Alstom for an enterprise value of USD $8.4 billion. Bombardier said the transaction closing is expected in the first quarter of 2021, subject to completion of the remaining regulatory reviews and other customary closing conditions, as well as Alstom shareholder approval.
  • Oakville-based Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited announced it had reached an agreement with Unifor to build battery electric vehicles (BEV) as part of a $1.8 billion investment. Ford said it is fully committing to transform its Oakville Assembly Complex from an internal combustion engine site to also become a BEV manufacturing facility, starting in 2024, as well as introducing a new engine program at its Windsor operations.

Retail

  • Washington-based Amazon.com, Inc. announced plans to open two new fulfillment centres in Hamilton, Ontario and Ajax, Ontario. Amazon said the new fulfillment centres are anticipated to open in 2021 and will create more than 2,500 new, full-time jobs. Amazon later announced that it is hiring an additional 100,000 regular employment opportunities throughout the U.S. and Canada on top of the 33,000 Corporate and Technology jobs it had announced the previous week.
  • Washington-based Amazon.com, Inc. announced plans to create 3,500 new corporate and tech jobs at its Canadian Tech Hubs in Vancouver and Toronto. Amazon said 3,000 of the new jobs will be in Vancouver and 500 will be in Toronto.

Transportation

  • Toronto-based Porter Airlines Inc. announced it was updating its return-to-service date to November 12th from the previously announced target of October 7th.

Other news

  • The Bank of Canada announced it was maintaining its target for the overnight rate at the effective lower bound of 0.25%. The target for the overnight rate was reduced by 150 basis points in March 2020. The Bank also said it was continuing its quantitative easing (QE) program, with large-scale asset purchases of at least $5 billion per week of Government of Canada bonds.
  • On September 10th, the Government of British Columbia provided its First Quarterly Report for the 2020-21 fiscal year. The Government forecasts a deficit of $12.8 billion in 2020-2021 and a contraction in real GDP of 6.7% in 2020.
  • The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador released Budget 2020 on September 30th, which included increased taxes on tobacco and vaping products, a reduction of the provincial portion of the gasoline tax, and an increase of the federally mandated provincial carbon tax to $30 per tonne, as well as investments in child care, infrastructure, small businesses, and health care. The government forecasts a deficit of $1.84 billion in 2020-2021 and a contraction in real GDP of 4.8% in 2020.
  • The United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced on September 15th that it would modify the terms of the 10% tariff imposed in August on imports of Canadian non-alloyed unwrought aluminum and resume duty-free treatment retroactive to September 1, 2020. The USTR said the United States will consult with the Canadian government at the end of the year to review the state of the aluminum trade.

United States and other international news

  • U.S. President Donald J. Trump declared that a major disaster exists in the State of Alabama and that an emergency exists in the States of Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi, and ordered Federal aid to supplement State, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by Hurricane Sally, beginning on September 14, 2020, and continuing.
  • U.S. President Donald J. Trump declared that a major disaster exists in the State of Oregon and ordered Federal aid to supplement State, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by wildfires and straight-line winds beginning on September 7, 2020, and continuing.
  • The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) maintained the target range for the federal funds rate at 0.00% to 0.25% and said it expects it will be appropriate to maintain this target range until labor market conditions have reached levels consistent with the Committee's assessments of maximum employment and inflation has risen to 2% and is on track to moderately exceed 2% for some time. The last change in the target range was a 100 basis points decrease announced in March 2020. The FOMC also said that to support the flow of credit to households and businesses, the Federal Reserve over the coming months will increase its holdings of Treasury securities and agency mortgage-backed securities at least at the current pace to sustain smooth market functioning.
  • The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) maintained the targets for the cash rate and the yield on 3-year Australian Government bonds at 0.25%. The last change in the target for the cash rate was a 50 basis points reduction in March 2020. The RBA also decided to increase the size of the Term Funding Facility for authorized deposit-taking institutions and make the facility available for longer.
  • The European Central Bank (ECB) announced that (i) the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 0.00%, 0.25% and -0.50% respectively; (ii) net purchases under the asset purchase programme (APP) will continue at a monthly pace of €20 billion, together with the purchases under the additional €120 billion temporary envelope until the end of the year; and (iii) the Governing Council will continue its purchases under the pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP) with a total envelope of €1.35 trillion until at least the end of June 2021.
  • The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to maintain the Bank Rate at 0.1%. The MPC also voted to continue with the existing programmes of UK government bond and sterling non-financial investment-grade corporate bond purchases, financed by the issuance of central bank reserves, maintaining the target for the total stock of these purchases at £745 billion.
  • The Bank of Japan (BoJ) announced it will apply a negative interest rate of -0.1% to the Policy-Rate Balances in current accounts held by financial institutions at the BoJ and that it will purchase a necessary amount of Japanese government bonds (JGBs) without setting an upper limit so that 10-year JGB yields will remain at around zero percent.
  • The Executive Board of Sweden's Riksbank left the main interest rate, the repo rate, unchanged at 0.00% and said the rate is expected to remain at this level in the coming years. The Board also said it will continue to make asset purchases and offer liquidity within all of the programmes launched so far this year.
  • The Reserve Bank of New Zealand left the Official Cash Rate (OCR), its main policy rate, unchanged at 0.25% and agreed to continue with the Large Scale Asset Purchase (LSAP) Programme up to NZD $100 billion. The last change in the OCR was a 75 basis points reduction in March 2020.
  • The Executive Board of Norway's Norges Bank decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 0.0%. The last change in the policy rate was a 25 basis points reduction in May 2020.
  • California-based NVIDIA Corp. and SoftBank Group Corp. (SBG) of Japan announced a definitive agreement under which NVIDIA will acquire Arm Limited of the UK from SBG in a transaction valued at USD $40 billion. The companies said the transaction is expected to close in 18 months, subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals for the U.K., China, the European Union, and the United States.
  • Washington-based Amazon.com, Inc. announced that 10,000 new permanent roles are being created across the U.K. in 2020. Amazon said it has already added 3,000 new permanent roles across its U.K. network of fulfillment centres, sort centres and delivery stations and that it would add a further 7,000 new permanent roles by the end of 2020.
  • Illinois-based United Airlines, Inc. announced it plans to fly 40% of its full schedule in October 2020 compared to October of last year. United said it expects to fly 34% of its full schedule in September.
  • Netherlands-based Royal Dutch Shell Plc announced it was reducing organisational complexity and that job reductions of 7,000 to 9,000 are expected by the end of 2022.

Financial market news

  • West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed at USD $40.22 per barrel on September 30th, down from a closing value of USD $42.61 at the end of August. Western Canadian Select crude oil traded in the USD $29 to $34 per barrel range throughout September. The Canadian dollar closed at 74.97 cents U.S. on September 30th, down from 76.68 cents U.S. at the end of August. The S&P/TSX composite index closed at 16,121.38 on September 30th, down from 16,514.44 at the end of August.
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