COVID-19 Update for May 1, 2020 – 12:00pm
Tiff Macklem named new Governor of Bank of Canada
This morning, Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced that Tiff Macklem, the former second-in-command at the Bank, will be taking over from Stephen Poloz in early June when his seven-year term ends. Macklem currently sits as the Dean of the Rotman School of Business and will be tasked with leading Canada’s monetary policy decisions during a pandemic-driven recession.
Federal Deficit Grows
Yesterday the Parliamentary Budget Officer released revised estimates of the impact that COVID-19 will have on Canada’s economy. For 2020, real GDP growth in Canada is projected to shrink by 12 per cent, the weakest on record since the government began tracking in 1961. According to the PBO, the previous weakest growth in real GDP on record, a decline of 3.2 per cent, was observed during the 1982 recession.
Deficit projections for 2019-20 and 2020-21 have increased to $24.9 billion and $252.1 billion, respectively. Relative to the size of the Canadian economy, the deficit will be a record high of 12.7 per cent of total GDP in 2020-21.
You can read the PBO’s full analysis here.
Gun Control Measures
Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, alongside Federal Minister of Public Safety Bill Blair, announced a ban on more than 1,500 models of military-grade assault-style weapons in Canada. Effective immediately, licensed gun owners will no longer be allowed to sell, transport, import or use these sort of weapons in this country. Trudeau said there will be a two-year amnesty period for people who already own these firearms and promised to pass legislation in the coming months to provide “fair compensation” for a buy-back program.
If you have any questions about this update, please let us know.
We hope you are finding these COVID-19 updates useful. In addition to trying to keep on top of the fast-changing situation, Enterprise is also working to support local charities during these challenging times. If you are able, your contributions to this effort would be deeply appreciated.
To donate, please click on the organization below:
- Toronto – Food Banks Canada
- Thunder Bay – Food Banks North West
- Hamilton/Niagara – Hamilton Food Share
- Alberta – Hope Mission
Many thanks.
Stay safe. Stay healthy.
The Enterprise Team