Craig Lord, The Canadian Press

The federal government is moving to shore up a historically weak summer job market for students — even as one economist argues tough employment prospects for young people suggest broader softness in the job market.

Statistics Canada shone a light on the difficult employment prospects for students heading back to school this fall in its May jobs report last Friday.

Roughly one in five returning students aged 15 to 24 was unemployed in May, the agency said. The last time the jobless rate for students was this high outside the pandemic was in May 2009.

The Liberal plan to give first-time homebuyers a tax break on a newly built home could have substantial impacts on housing affordability — with a few caveats — a new analysis finds.

The Liberal government introduced legislation on June 5 to eliminate the GST portion from new home sales of up to $1 million for first-time buyers, which works out to as much as $50,000 off the cost of a new build or a substantially renovated unit.

For homes sold above $1 million, the GST relief is phased out as the price tag nears $1.5 million.

Tiff Macklem is wearing an Edmonton Oilers pin as he reflects on coming very close to beating big odds.

It's a significant day for the governor of the Bank of Canada: he's just laid out his reasons to the entire country and a global audience for keeping the central bank's benchmark interest rate steady for a second straight time.

That night is also Game 1 of the NHL's Stanley Cup finals; Macklem ends his press conference with a hearty "Go Oilers!"

The Bank of Canada held its benchmark interest rate steady at 2.75 per cent Wednesday as policymakers keep waiting for more clarity on how tariffs will impact the economy.

“Uncertainty remains high,” Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem said in prepared remarks after the release of the rate decision.

“At this decision, there was a clear consensus to hold policy unchanged as we gain more information.”

Economists and financial markets widely expected the second consecutive hold.

Canada's tourism industry might be in for a boost as Canadians boycott the United States and spend their travel dollars closer to home this year.

In a report released May 29, the Conference Board of Canada estimates the net economic benefit for the domestic tourism sector could be as high as $8.8 billion.

The think tank said its April travel intentions survey suggests roughly 27 per cent of Canadian respondents are considering a trip to the U.S. in the next few years - down from more than 50 per cent in the same survey last November.

While the federal government and cities across Canada are making strides on expanding the housing supply, the provinces still need to get serious about building quality homes, a new report released Thursday argues.

No province earned a grade higher than C+ in the report assembled by the Task Force for Housing and Climate, a non-governmental body that was struck in 2023 with backing from the philanthropic Clean Economy Fund.

The task force's "report card" evaluated governments based on their policies for building homes quickly and sustainably.

King Charles arrived in Canada Tuesday afternoon for a short visit that will include reading the speech from the throne in Parliament.

The highly symbolic visit is happening as Canada copes with U.S. President Donald Trump's attempts to upend global trade with tariffs and his repeated calls for Canada's annexation.

The Canadian Armed Forces plane carrying the King and Queen Camilla landed in Ottawa shortly after 1 p.m. 

Talks between Canada Post and negotiators from its union are expected to resume over the next few days, its union said Sunday after the two parties met amid warnings of mail delivery delays tied to a national ban on overtime for postal workers.

In an afternoon statement, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers said its negotiators had "worked hard to carefully evaluate" Canada Post's latest offers and prepare responses ahead of the day's meeting with the employer and the mediators. 

The union representing about 55,000 Canada Post employees said the latest offers from the postal service "fall short" with hours to go until a looming strike deadline.

Canada Post meanwhile said Thursday it's already seeing mail volumes decline ahead of another possible labour disruption and is pushing for an urgent resolution.

Spokesperson Lisa Liu said Canada Post hasn't yet received a response from the union about its proposals issued a day earlier.

The postal service is ready to resume bargaining "as soon as possible" with a mediator at the table, she said.

Canadians could soon find out if there will be another labour disruption at the national postal operator.

The union representing about 55,000 Canada Post employees has said it is reviewing a set of proposals for urban workers, along with rural and suburban carriers.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers issued a 72-hour strike notice on Tuesday, and the deadline is Friday at midnight.

Canada Post says the new offers address several concerns, and it is offering a wage increase of 13.59 per cent over four years.