The Weekly Review, October 14 to 18, 2024

Gasoline prices lead the deceleration in the Consumer Price Index in September

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.6% on a year-over-year basis in September, down from a 2.0% gain in August. This was the smallest yearly increase since February 2021 (+1.1%). The main contributor to headline deceleration was lower year-over-year prices for gasoline in September (-10.7%) compared with August (-5.1%). The all-items CPI excluding gasoline rose 2.2% in September, matching the increase in August for this measure. On a monthly basis, the CPI fell 0.4% in September, after a 0.2% decline in August. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI was unchanged at 0.0% in September.

Source: Consumer Price Index, September 2024

Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) fall in August

Wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) fell 0.6% to $81.9 billion in August. Sales declined in five of the seven subsectors, with the largest declines coming from the motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories subsector and the agriculture supplies industry group within the miscellaneous subsector. Wholesale sales were 1.4% lower in August, compared with the same month one year earlier. In volume terms, wholesale sales (excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain) declined 0.7% in August.

Source: Wholesale trade, August 2024

Levels of food insecurity increased in 2022 after being relatively stable from 2017 to 2021

Approximately 1 in 10 households had experienced some level of food insecurity in the previous 12 months in 2017 (9.6%) and in 2018 (11.6%). Prevalence of household food insecurity was slightly lower and was stable during the COVID-19 pandemic years (8.5% in fall 2020 and 9.1% in 2021) and it increased to 15.6% in 2022. Levels of household food insecurity generally tracked with changes in the Consumer Price Index, particularly in 2022, when inflation reached peak levels.

Source: Health Reports, October 2024

Businesses engaged in research and development activities report rise in technology receipts in 2022

In 2022, businesses in Canada that were engaged in research and development activities reported technology receipts of $13.0 billion from the sale of software-related products, technical assistance and know-how, and intellectual property. This represents an increase of 46% (+$4.1 billion) from 2021 ($8.9 billion). The rise in receipts was primarily driven by software-related transactions, which increased $3.0 billion from 2021 to $9.5 billion in 2022 ($8.4 billion from the sale of original software and $1.1 billion from the sale of off-the-shelf software).

Source: Research and development in Canadian industry: Intellectual property, 2022 (final)

Women executives have a lower compensation package than men executives

A new Statistics Canada study released today, titled "Gender pay gaps among board directors and officers in Canada," explores two possible sources of these gaps: the base pay and the variable pay. After accounting for socioeconomic and firm characteristics, the average gender pay gap for 2016 to 2020 was estimated at 32.1% for total compensation and 29.5% for base pay. The occupational titles of women executives and men executives explained the largest portion of the reduction in the raw gender pay gap.

Source: Study: Gender pay gaps among board directors and officers in Canada, 2016 to 2020

Canadians bear the cost of climate change through higher insurance premiums 

Weather-related catastrophic events once again plagued Canada in 2024. This year is already the costliest in terms of catastrophic weather-related insurance payouts, surpassing the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire, and the year is not yet over. Homeowners’ home and mortgage insurance costs increased 7.8% year-over-year nationally in August 2024, with prices in Alberta and Ontario rising by over 10% year over year. In 2023, reinsurance renewal rates were up significantly, in many cases as much as 25% to 70% higher, largely because of the catastrophic weather events in 2022.

Source: Another year of catastrophic weather in Canada