In the news today: StatCan to release October inflation figures today

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

StatCan to release October inflation figures today

Statistics Canada is expected to release its October consumer price index report this morning.

Economists polled by Reuters expect the annual inflation rate rose to 1.9 per cent last month, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

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After a period of sharp price growth, Canada’s inflation rate dipped below the Bank of Canada’s two per cent target in September for the first time in more than three years, reaching 1.6 per cent.

The central bank delivered a half-percentage point interest rate cut last month in response to inflation falling to 1.6 per cent.

Governor Tiff Macklem has said the size and pace of the cuts, however, will be determined by incoming economic data.

Here’s what else we’re watching…

Trudeau to attend second day of G20 summit

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is attending the final day of the G20 summit in Brazil.

He is set to go to a working session on sustainable development and energy transition, and to speak to media.

Trudeau will also attend the closing session of the summit and a farewell luncheon hosted by the Brazilian president.

The prime minister will then head back to Ottawa, where the House of Commons has returned from a week-long break.

Trudeau spent the first day of the G20 summit meeting with world leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden.

N.B. Liberals deliver first throne speech today

New Brunswick’s Liberal government is scheduled to give its first throne speech today after winning last month’s provincial election.

Premier Susan Holt says her government’s top priorities are implementing a rent cap, removing the provincial tax on electricity bills and new multi-unit housing, and distributing retention payments for nurses.

The Liberals won a majority government in October, promising to breathe life back into the ailing health-care system by opening 30 community clinics over the next four years.

However, the province’s financial outlook dimmed last week when the new finance minister projected a deficit of $92.1 million for the current fiscal year, a reversal from the $40.9-million surplus budgeted last spring by the Progressive Conservatives.

René Legacy blamed the deficit on higher-than-expected spending in the Health Department, particularly on private nursing companies.

Final week of campaign in Nova Scotia election

With one week to go in the Nova Scotia election campaign, parties are scheduled to make promises on infrastructure and rental housing.

Liberal Party Leader Zach Churchill is set to make an announcement this morning in Halifax about supporting renters.

Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston is also in Halifax, where he will be making an announcement on infrastructure.

And NDP Leader Claudia Chender says she will vote at an advanced poll today — one week ahead of the Nov. 26 election.

On Monday, the three main parties sparred over immigration, with the NDP and Liberals accusing the Tories of welcoming more newcomers than the province can house and care for.

Toronto author Anne Michaels wins Giller Prize

Toronto poet-novelist Anne Michaels appealed for “unity” in Canada’s arts community on Monday night as she accepted the Giller Prize, an award boycotted by several prominent Canadian authors over its sponsors’ ties to Israel.

Michaels won the $100,000 fiction prize for her novel “Held,” a multigenerational look at war and trauma spanning more than a century. The jury cited the novel as an impactful and hypnotic exploration of mortality, resilience and desires.

In her speech, Michaels called the growth of Canadian literature in recent decades “one phenomenal assertion.”

The ceremony went off without any disruptions after last year’s gala was met by pro-Palestinian demonstrators, fuelling a boycott of the prominent award and sending a shockwave through Canada’s literary scene.

Demonstrators, including dozens of Canadian authors who pulled their books from prize contention this year, have called on the Giller Foundation to drop sponsors with ties to Israel, including Scotiabank due to its stake in Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems.

Instead of airing live on CBC as in previous years, the ceremony was pre-taped.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 19, 2024

The Canadian Press