Canada’s economy and the Stanley Cup
I’m James Dunne, a CBC business unit producer in Toronto.
Sure, the Bank of Canada’s interest rate decision is news today, but so is Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final, so I asked Andrew DiCapua, principal economist with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, about both.
First of all, he’s rooting for the Oilers.
“I think Edmonton is going to come out on top,” he said.
He’s not as optimistic about the direction of the Canadian economy in the months ahead.
“What’s not clear is how large that slowdown is going to be and if that’s going to be a contraction at some point,” said DiCapua, adding that “we could see profitability concerns, layoffs” because of the impact of Trump’s trade war.
As the data comes in before the bank’s July meeting, DiCapua believes the numbers will likely compel it to cut interest rates to help stimulate and protect business.
Back to the hockey game, he says there might be some inspiration for business leaders in a big win for the country.
“We could use a little bit of a boost in confidence and hopefully hockey brings us that.”
