Fast Facts Friday: March 15, 2024

Catch up on the latest facts and read more via the links below in case you missed them this week!

1. Canadian farmers expect to plant more wheat, corn for grain, oats, lentils and dry peas in 2024, while area seeded to canola, soybeans and barley is anticipated to decrease compared with 2023. – Read more
2. About 7 in 10 Canadian businesses (71.9%) introduced innovations during the 2020–2022 period, down from 8 in 10 businesses (79.8%) during the 2017–2019 period. – Read more
3. Canada's net foreign asset position continued its upward trend in the fourth quarter and reached $1,677.3 billion at the end of 2023, a significant increase of $288.2 billion from the third quarter.  – Read more
4. Just over one-third of youth aged 12 to 17 eligible for French-language education in Canada outside Quebec have attended a French-language high school (35.5%). – Read more
5. Manufacturing sales rose 0.2% to $71.1 billion in January 2024. – Read more
6. In 2023, the natural gas sector saw predictably strong growth. Annual production was the highest since the start of the data series in 2016, reaching 7.8 billion gigajoules. – Read more
7. In 2021, 17% of business innovation and growth support (BIGS) beneficiaries were exporters, compared with 1% of all Canadian businesses. – Read more
8.  Operating revenue at food services and drinking places increased by almost one-quarter (+24.3%) year over year to $84.2 billion in 2022, up 7.4% from 2019, just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. – Read more