August 2020 year-to-date retail trade is down by -3.3% over the same period in 2019.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers (5.6%), Health and personal care stores (9.5%), Grocery stores (8.0%), Beer, wine and liquor stores (15.9%), and General Merchandise stores (4.0%).
• Sub-sectors that posted declines were: New car dealers (-11.6%), Used car dealers (-9.9%), Gasoline stations (-17.8%), Furniture and home furnishings stores (-8.8%), Electronics and appliance stores (-0.4%), Clothing and clothing accessories stores (-29.4%), Sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores (-19.4%), and All other (-1.1%).

August 2020 year-to-date new motor vehicle (units) sales were down -23.7% from August 2019. New minivans, sport-utility vehicles, light and heavy trucks, vans and buses sales were down -21.1%, while new passenger cars sales were also down -40.5%.

August 2020 year-to-date restaurant receipts were down -19.5% over the same period in 2019. Within restaurant receipts, all sub-sectors recorded declines: Special food services (-31.6%), Drinking places (alcoholic beverages) (-47.5%), Full-service restaurants (-39.7%), and Limited-service eating places (-6.1%).

August 2020 year-to-date manufacturing sales were down by -16.7% over the same period in 2019.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were limited to: Machinery manufacturing sales (5.9%),
• Sub-sectors that posted decreases were: Food manufacturing sales (-17.1%), Fabricated metal product manufacturing sales (-5.9%), and All other Manufacturing sales (-20.7%).

August 2020 year-to-date wholesale trade was down -4.9% over the same period in 2019.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were limited to: All other (27.5%).
• Sub-sectors that posted declines were: Farm product merchant wholesalers (-14.7%), Food, beverage and tobacco merchant wholesalers (-1.6%), Machinery, equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers (-11.8%), and Building material and supplies merchant wholesalers (-17.1%).

Led by agricultural products, total International merchandise exports were up 1.7% year-to-date August 2020 over August 2019.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were: Farm, fishing and intermediate food products (29.5%), Industrial machinery, equipment and parts (7.1%), Electronic and electrical equipment and parts (22.0%), and Consumer goods (12.0%).
• Sub-sectors that posted decreases were: Energy products (-31.2%), Metal ores and non-metallic minerals (-9.7%), Metal and non-metallic mineral products (-62.1%), Basic and industrial chemical, plastic and rubber products (-13.6%), Forestry products and building and packaging materials (-0.8%), Motor vehicles and parts (-1.2%), Aircraft and other transportation equipment and parts (-71.8%), and Special transactions (-11.4%).

Construction employment declined throughout 2019 with weak housing and residential building permit activity. In the first 10 months of 2020, this trend continued despite a surge in residential housing starts. Year-to-date October construction employment was down -6,410 positions or -13.5% from the same period in 2019.

Recovering from an exceptionally soft 2019 and reflecting pent up demand as well as low inventory levels, October 2020 total year-to-date housing starts were up by 569 units or 33.4% over the same period in 2019.

• Year-to-date increases were observed in: singles (115 units or 14.9%), semi-detached (454 units or 48.7%), and apartment and other types (104 units or 48.8%).
• Year-to-date declines were limited to: row (-22 units or -18.5%).

September 2020 year-to-date building permits, a leading indicator of construction activity, are down -23.3% over the same period in 2019.

• Sub-sectors that posted increases were limited to: residential (3.3%).
• Sub-sectors that posted declines were: industrial (-28.1%), commercial (-43.0%), and institutional and governmental (-58.3%).

October 2020 year-to-date employment in Information, culture and recreation was down -2,890 positions or -13.4% over the same period in 2019.

August 2020 year-to-date average weekly earnings in Information and cultural industries was up 5.2%.

2020 Q3 Provincial population was up 0.5% over 2019 Q3 to 1,178,681. However, the Q3 population is down by 937 persons from Q2 2020. Contributing to this decline is 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.