'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Retail sales in Canada were virtually unchanged in March at $60.1 billion as sales at new car dealers fell, offsetting gains elsewhere as consumers showed a willingness to keep spending, Statistics Canada reported Thursday.
The result compared with the federal agency's initial estimate for the month that suggested sales rose 1.4 per cent. The preliminary estimate for April suggests retail sales rose 0.8 per cent for the month, but the agency cautioned the figure will be revised.
Statistics Canada said sales in March were up in 10 of the 11 subsectors it tracks, representing 75 per cent of retail trade.
However, sales at motor vehicle and parts dealers fell 6.4 per cent as new car dealers saw a drop of 5.9 per cent.
"A lack of supply, as chip shortages hamper production, continues to weigh on vehicle sales," Benjamin Reitzes, managing director of Canadian rates and macro strategist with BMO Capital Markets, said in a client note.
"That's been a theme for some time, but is expected to ease as we work through 2022."
Sales at gasoline stations rose 7.4 per cent in March.
"Unfortunately, a good chunk of that underlying strength was due to broadly higher prices," Reitzes said.
Core retail sales -- which exclude gasoline stations and motor vehicle and parts dealers -- increased 1.5 per cent in March.
"Within that core breakdown, the increase was led by higher sales of building material," Karyne Charbonneau, executive director of economics with CIBC Capital Markets, said in a client note.
Building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers recorded a 3.7 per cent increase in sales, Statistics Canada said.
"Clothing sales also continued their strong push with a 2.2 per cent gain on the month to follow the 15.5 per cent from last month, as more workers returning to the office look to upgrade their wardrobe," she said.
In volume terms, retail sales fell one per cent in March.
"It's clear that inflation is eroding purchasing power," Reitzes said.
Consumer enthusiasm could wane in the months ahead as higher interest rates ripple through the economy, he added.
Meanwhile, retail sales grew roughly 2.7 per cent compared with a year ago, Charbonneau said.
"However, that gain entirely reflects inflationary pressures, with the volume of sales falling 5.1 per cent relative to March 2021," she said.
"That reflects the fact that goods spending had already rebounded strongly by the beginning of 2021, and that gains in overall consumer spending since then have mainly come on the services side."
Retail e-commerce sales were down 1.9 per cent in March on a seasonally adjusted basis compared with a year ago, Charbonneau said. On an unadjusted basis, online retail sales fell 24.6 per cent year over year, she said.
However, that comparison is against a period where non-essential retailers were still impacted by the pandemic and many Canadians looked to online sales to avoid going out, she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2022
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.