Firms See Canada Escaping Worst Tariff Outcome, Survey Shows
Roughly half of firms reported already facing higher costs from tariffs, as well as from changing suppliers and developing new markets.
Photographer: Graham Hughes/BloombergUncertainty about US President Donald Trump’s trade policy is curbing Canadian business investment and consumer spending, though firms see the economy avoiding a bad recession, central bank surveys show.
In the first quarterly reports since pausing rate cuts in April, the Bank of Canada said businesses and consumers appear to have adopted a cautious stance because of rapidly changing tariff policy. Corporations slowed hiring and investment, while households tightened their belts due to fear of job losses.