August 7, 2020

Your CFA Update on COVID-19

2020-21 Membership Renewal campaign has started

Renew early for the 2020/2021 CFA membership year and receive complimentary bonus member benefits you can use immediately!

Canada added 419,000 jobs in July – still down 1.3M from pre-COVID-19 level

Canada's economy added 419,000 jobs in July and the jobless rate dropped to 10.9 per cent. Statistics Canada reported Friday that July's job gain, when added to the 953,000 in June and the 290,000 from May, still leaves Canada's economy with 1.3 million fewer jobs than it had in February, before widespread lockdowns to limit the spread of COVID-19 began. The data agency said 345,000 of the new jobs added in July were part-time. Only 73,000 were new full-time positions. Economists polled by Bloomberg had been expecting a gain of about 421,000 jobs.

Ontario: Employment rose by 151,000 (+2.2%) in July, building on an increase of 378,000 in June and bringing employment to 91.7% of its pre-pandemic February level. The proportion of people who were employed but worked less than half of their usual hours for reasons likely related to COVID-19 was 10.9% in July, down from 14.1% in June. The unemployment rate in Ontario fell by 0.9 percentage points to 11.3% in July.

Quebec: Employment increased by 98,000 (+2.4%) in July, adding to gains in the previous two months and bringing employment to 94.4% of its pre-COVID level. The increase in employment in July was all in part-time work. The unemployment rate decreased 1.2 percentage to 9.5%, the third consecutive monthly decrease.

British Columbia: The number of employed British Columbians increased by 70,000 (+3.0%) in July, reaching 93.5% of the February employment level. The proportion of people who were employed but worked less than half of their usual hours was 12.0% in July, down from 14.6% in June. The unemployment rate fell by 1.9 percentage points to 11.1%.

Alberta: Employment increased by 67,000 (+3.2%) in July, including gains in both full-time and part-time work. The unemployment rate for the province fell by 2.7 percentage points in July to 12.8%, the first decline since the COVID-19 economic shutdown.

Saskatchewan: Employment rose by 13,000 (+2.5%) while the unemployment rate fell 2.8 percentage points to 8.8%.

Manitoba: Employment increased (+12,000) for the third consecutive month and the unemployment rate declined by 1.9 percentage points to 8.2%.

Newfoundland and Labrador: Employment increased by 4,300 (+2.1%) in July and the unemployment rate dropped 0.9 percentage points to 15.6%.

Nova Scotia: Employment rose by 3,400 (+0.8%) in July, reaching 92.7% of its February level. The unemployment rate in the province declined by 2.2 percentage points to 10.8%.

Prince Edward Island: Employment rose by 1,100 in July (+1.5%), adding to the gains in the previous two months. The unemployment rate declined by 3.5 percentage points to 11.7%.

New Brunswick: Employment was little changed in July after recording employment gains of 39,000 from April to June. Employment in the province—which was among the first to begin easing COVID-19 restrictions—was at 96.6% of its pre-COVID February level, the most complete employment recovery of all provinces to date.

Nova Scotia Premier to step down

Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil announced Thursday he will step down. McNeil was first elected in 2003 as MLA for Annapolis and has been premier since 2013. McNeil said he will continue to act as premier and Liberal Party leader until the party chooses a replacement. McNeil is in his second term of a majority government. Many do not expect a new leader (and Premier) to be in place before 2021.

Hydro One extends ban on electricity disconnections until further notice

Hydro One in Ontario says it is extending a ban on disconnecting homes from the power grid until further notice. Hydro One first issued the ban towards the beginning of the province's COVID-19 outbreak, saying customers needed to be able to rely on electricity while they were kept at home during the pandemic. The ban was initially set to expire at the end of July, but has now been extended without a fixed end-date.

Hydro One says the move is necessary given the ongoing restrictions posed by the pandemic, as well as persistent hot weather across much of the province. It says it's also planning to extend a financial relief program to help customers struggling to pay their hydro bills.

DONATE TO SUPPORT THE CFA'S
ADVOCACY EFFORTS ON COVID-19

UPCOMING WEBINARS

AUGUST 11, 2020
AT 2:00 PM ET

As the Canadian economy reopens, employers face a range of challenges related to COVID-19. Join experts from Sherrard Kuzz LLP to gain practical advice on how to adapt your workplace policies and understand to ensure compliance on all levels.

AUGUST 12, 2020
AT 2:00 PM ET

As Ontario begins to reopen, employers across the province are actively updating their workplace policies to ensure compliance with municipal and provincial requirements. Join experts: Michael Sherrard and Matthew Badrov from Sherrard Kuzz LLP to gain practical advice on what you need to consider in developing policies and procedures to keep your employees safe and satisfy your legal obligations.

PRE-REGISTER FOR THE CFA'S CFE PROGRAM

VIEW PAST WEBINARS
ON DEMAND HERE

MORE BUSINESS & CFA RESOURCES
AVAILABLE HERE

GET UPDATES BY REGION
AVAILABLE HERE

Feedback from our Members

“My husband, Jim and I would like to thank everyone at the CFA who has worked so hard and tirelessly to provide us with updated information on the Covid-19 crisis, for the webinars, lobbying for change and for all of the support you provide to members on a regular basis. We are sincerely grateful. To everyone at the CFA, take care and stay healthy.”

 - Nadine Cartman, CEO, Chicken Delight of Canada Ltd

COVID-19's impact on the world is creating waves across all sectors and industries.

Every member of the CFA community is dealing with an issue that is affecting the world, our industries, our communities, our businesses, and our people.

We would like to hear from you if you have any topics, issues or questions to navigate turbulent times in order to support you further: 

Subscribed to the Daily Update

If you would like to subscribe all your franchisees to receive our Daily Update, please contact Alex Mann at amann@cfa.ca.