COVID-19: Cruise ship season cancelled, a further blow to Vancouver's tourism sector - Vancouver Sun

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“To us to be back to full capacity, we need to be able to welcome back international visitors. They tend to spend more time and spend more on vacation,” she said.

Until the restrictions on relaxed on the border, “We’re doing our best to encourage locals to plan staycations.”

She said last year, Metro Vancouver saw 11 million visitors and an estimated $9.8 billion in total visitor spending.

This year, Tourism Vancouver is forecasting four million visitors and a 68-per-cent decline in total visitor spending.

“We’re optimistic we’ll be able to see domestic travel return,” said Miller. “But we’re being very cautious.”

Transport Canada’s Friday announcement also stated that as of July 1, all other passenger vessels are to follow provincial, local and regional health authority requirements. For instance, ferries and water taxis must continue to reduce the number of passengers or keep people in their vehicles and enhance cleaning and hygiene measures.

slazaruk@postmedia.com

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2020-05-29 23:29:53Z
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Canada cancels summer cruise ship season - CBC News

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1. Canada cancels summer cruise ship season  CBC News
2. Feds extend cruise ship ban through the summer  CTV News
3. Ban on large cruise ships in Canadian waters extended through October  CBC News: The National
4. A longtime cruise reviewer answers the question: What will it take for you to cruise again?  The Washington Post
5. Canadian airlines could 'fail' if forced to refund passengers, says transport minister  CBC.ca
6. View Full coverage on Google News

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2020-05-29 23:27:09Z
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Canada's economy shrank at 8% pace in the first three months of 2020, worst since 2009 - CBC.ca

Canada's economy shrank at an 8.2 per cent annual pace in the first three months of 2020, as an already weak economy in January and February was walloped by COVID-19 in March.

Statistics Canada reported Friday that the slowdown was the sharpest quarterly drop since the financial crisis of 2009, as measures to contain the pandemic such as school and business closures, border shutdowns and travel restrictions brought economic activity grinding to a halt. 

While bleak, the eight per cent decline was better than the ten per cent contraction that economists had been expecting for the period. For comparison purposes, the U.S. economy shrank by five per cent over the same time frame.

While the vast majority of the contraction came in March when the pandemic hit, January and February's numbers weren't overly strong to begin with due to pre-existing drags such as rail blockades across the country, and a teacher strike in Ontario in February. 

In absolute terms, Canada's gross domestic product was 2.1 per cent smaller over the three months than it was at the end of 2019. But much of that came in March alone, as GDP declined by 7.2 per cent during the month. That makes March 2020 the worst month for Canada's economy since record-keeping began in 1961.

Just about everything got walloped, as 19 out of the 20 sectors the data agency monitors got smaller. The one exception was utilities, which eked out a gain of 0.4 per cent.

While March shattered the previous monthly record for slowdowns, early data suggests April's numbers will be even worse, showing an 11 per cent contraction from March's already depressed level.

By sector, the slowdown in March was striking, including:

• Accommodation and food services, down 39.5 per cent.
• Transportation and warehousing, down 12.2 per cent.
• Air transportation, down 40.9 per cent.
• Manufacturing, down 6.5 per cent.
• Retail trade, down 9.6 per cent.
• Educational services, down 13.5 per cent.
• Arts, entertainment and recreation, down 41.3 per cent.
• Construction, down 4.4 per cent.
• Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction, down five per cent.

Economist Doug Porter at Bank of Montreal found some reasons for optimism amid the gloomy numbers, noting that many parts of the economy did better than initially feared.

"The new news here is that the figures were a little less dire than feared," he said. "Consumer spending fell only nine per cent in the quarter, while business investment was down a mild 2.7 per cent (less bad than Q4 in fact), and housing dipped just 0.4 per cent."

Overall, Porter said the 8.2 per cent pace of contraction puts Canada right in the middle of its G7 peers. Canada's economy did worse than Japan's, which shrank at a 3.4 per cent pace, over the period. But Canada is faring much better than Italy and France, which saw their economies shrink at paces of 17.7  and  21.4 per cent in the same period.

Alicia Macdonald with the Conference Board of Canada said "the numbers this morning leave no question that Canada is in the midst of its deepest recession in decades. However, with restrictions easing across the country, the economy should have hit bottom in April and we should see positive growth in the months ahead."

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2020-05-29 20:00:00Z
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Alberta partners with fast-food chains to offer free masks at drive-thrus - CBC.ca

Albertans will be able to pick up free non-medical masks from the drive-thrus of A&W, McDonald's and Tim Hortons starting in early June.

The Alberta government is distributing 20 million masks meant to help limit the spread of COVID-19, said Health Minister Tyler Shandro during a press conference Friday.

The masks are for situations where physical distancing is difficult to maintain, such as on public transit or while shopping, Shandro said.

"We recognize that as the province relaunches and we all adapt to our new normal, we all may sometimes find ourselves in a situation where physical distancing may not be possible."

The province is distributing the masks through the three restaurant chains because they provide an ease of access, said the province's health minister.

"We chose this method, quite honestly, because these partners have access through these 600 sites to about 95 per cent of our population," Shandro said. "These three partners are doing it without expense to the Alberta taxpayer."

Each Albertan is allowed one package of four masks, while supplies last. The masks also come with instructions on how to wear and dispose of them. No purchase is necessary.

"This is not meant to provide Albertans with an unlimited supply," Shandro said. "We're encouraging people to source their own masks on an ongoing basis."

The province will also look at other ways to distribute the masks, like at high-risk transmission areas such as transit and places of worship, for people who can't access one of the drive-thru locations.

A budget of $350,000 has been set aside to fill the gap in distribution, Shandro said.

The province is also working with municipalities, First Nations communities, Métis settlements and local agencies to distribute the non-medical masks to those who need them.

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2020-05-29 19:15:00Z
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Laurentian Bank slashes dividend by 40 per cent as profits tumble - The Globe and Mail

Laurentian Bank of Canada slashed its dividend by 40 per cent on Friday following a sharp drop in profit, becoming the first large Canadian bank to cut its dividend payout in nearly 30 years.

The Montreal-based bank reported a 79-per-cent drop in profit for the three months ended April 30, with net income falling to $8.9-million from $43.3-million in the same quarter last year. This was largely due to a spike in provisions for potential loan losses tied to weakening economic conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Laurentian responded by cutting its dividend to 40 cents a share, down from 67 cents. This is the first time a large Canadian bank has cut back dividend payouts since National Bank of Canada did so in 1992, according to data from Refinitiv.

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“Although we believe that current earnings are not reflective of the future earnings power of the organization, we have reduced the dividend to $0.40 per share which improves operational flexibility until we reap the anticipated benefits of our strategic plan,” chief executive François Desjardins said in a press release.

Laurentian shares fell more than 9 per cent in trading Friday morning.

The bank’s earnings cap off a week of dismal results from Canadian banks, which saw profits eviscerated by a rise in loan loss provisions due to expectations of future defaults and weakening credit. Laurentian, a regional bank which focuses primarily on Quebec, managed to keep revenues flat on a year-over-year basis. But higher provisions slammed the bottom line.

Laurentian recorded $54.9-million in provisions for credit losses, compared to $9.2-million a year ago. Gross impaired loans, which are loans that the bank does not expect to be paid back in full, rose to $235-million, up 25.8 per cent year-over-year. The biggest increase in loan impairment came from the bank’s commercial loan book, where gross impaired loans rose 42 per cent year-over-year.

The results were worse than analysts had anticipated. The bank reported an adjusted earnings per share of $0.20, well below the $0.38 average that analysts had expected, according to Refinitiv data.

In a note to clients, National Bank analyst Gabriel Dechaine noted that the miss was driven by a combination of higher than expected provisions for credit losses and elevated expenses, which were partially offset by a lower-than-forecast tax rate.

“While necessary, a 40 per cent dividend cut may be viewed as insufficient, as pro forma payout ratios are still elevated,” Mr. Dechaine wrote.

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The bank’s capital position deteriorated slightly in the quarter, with the closely watched common equity tier 1 ratio falling to 8.8 per cent from 9 per cent.

“This level of capital provides the Bank with the flexibility to pursue organic growth, as well as to continue to invest in the implementation of our core banking system,” the bank said in a news release.

However it added that it expects “regulatory capital ratios will remain below the level observed over the recent quarters.”

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2020-05-29 17:27:00Z
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Canada's economy shrinks 8.2% in first quarter, worst showing since the financial crisis - Financial Post

Canada’s economy shrank the most since the 2008-09 financial crisis, marking the beginning of what’s expected to be the deepest contraction of the post-war era.

Gross domestic product dropped at an annualized 8.2 per cent in the first three months of the year, Statistics Canada said Friday in Ottawa. Economists had anticipated a 10 per cent decline. The agency also released preliminary estimates for April that show an 11 per cent plunge in output, versus the 7.2 per cent drop in March when coronavirus restrictions were first imposed halfway through the month.

As bad as the numbers are, the better-than-expected data suggest the country may be able to avoid the most dire scenarios, helped by a flood of government transfers into the economy.

“Overall, the economy has likely troughed at least for now, with businesses beginning to reopen,” Royce Mendes, an economist at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, said in a report to investors. “Look for the economic data to begin showing signs of revival over the summer months, even if it only represents the low-hanging fruit of eased restrictions.”

The second quarter likely won’t be worse than the 40 per cent annualized decline that CIBC is forecasting, Mendes said.

According to Bank of Montreal’s Doug Porter, Canada’s first quarter contraction is right in the middle of the pack among Group of Seven countries, better than all three eurozone countries but worse than the U.S., Japan and the U.K.

“The new news here is that the figures were a little less dire than feared,” Porter said in a report.

The historic decline in the first half of 2020 has been anticipated. The focus is shifting to how quickly and to what extent the economy will recover. Most economists expect a slow recovery as long as consumers remain hesitant to resume normal activities, at least until a vaccine is available.

The Canadian dollar was little changed after the report, trading at C$1.3768 against the U.S. dollar at 9:12 a.m. in Toronto trading. Two-year government bond yields dropped 2 basis points to 0.29 per cent.

Spending Stalls

Friday’s report showed the downturn was broad-based, with household spending falling 9 per cent annualized, the most on record. The drop in consumption accounted for 5 percentage points of the 8.2 per cent annualized drop. Businesses scaling back inventories accounted for another 2 percentage points.

The pullback from the consumer was also evident in a surge in the savings rate to 6.1 per cent in the fourth quarter. That’s the highest since 2001.

Even though hundreds of thousands of Canadians lost jobs in the first quarter, household disposable income was up, reflecting an increase in government transfers. Canadians didn’t spend those transfers however, putting them toward savings.

Non-residential business investment came in much stronger than expected, recording just a 2.7 per cent annualized drop in the first quarter — a better performance than the previous three months when it dropped 4.8 per cent. There was little impact on housing investment, which was little changed in the first quarter.

Government spending was weaker, posting a 3.8 per cent annualized drop, the most since 2013, from school closures and curtailed government administration. Exports were also hit considerably in the first quarter, recording an 11.3 per cent annualized drop. But the impact of trade on growth was largely offset by a 10.7 per cent drop in imports.

Bloomberg.com

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2020-05-29 16:29:00Z
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Canada's economy shrinks 8.2% in first quarter, worst showing since the financial crisis - Financial Post

Canada’s economy shrank the most since the 2008-09 financial crisis, marking the beginning of what’s expected to be the deepest contraction of the post-war era.

Gross domestic product dropped at an annualized 8.2 per cent in the first three months of the year, Statistics Canada said Friday in Ottawa. Economists had anticipated a 10 per cent decline. The agency also released preliminary estimates for April that show an 11 per cent plunge in output, versus the 7.2 per cent drop in March when coronavirus restrictions were first imposed halfway through the month.

As bad as the numbers are, the better-than-expected data suggest the country may be able to avoid the most dire scenarios, helped by a flood of government transfers into the economy.

“Overall, the economy has likely troughed at least for now, with businesses beginning to reopen,” Royce Mendes, an economist at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, said in a report to investors. “Look for the economic data to begin showing signs of revival over the summer months, even if it only represents the low-hanging fruit of eased restrictions.”

The second quarter likely won’t be worse than the 40 per cent annualized decline that CIBC is forecasting, Mendes said.

According to Bank of Montreal’s Doug Porter, Canada’s first quarter contraction is right in the middle of the pack among Group of Seven countries, better than all three eurozone countries but worse than the U.S., Japan and the U.K.

“The new news here is that the figures were a little less dire than feared,” Porter said in a report.

The historic decline in the first half of 2020 has been anticipated. The focus is shifting to how quickly and to what extent the economy will recover. Most economists expect a slow recovery as long as consumers remain hesitant to resume normal activities, at least until a vaccine is available.

The Canadian dollar was little changed after the report, trading at C$1.3768 against the U.S. dollar at 9:12 a.m. in Toronto trading. Two-year government bond yields dropped 2 basis points to 0.29 per cent.

Spending Stalls

Friday’s report showed the downturn was broad-based, with household spending falling 9 per cent annualized, the most on record. The drop in consumption accounted for 5 percentage points of the 8.2 per cent annualized drop. Businesses scaling back inventories accounted for another 2 percentage points.

The pullback from the consumer was also evident in a surge in the savings rate to 6.1 per cent in the fourth quarter. That’s the highest since 2001.

Even though hundreds of thousands of Canadians lost jobs in the first quarter, household disposable income was up, reflecting an increase in government transfers. Canadians didn’t spend those transfers however, putting them toward savings.

Non-residential business investment came in much stronger than expected, recording just a 2.7 per cent annualized drop in the first quarter — a better performance than the previous three months when it dropped 4.8 per cent. There was little impact on housing investment, which was little changed in the first quarter.

Government spending was weaker, posting a 3.8 per cent annualized drop, the most since 2013, from school closures and curtailed government administration. Exports were also hit considerably in the first quarter, recording an 11.3 per cent annualized drop. But the impact of trade on growth was largely offset by a 10.7 per cent drop in imports.

Bloomberg.com

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2020-05-29 14:54:00Z
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