October 2020 year-to-date retail trade was down by -1.9% over the same period in 2019.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: Electronics and appliance stores (3.1%), Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers (8.3%), Health and personal care stores (9.8%), Grocery stores (7.3%), Beer, wine and liquor stores (17.6%), General merchandise stores (3.9%), and All other (7.0%).
• Sub-sectors that posted declines were: New car dealers (-9.2%), Used car dealers (-27.3%), Gasoline stations (-18.0%), Furniture and home furnishings stores (-2.0%), Clothing and clothing accessories stores (-22.9%), and Sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores (-11.6%).

October 2020 year-to-date new motor vehicle (units) sales were down -17.3% from October 2019. New minivans, sport-utility vehicles, light and heavy trucks, vans and buses sales were down -14.8%, while new passenger cars sales were also down -35.0%. 

October 2020 year-to-date restaurant receipts were down -17.2% over the same period in 2019. Within restaurant receipts, declines were widespread across all sub-categories: Special food services (-33.2%), Drinking places (alcoholic beverages) (-33.5%), Full-service restaurants (-29.6%), and Limited-service eating places (-4.5%).

October 2020 year-to-date manufacturing sales are down by -16.2% over the same period in 2019.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: Machinery manufacturing sales (9.5%).
• Sub-sectors that posted decreases were: Food manufacturing sales (-15.6%), Fabricated metal product manufacturing sales (-4.9%), and All other Manufacturing sales (-21.3%).

October 2020 year-to-date wholesale trade was unchanged over the same period in 2019.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: Farm product merchant wholesalers (7.4%) and Food, beverage and tobacco merchant wholesalers (14.6%).
• Sub-sectors that posted declines were: Machinery, equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers (-0.4%), Building material and supplies merchant wholesalers (-4.8%), and All other (-0.9%).

Led by Farm, fishing and intermediate food products, total International merchandise exports were up 3.3% year-to-date November 2020 over November 2019.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: Farm, fishing and intermediate food products (31.7%), Forestry products and building and packaging materials (6.1%),  Industrial machinery, equipment and parts (5.3%), Electronic and electrical equipment and parts (15.6%), Motor vehicles and parts (2.2%), Consumer goods (10.3%).
• Sub-sectors that posted decreases were: Energy products (-31.8%), Metal ores and non-metallic minerals (-7.5%), Metal and non-metallic mineral products (-62.6%), Basic and industrial chemical, plastic and rubber products (-16.4%), Aircraft and other transportation equipment and parts (-18.7%), and Special transactions (-10.6%).

Construction employment declined throughout 2019 with weak housing and residential building permit activity. In the first 12 months of 2020, this trend continued despite a surge in residential housing starts and permits. Year-to-date December construction employment was down -5,625 positions or -12.3% from the same period in 2019.

December 2020, total year-to-date housing starts were up by 749 units or 36.4% over the same period in 2019.

• Year-to-date increases were observed in all categories: singles (186 units or 19.4%), semi-detached (24 units or 18.6%), row (132 units or 49.6%), and apartment and other types (407 units or 57.9%).       

November 2020 year-to-date building permits, a leading indicator of construction activity, were down -19.5%  over the same period in 2019. 

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were limited to: residential (11.7%).
• Sub-sectors that posted declines were: industrial (-29.0%), commercial (-43.9%), and institutional and governmental (-50.7%).

December 2020 year-to-date employment in Information, culture and recreation was down -3,708 positions or -17.7% over the same period in 2019.

October 2020 year-to-date average weekly earnings in Information and cultural industries was up 5.4%.

2020 Q4 Provincial population was up 0.1% over 2019 Q4 to 1,177,884. It should be noted that Q4 2020 population was down by 797 persons from Q3 2020. This follows on the heels of a 937 person population drop between Q3 and Q2 2020. Contributing to this decline was the pandemic related drop in international in-migration while net inter-provincial migration has been negative every quarter since Q2 2013.

In 3 dramatic rate cuts on March 4th, March 13th, and March 27th, the Bank of Canada cut its benchmark interest rate to 0.25%. The Central Bank initially cut its rate to 1.25% at a previously scheduled meeting on March 4th to help counteract the impact of COVID-19. The unscheduled rate decisions on March 13th and 27th shaved a further percentage point from the rate as a proactive measure to boost the economy amid pandemic fears. The Bank of Canada will likely keep its benchmark rate near zero in the medium term to spur post pandemic economic activity.

According to the Conference Board of Canada, in its pre-pandemic Winter 2020 forecast, the forecast for 2020 is for 1% growth in real GDP and 1.7% in 2021. In its Spring 2020 forecast, accounting for pandemic impacts, the Conference Board predicted a 5% decline in the province's GDP in 2020, with employment in the province expected to fall by 2.8%. The report expects both GDP and employment to rebound in 2021, by 5.4% and 2.9%, respectively.