The loonie, exports and imports, petroleum, and employment

Maclean's Magazine offers its look at Canada's economic factors of 2015

By Mark Schadenberg

Keeping the parameters as wide as possible, since I’m not an economist, doesn’t it seem to make logical sense that a Canadian dollar below 85 cents versus the American currency is simply too low, and that the Bank Of Canada must make efforts to keep the Loonie in the 90-95 range?

There is also no reason to allow the dollar to ever again grow almost to par with the U.S.

Maclean’s Magazine is looking forward into 2015 and created a list of 35 indicators or charts which Canadian businesses – big and small – and consumers should track.

The Canadian dollar is on that list, but so is imports versus exports, including the important factor of exactly what is Canada exporting? Is our wide array of exports of yesteryear becoming too single-focused on shipping out energy products and in particular petroleum?  One graph in the story notes that for the first time ever the U.S. imports more oil from Canada than the OPEC group.

The Maclean’s writer(s) says it simply: “Putting all our national export eggs in that one basket may prove to be a big mistake.”

Another topic on the list of 35, is will the increase in life expectancy be a significant challenge to healthcare and our pension system?

As the oldest people in the workforce continue to work however, the youngest sector has yet to find its place with high unemployment numbers in the 15-24 age bracket (See charts borrowed from www.macleans.ca, one of which the magazine borrowed in turn from Stats Canada).

 

The link below includes the full list of 35, but the one that jumps out of the magazine for me is the use of temporary foreign employees for many areas of labour and not just agriculture. Again, I am not an economist with expertise in big business and national policies on unemployment and immigration, but there must be a way to have those who are currently unemployed keep the benefits they have earned and are entitled to, and top-up their income with a temporary / seasonal job. In my opinion, that would include seasonal retail jobs too. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that area of employment stats and the issue of foreign workers should be addressed.  

 

LINKS:

http://www.macleans.ca/economy/economicanalysis/the-charts-every-canadian-should-watch-in-2015/
http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/key-interest-rate-unexpectedly-lowered-1.2198493
 

Mark Schadenberg, sales rep

Royal LePage Triland Realty

757 Dundas St, Woodstock

(519) 537-1553 (Call or text)

Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com