Canadian employment was little changed in July, leaving growth so far in 2007 at 1.3%, similar to the growth rate in the first seven months of 2006. The unemployment rate edged down 0.1 percentage points to 6.0%, the lowest since 1974.

 Alberta showed a significant employment increase in July, as an estimated 14,000 more people were working. This pushed Alberta’s employment rate back to its record high of 71.6%.  Gains in July were in full-time work, and mainly in health care and social assistance and trade.

 In Ontario, manufacturing employment was up an estimated 27,000 in July, the first significant increase in more than a year, with gains spread across several manufacturing industries. There were also gains in professional, scientific and technical services, while employment declined in educational services.

Employment in Nova Scotia declined by an estimated 3,000 in July, continuing the weakness observed since May 2007.

New Jobs in Canada between June 2007 and July 2007

10 Aug 2007

The Canadian housing market continued to reach new heights in June 2007, setting quarterly and year-to-date records for sales, listings, and average price.

Statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) showed that the Canadian average house price rose 11.2 per cent year-over-year in June to $315,332 (£147,260). The represented a new monthly record, and was the strongest increase since August 2006. The average price in June broke all previous monthly records in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Home sales rose 3.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2007 to reach the highest quarterly level on record. New quarterly records for sales were set in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

Listing volumes also broke all previous monthly records in June, climbing 1.4 per cent above the previous record set in May.

“The Bank rate was increased for the first time in over a year in July, and an additional increase is expected in September. Higher interest rates and additional housing price increases will gradually impact affordability and housing demand over the second half of the year,” said CREA Chief Economist Gregory Klump.

Average House Price In Canada
June 2007

6 Aug 2007

Vancouver has topped a national poll as the best city in Canada, and as the favourite choice for Canadians as a vacation destination.  The Angus Reid poll found other cities have their strong points: Montreal is the best place to eat, drink and shop in, Toronto is good for taking in a baseball game and a museum, and Calgary is a job-hunter’s paradise.

Vancouver was ranked the best city in Canada with 13 per cent of the votes; best city to live in, with 14 per cent; and favourite city to vacation in, with 23 per cent.

The poll results list Montreal as the second-best city to live in (11 per cent).

Calgary was chosen the employment capital of Canada, with 36 per cent of Canadians surveyed picking Cowtown as the best city in which to find a job.

Toronto showed strong numbers in three areas: best city for sports and recreation (23 per cent), best city for arts and culture (23 per cent), and best city in which to do business (37 per cent).

Montreal was a favourite in three leisure-related categories: nightlife (41 per cent), eating out (31 per cent) and shopping (30 per cent).

Charlottetown was No. 1 in the category of safest city (18 per cent).

It was also tied with Quebec City for “best sense of community” (both 11 per cent).

These last two categories had a strong regional split, with residents of each province picking a local city as their top candidate.

3 Aug 2007

Crime is not necessarily a big-city phenomenon in Canada, according toStatistics Canada. Small urban areas have higher crime rates than large metropolitan areas, while homicide rates are highest in rural areas.

The crime rate in small urban areas is 43% higher than in metropolitan areas and 58% higher than in rural areas.

When broken down into types of offences, rates of violent crime, property crime and break-ins are all highest in small urban areas.

Homicide
Of the 658 homicides in Canada, 427 were committed in large urban areas, 95 in small urban areas and 135 in rural areas.

Taking population into account, the rural area homicide rate of 2.5 per 100,000 people is higher than the metropolitan rate of 2.0 and the small urban rate of 1.7. This pattern has been constant for a decade.

Robbery and Motor Vehicle Theft
Robbery and motor vehicle theft are worst in big cities. The robbery rate for metropolitan areas is more than double that for small urban areas and almost 10 times that for rural areas. The motor vehicle theft rate in metropolitan areas is about 25% higher than in small urban areas and 80% higher than in rural areas.

Handguns
Just over one-third of all homicides in both metropolitan areas and rural areas are committed with a firearm, compared with less than one-quarter of homicides in small urban areas.

Handguns are the weapons of choice in metropolitan areas, used in 76% of all firearm homicides. In rural areas, rifles or shotguns are the most prevalent; they are used in 65% of firearm homicides.

Weapons
Weapons are more common in metropolitan areas in Quebec and Ontario with about 1 in 6 violent incidents involving a weapon of some sort, most commonly a knife.

Highest crime rates
The highest overall crime rates are found in small urban areas, except in Quebec, where the rate is highest in metropolitan areas.

Among all of Canada’s urban and rural areas, the highest crime rates are in the small urban areas of the four western provinces.

Although homicide rates are highest in rural areas at the national level, this is not the case in all provinces. In Ontario and British Columbia, the highest homicide rates are in metropolitan areas.

The highest homicide rates in Canada are in the rural areas of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta.

Lowest Crime Rates
The lowest crime rates are in the rural areas of all provinces, except in Alberta, where the rate is lowest in the large urban areas.

The lowest overall crime rates are in the rural areas of Quebec, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick.

Areas Defined
Metropolitan areas are defined as areas with municipalities centred on an urban core of at least 100,000 people. Metropolitan areas accounted for 65.5% of the Canadian population in 2005.

Small urban areas are defined as any town that has a minimum population of 1,000 persons and a population density of at least 400 persons per square kilometre. Small urban areas accounted for 17.4% of the population in 2005.

Rural areas are defined as all areas of the country not falling into either the metropolitan or small urban categories. Rural areas account for 17.1% of the population.

3 Aug 2007