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Economy & Jobs

Growth, unemployment, wages, and labour-market data that hit household budgets.

Centerm container terminal, Port of Vancouver — Photo: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0

Economy & Jobs|Canada, United States

U.S. reshuffles its 50% Section 338 tariff on Canadian goods: 22 lines out, 96 in, from 30 October

A proclamation signed 23 October modifies Proclamation 11048 for a second time. Annex I Part A takes 22 eight-digit tariff lines off the 50% duty, including thin plywood, some paper and paperboard, packing machinery and some refrigerating equipment. Part B adds 96 lines, including carpets, valves, window air conditioners, chest freezers, MDF, wood flooring, paints, soap, shampoo and canoes. The tariff applies whether or not a good qualifies under USMCA, on top of Section 232 duties, for goods entered from 12:01 a.m. ET on 30 October. Published 30 October as Proclamation 11076 (91 FR 68861); in effect from today.

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Stacked softwood logs in a lumber yard (illustrative) — Photo: Adam Jones, CC BY-SA 2.0

Economy & Jobs|Canada, United States

U.S. sets new softwood lumber duty deposits: West Fraser about 20%, Resolute about 25.6% combined

Commerce published the final results of its 2024 administrative reviews on 19 October. Antidumping: Canfor 17.00%, West Fraser 4.71%, Resolute 13.13%, and 10.64% for the other reviewed companies. Countervailing: Resolute 12.42%, West Fraser 15.31%, and 14.11% for non-selected companies. The new cash-deposit rates apply to entries from 19 October.

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Galvanized steel coils (illustrative) — Photo: Antonio Carlos Rosset, CC BY-SA 4.0

Economy & Jobs|United States, Canada

U.S. sets out how Canadian and Mexican goods can count American parts and metal to cut a 25% tariff

A Commerce Department notice publishing on 14 October 2026 tells U.S. Customs what counts as “U.S. content” for USMCA-qualifying goods from Canada and Mexico under Proclamation 11032. Those goods pay the 25% steel-and-aluminum duty only on their non-U.S. content, with a 15% floor. The guidance lets importers count U.S.-made parts and, separately, steel melted and poured or aluminum and copper smelted and cast in the U.S.

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R.H. Coats Building, Statistics Canada, Ottawa — Photo: Harleyd613, CC BY-SA 4.0

Economy & Jobs|Canada

Canada loses 68,000 jobs in September, its second monthly drop, and unemployment rises to 6.5%

Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey, released 9 October 2026, shows employment fell 68,000 (−0.3%) in September after a 42,000 drop in August. The unemployment rate rose 0.1 point to 6.5%. Youth took most of the hit (−48,000), public-sector employees fell 70,000, and Quebec lost 49,000 jobs while Alberta gained 23,000. Participation fell to 64.8%, the lowest since December 1997 outside the pandemic.

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Kitimat, British Columbia, from the air — Photo: Sam Beebe, CC BY 2.0

Economy & Jobs|Canada

LNG Canada Phase 2: Kitimat FID doubles export capacity to 28 mtpa

Joint-venture partners took a final investment decision on LNG Canada’s Phase 2 expansion in Kitimat, B.C. Company primary: capacity rises from 14 to 28 million tonnes a year. The PMO (29 Sep) welcomed a $33-billion private investment and a companion Coastal GasLink Phase 2 FID — distinct from the West Coast oil-pipeline Schedule 1 listing (PC 2026-0925, 1 Oct) tracked separately on this site.

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