Unemployment rate decreases to lowest level in two years
Employment increased by 75,000 (+0.4%) in July and the employment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 60.9%. The unemployment rate declined 0.1 percentage points to 6.4%, the lowest rate since July 2024. Among core-aged women (25 to 54 years old), the unemployment rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 5.2% in July 2026, coinciding with an increase in employment for this group (+33,000; +0.5%). For core-aged men, the unemployment rate was little changed at 5.8% and employment edged up (+18,000; +0.2%). Average hourly wages among employees were up 2.8% (+$1.01 to $37.17) on a year-over-year basis in July, following growth of 3.3% in June (not seasonally adjusted).
Source: Labour Force Survey, July 2026
Imports from the United States set a record high in June
In June, Canada's merchandise exports increased 0.4% to a record $77.5 billion. Meanwhile, imports edged up 0.2% to reach a record high of $73.6 billion. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade surplus with the world widened slightly from $3.7 billion in May to $3.9 billion in June. Imports from the United States rose 3.0%, reaching a record in June mainly on higher imports of computers and computer peripherals.
One-quarter of gender-related homicide victims have at least one prior police contact
From 2009 to 2022, just over one-quarter (26%) of all women and girls who were victims of a gender-related homicide had at least one prior contact with police as victims of violence during the same period, with an average of three previous contacts. Among gender-related homicide victims with previous police contact, almost half (49%) were victimized at least once by the same person later accused of their homicide. Further, women and girls who were killed in a gender-related homicide from 2009 to 2022 were, on average, older and more often in a marital relationship, compared with other victims.
A strong sense of belonging is associated with positive general health and mental health among youth
Among young adults aged 15 to 29, those who get involved in their community have a stronger sense of belonging to their community than those who do not. For example, almost four in five youths aged 15 to 29 (78%) who participated in a youth organization reported a strong sense of belonging to their community, compared with 57% who did not participate in groups. Most youth aged 15 to 29 with a strong sense of belonging (96%) also reported being in good physical health, compared with 87% of youth with a weaker sense of belonging.
Over one-third of Canada’s horses are found on Alberta farms
A century ago, horses were a normal part of everyday life. Today, horses are rarely used for farm work and are almost never seen in big cities. Indeed, horse numbers on Canadian farms fell by 94.7% from 1921 to 183,733 in 2021, while the number of farms with horses fell 96.6% to 20,645 farms. Over the same period, tractor numbers on Canadian farms rose by 1,289.4% to 659,337. Perhaps unsurprisingly, over one-third (37.0%) of the 183,733 horses and ponies reported nationally in 2021 were found in Alberta, home of the Calgary Stampede and many large cattle ranches.
Source: Are horses going the way of the bison?
Contact information
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