Employment holds steady in June
Employment was little changed in June (+18,000; +0.1%) and the employment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 60.8%. The unemployment rate declined 0.1 percentage points to 6.5%. Employment was up among youth (15 to 24 years old) (+33,000; +1.2%) and among core-aged people (25 to 54 years old) (+33,000; 0.2%), while it fell among those aged 55 and older (-47,000; -1.1%). Average hourly wages among employees were up 3.3% (+$1.19 to $37.20) on a year-over-year basis in June, following growth of 3.0% in May (not seasonally adjusted).
Source: Labour Force Survey, June 2026
Exports increase for a fourth consecutive month
In May, Canada's merchandise exports increased 0.9% in May to a record $77.1 billion. This represented a fourth consecutive monthly increase, with exports rising 22.2% over this period. Exports of metal ores and non-metallic minerals (+16.1%) posted the largest increase in May, with gains observed in most product groups. Meanwhile, imports edged down 0.2% in May. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade surplus with the world widened from $3.4 billion in April to $4.2 billion in May.
Total jobs in the culture sector decline in the first quarter
Real gross domestic product (GDP) for the culture and sport sectors in Canada grew by 0.4% in the first quarter of 2026, slightly slower than the 0.6% growth in the fourth quarter of 2025. Nominal GDP for the culture sector grew 1.3% to $17.8 billion in the first quarter of 2026, after rising 1.6% in the fourth quarter of 2025. A significant contributor to culture GDP growth across both quarters was the broadcasting subdomain under the audio-visual and interactive media domain. Meanwhile, total jobs in the culture sector decreased in each quarter, falling by 2,649 jobs (-0.4%) in the fourth quarter of 2025 then by 2,283 jobs (-0.3%) in the first quarter of 2026.
Source: National culture indicators, fourth quarter 2025 and first quarter 2026
Rental properties are largely owned by small-scale investors
From 2011 to 2021, the price of properties almost doubled (+98.4%, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association), while rent rose by 42.6% in Canada. These pressures on housing affordability were accompanied by a decline in the homeownership rate, which fell from 69.0% in 2011 to 66.5% in 2021. Small-scale individual investors owned the largest share of the assessed value of rental properties in all the provinces studied, except Nova Scotia. In 2022, their share of the assessed value of rental properties ranged from 35.9% in Nova Scotia to 57.1% in Prince Edward Island.
Source: Study: Individual and institutional investors in residential real estate, 2022
Nunavut Day
Nunavut is Canada’s youngest jurisdiction in every sense of the word. The territory celebrated its 27 years of existence, 50 years after Canada welcomed Newfoundland and Labrador. The population of Nunavut is also Canada’s youngest by far, with a median age of 27.1 years as of July 1, 2025, compared with the national median of 40.6 years. July through September is the high tourist season in Nunavut. In the summer of 2025, non-Nunavut residents took 22,800 trips to the territory. Tourism is an important part of the Nunavut economy during the summer months, with visitors spending $46.1 million while visiting the territory.
Source: Hooray for Nunavut Day!
Contact information
For more information, contact the Statistical Information Service (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).