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Decoder is a weekly feature by Jason Kirby and Matt Lundy unpacking an important economic chart

Bank of Canada’s interest-rate hold, RBC’s terminated CFO and Liberals’ pre-budget housing plans: Must-read business and investing stories
Reporters listen to Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem as Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers looks on during a news conference following rate announcemen, Wednesday, April 10, 2024 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
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Canada’s population shock drives most of recent productivity declines
FILE PHOTO: People work at Honda's auto manufacturing plant in Alliston, Ontario, Canada April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio/File Photo
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Canada and the U.S. share one thing in common: a mountain of debt
The union for Canadian diplomats says Global Affairs Canada should consider boosting compensation for those posted to the U.S., to make up for difficulty accessing healthcare and particularly the risk of gun crime. U.S. and Canadian flags fly in Point Roberts, Wash., on Tuesday, March 13, 2012.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
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Interest in Canadian schools is fading among Indian students
Students and pedestrians are photographed walking along Gould St. on the Toronto Metropolitan University campus on Jan 22, 2024. The federal government has announced a two year cap on international student visas to help ease pressure on housing and health care. (Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail)
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Businesses investment per worker is back to where it was in 2004
Toronto police say they are reviewing video of pro-Palestinian protesters seen demonstrating in front of fashion retailer Zara at a busy downtown mall.Shoppers are seen at Toronto Eaton Centre during Boxing Day in Toronto, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

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Bank of Canada’s interest-rate hold, RBC’s terminated CFO and Liberals’ pre-budget housing plans: Must-read business and investing stories
Reporters listen to Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem as Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers looks on during a news conference following rate announcemen, Wednesday, April 10, 2024 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
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Canada’s population shock drives most of recent productivity declines
FILE PHOTO: People work at Honda's auto manufacturing plant in Alliston, Ontario, Canada April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio/File Photo
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Canada and the U.S. share one thing in common: a mountain of debt
The union for Canadian diplomats says Global Affairs Canada should consider boosting compensation for those posted to the U.S., to make up for difficulty accessing healthcare and particularly the risk of gun crime. U.S. and Canadian flags fly in Point Roberts, Wash., on Tuesday, March 13, 2012.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
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Interest in Canadian schools is fading among Indian students
Students and pedestrians are photographed walking along Gould St. on the Toronto Metropolitan University campus on Jan 22, 2024. The federal government has announced a two year cap on international student visas to help ease pressure on housing and health care. (Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail)
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Businesses investment per worker is back to where it was in 2004
Toronto police say they are reviewing video of pro-Palestinian protesters seen demonstrating in front of fashion retailer Zara at a busy downtown mall.Shoppers are seen at Toronto Eaton Centre during Boxing Day in Toronto, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston
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It looks like renters are ditching Ontario
Renters across the country faced record low vacancy rates and record high rent increases in 2023, but Statistics Canada says Toronto and Vancouver residents who don't own their homes face the greatest financial and mental pressures. A "For Rent" sign is posted outside a home in Toronto, Tuesday, July 12, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston
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Young people are quickly dropping out of the labour market
Toronto, Ontario - June 28, 2017 -- POPULATION -- People walk during rush hour Bay Street in the financial district in Toronto, Wednesday June 28, 2017. (Mark Blinch/Globe and Mail)
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The U.S. is buying a lot of Canadian oil
Critics are calling for a public review of the Alberta Energy Regulator after documents surfaced suggesting the agency downplayed the environmental liability of energy infrastructure and kept information from the public. A pumpjack draws out oil from a well head near Calgary on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
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Public sector workers missed a record number of days compared with private sector workers last year
Bay Street in Canada's financial district is shown in Toronto on Wednesday, March 18, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
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Peak pot? Cannabis sales growth is going up in smoke
Harvested cannabis is shown in Fenwick, Ont., on June 26, 2018. A Senate committee says the current cannabis market and legislation has kept Indigenous Peoples from sharing in the economic opportunities that the legalization of recreational pot created. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin
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America’s economy is creating new businesses at a feverish pace
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2024 in charts: Experts predict what’s to come for housing, jobs, wages, interest rates and more
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Record low ice levels on the Great Lakes expose a changing winter economy
Ships are docked at the Port of Montreal, Tuesday, Sept.19, 2023.The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. says little progress has been made in its negotiations with Unifor just hours ahead its deadline. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi
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Canada’s economy is flatlining, setting up a difficult start to 2024
People pass a large Christmas tree as they go shopping on Christmas Eve at a mall in Ottawa on Dec. 24, 2020. Santa is hearing Christmas wishes from children at malls festooned in holiday regalia, stores are teeming with eggnog and gingerbread treats and a barrage of marketing campaigns are promising the perfect gift is just one credit card swipe away.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
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Investors make a U-turn on the higher-for-longer bet
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a press conference following a closed two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on interest rate policy at the Federal Reserve in Washington, U.S., December 13, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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Electric SUV and crossover sales are booming. One model is driving most of the surge
The Tesla Model Y charging in Jasper, Alta.
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The party is ending for GICs
Close up of unrecognizable woman using calculator while going through bills and home finances.
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The latest Canada-U.S. economic gap: business bankruptcies
The early morning view looking west from 351 King St. East towards the office towers in Toronto’s Financial District, is photographed on Dec 2, 2022. Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail.
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The unrelenting rise of Canadian rents
A for rent sign outside a home in Toronto on Tuesday July 12, 2022. A report by real estate market research firm Urbanation Inc. says rents in the Greater Toronto Area are rising fast, echoing the latest numbers from online rental platforms about other major Canadian cities.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston
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Ho-ho-hum: The holiday job market is hitting the skids
Toronto, Ontario - December 3, 2016 -- Christmas Retail -- Shoppers walk by the large Christmas tree inside the Eaton Centre in Toronto, Saturday December 3, 2016. (Mark Blinch/Globe and Mail)
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Buying a car? It’s going to cost you
A man takes inventory of new vehicles at a Nissan dealership in Hamilton, Ontario on Thursday, May 14, 2015.
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Steep price hikes are less widespread than before
Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem is seen during a news conference following an interest rate announcement, Wednesday, October 25, 2023 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
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Canadian businesses and consumers can’t agree on where wages are headed
Christmas shoppers at the CF Toronto Eaton Centre are photographed on Dec 20, 2022. Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail.
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Have long-term yields peaked, or just paused?
Traders work before the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on August 14, 2019 in New York City. - It was an ugly day for Wall Street, as stocks plummeted Wednesday amid worsening economic fears after US Treasury yields briefly inverted, flashing a warning sign for a coming recession. But US President Donald Trump once again blamed the Fed for the economic woes and the yield curve inversion, saying the US central bank is a bigger threat than China and is "clueless." The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 3.1 percent to finish at 25,479.42, a loss of about 800 points -- its worst day of 2019. (Photo by Johannes EISELE / AFP)JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images
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Young Canadian households are abandoning the housing market, data suggest
An economist says the housing market would not see a flare-up similar to the spring despite the Bank of Canada pausing on interest rates on Wednesday. A real estate sale sign is shown in a west-end Toronto neighbourhood Saturday, March 7, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy
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After lagging behind inflation, union wage settlements are spiking
As Metro workers at 27 grocery stores in the Greater Toronto Area go back to work after a month-long strike, experts and union representatives say their new collective agreement will help raise the bar for grocery store workers across the country. Workers hold signs at a picket line outside a Metro grocery store in Toronto, Saturday, July 29, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston
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Fewer Canadians dining out as inflation and interest rates bite consumer spending
The sun's out, the days are longer and for many, the wallet's feeling a bit lighter. It's a pattern that seems to come around every year as Canadians emerge from the cold winter, having spent months craving the chance to enjoy a drink on the patio or plan that cottage getaway. A server works on the patio of a pub in the ByWard Market in Ottawa, on Friday, June 23, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
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Canada’s universities are building new dorms – just nowhere near enough
People walking past Whitney Hall, a co-ed residence at the University of TorontoÕs St. George campus, are photographed on July 28 2020.
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Population growth is propping up consumer spending numbers
FILE PHOTO: People shop at the Eaton Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada November 22, 2022. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio/File Photo
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Demand for low-wage foreign labour is surging
Employment Minister Jason Kenney has put the brakes on hiring temporary foreign workers for the food-service industry.
That time when Canada’s population and prosperity both boomed, unlike now
Competition issues are dominating the news cycle, raising the stakes for the federal government's review of its competition policy as Canadians grow skeptical of their dwindling options in today's economy. Dark clouds pass by the Parliament buildings in Ottawa on Thursday, May 19, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
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Global forces are key to the next stage of Canada’s inflation fight
Cargo containers are seen stacked at the Port of Vancouver Centerm container terminal as the container ship MSC Lily sits at anchor in the harbour, in Vancouver, on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. Trade between China and Canada hit record levels in 2022, with imports breaking the $100 billion mark for the first time, Statistics Canada data show. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
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Central banks aren’t done raising interest rates, even if that means recession
The Bank of Canada is seen Wednesday September 6, 2017 in Ottawa. To lift the economy's future growth prospects, a top Bank of Canada official is pointing to three areas that have helped the country in the past and could do so again: education, immigration and trade liberalization. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
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Have a high-school diploma? Canada has a job for you
February 8, 2008 - A help wanted sign is posted in the window at "World of Posters" on Yonge St. Story regarding how employment reports out of Canada and the US couldnêt have been more different. Canadian employers created 46,400 jobs last month, quadruple forecasts, sending the jobless rate to a 33-year low and the loonie back to parity. Construction companies, architect firms and even factories boosted payrolls. Charla Jones/Globe and Mail
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The long decline in business insolvencies is over
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - APRIL 20: A sign advertises vacant retail space for lease in the Loop on April 20, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. Chicago's downtown is littered with vacant retail space as it continues to struggle after office workers who fled downtown during the pandemic have been slow to return. The city has also struggled to deal with a spate of mob violence that has plagued the business district for the past couple of years, which last weekend resulted in two people shot, a young couple visiting the city badly beaten and robbed, and several vehicles damaged. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Yes, food inflation is about to simmer down
Various brands of bread sit on shelves in a grocery store in Toronto on Nov. 1, 2017.