Since 2003, the World Bank publishes the Ease of Doing Business (EDB) Index aimed at measuring the regulatory efficiency and institutional quality of key processes that affect the business environment in a given economy. While highly influential, particularly in the developing world, the EDB has also been faced with criticism and at times controversies. In 2020, the World Bank decided to interrupt temporarily the publication of the EDB report as a result of an audit that revealed politically motivated manipulation of EDB rankings. Over time, Canada’s relative rankings fell from 4th in 2007 to 23rd in 2020 with no significant changes in its business environments or policies. Canada’s rank fall can only be partially explained as other economies such as Georgia and Mauritius surpassed Canada with higher overall rankings. To understand the underlying causes of Canada’s rank declining, the Office of the Chief Economist (OCE) commissioned a study to look at Canada’s performance in all 10 areas of the EDB Index. The study also looked at other competitiveness and economic freedom indices (e.g. IMD World Competitiveness Index, World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness report and the Fraser Institute Index of Economic Freedom) and found no such decline in Canada`s performance.

It is presumed that the first humans migrated from Siberia to North America approximately twelve thousand years ago, where they then moved southwards to warmer lands. It was not until many centuries later that humans returned to the north and began to settle regions that are now part of Canada. Despite a few short-lived Viking settlements on Newfoundland around the turn of the first millennium CE, the Italian explorer Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot), became the first European to explore the coast of North America in the late 1400s. The French and British crowns both made claims to areas of Canada throughout the sixteenth century, but real colonization and settlement did not begin until the early seventeenth century. Over the next 150 years, France and Britain competed to take control of the booming fur and fishing trade, and to expand their overseas empires. In the Seven Year's War, Britain eventually defeated the French colonists in North America, through superior numbers and a stronger agriculture resources in the southern colonies, and the outcome of the war saw France cede practically all of it's colonies in North America to the British.

Increased migration and declining native populations

The early 1800s saw a large influx of migrants into Canada, with the Irish Potato Famine bringing the first wave of mass-migration to the country, with further migration coming from Scandinavia and Northern Europe. It is estimated that the region received just shy of one million migrants from the British Isles alone, between 1815 and 1850, which helped the population grow to 2.5 million in the mid-1800s and 5.5 million in 1900. It is also estimated that infectious diseases killed around 25 to 33 percent of all Europeans who migrated to Canada before 1891, and around a third of the Canadian population is estimated to have emigrated southwards to the United States in the 1871-1896 period. From the time of European colonization until the mid-nineteenth century, the native population of Canada dropped from roughly 500,000 (some estimates put it as high as two million) to just over 100,000; this was due to a mixture of disease, starvation and warfare, instigated by European migration to the region. The native population was generally segregated and oppressed until the second half of the 1900s; Native Canadians were given the vote in 1960, and, despite their complicated and difficult history, the Canadian government has made significant progress in trying to include indigenous cultures in the country's national identity in recent years. As of 2020, Indigenous Canadians make up more than five percent of the total Canadian population, and a higher birth rate means that this share of the population is expected to grow in the coming decades.

Independence and modern Canada

Canadian independence was finally acknowledged in 1931 by the Statute of Westminster, putting it on equal terms with the United Kingdom within the Commonwealth; virtually granting independence and sovereignty until the Canada Act of 1982 formalized it. Over the past century, Canada has had a relatively stable political system and economy (although it was hit particularly badly by the Wall Street Crash of 1929). Canada entered the First World War with Britain, and as an independent Allied Power in the Second World War; Canadian forces played pivotal roles in a number of campaigns, notably Canada's Hundred Days in WWI, and the country lost more than 100,000 men across both conflicts. The economy boomed in the aftermath of the Second World War, and a stream of socially democratic programs such as universal health care and the Canadian pension plan were introduced, which contributed to a rise in the standard of living. The post war period also saw various territories deciding to join Canada, with Newfoundland joining in 1949, and Nunavut in 1999. Today Canada is among the most highly ranked in countries in terms of civil liberties, quality of life and economic growth. It promotes and welcomes immigrants from all over the world and, as a result, it has one of the most ethnically diverse and multicultural populations of any country in the world. As of 2020, Canada's population stands at around 38 million people, and continues to grow due to high migration levels and life expectancy, and a steady birth rate.

Executive Summary The Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) helps safeguard the stability of the financial system by providing deposit insurance against the loss of eligible deposits at member institutions in the event of failure, and by ensuring the orderly resolution of troubled member institutions. Canada’s economy is facing continued headwinds due to global and domestic factors, including tighter monetary policy, rising interest rates, geo-political tensions, and low housing affordability. In 2022, this resulted in cost-of-living pressures and a decline in real and financial asset values. For Canadian businesses, the year ahead outlook is cautious. Businesses continue to navigate a tight labour market and worker skill shortages. Borrowing costs are on the rise. Real business investment in Canada continues to lag behind pre-pandemic levels. CDIC’s member institutions are facing a period of economic uncertainty. However, member institutions are in stable financial condition due in part to capital and liquidity buffers and well-regulated funding standards for members. Nonetheless, CDIC will continue to focus on strengthening its readiness to respond to a variety of these circumstances and possible shocks to the financial system. Alongside these conditions, the pace of digitalization and innovation in the financial sector is resulting in new financial products, services, and players, which are fundamentally changing the financial sector landscape. CDIC will work proactively to ensure that the deposit insurance, resolution frameworks, and operations remain fit for purpose. CDIC will also strive to increase awareness of deposit insurance to maintain depositor confidence and reinforce financial sector resilience as the landscape continues to evolve. The digitalization of finance has implications for how Canadian depositors access their money and for the security of their data against cyber threats. To maintain depositor confidence, CDIC is transforming its technological capabilities to increase the speed, security, and convenience of access to insured deposits in the event of a member failure. CDIC is also evolving its workplace to respond to changes in the operating environment. There has been an acceleration of technological and cultural changes for all organizations, with competition for talent at an all-time high. CDIC will continue to implement strategies to attract and retain top talent including through Indigenous partnerships to ensure that its employees are representative of Canada’s diverse population. As CDIC continues to experiment with a hybrid work model, CDIC will continue to adapt its technology, operations, and skills training across the organization to maintain flexibility for staff and capability to fulfill its mandate to serve Canadians. CDIC will continue to embed Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles and initiatives into its operations to foster long-term sustainability and resiliency. CDIC will focus on three strategic objectives for the 2023/2024 to 2027/2028 planning period, anchored to the Corporation’s mandate as deposit insurer and resolution authority: 1 — Be resolution ready Being resolution ready involves having the necessary processes, tools, systems, and financial capacity, as well as the right people to allow CDIC to resolve a member institution if necessary. This is important because CDIC’s role within Canada’s financial safety net intensifies during times of economic hardship or uncertainty and being resolution ready is a key element in promoting financial stability. 2 — Reinforce trust in depositor protection Depositor confidence in the safety of their deposits is essential to CDIC’s mission to serve Canadians, and for the stability of the financial sector. CDIC will reinforce trust in depositor protection by anticipating and responding to innovation in the financial sector to ensure that the deposit insurance and resolution frameworks, as well as CDIC’s operations, remain fit for purpose to maintain depositor confidence. 3 — Strengthen organizational resilience Strengthening organizational resilience involves addressing internal and external factors that can impact CDIC’s technologies, people, and culture. CDIC will enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of its systems, technology, operations, and skills training to ensure that the Corporation can continue to fulfill its mandate while being prepared for the workplace of tomorrow. In fiscal 2023/2024, CDIC’s operating budget will be $89.1 million, and its capital budget will be $3.8 million. CDIC maintains ex ante funding to cover possible deposit insurance losses. The amount of such funding is represented by the aggregate of CDIC’s retained earnings and the provision for insurance losses. CDIC’s ex ante fund totalled $7.9 billion (73 basis points of insured deposits) as at December 31, 2022. The Corporate Plan anticipates and responds to the evolving operating environment and risks facing CDIC and supports the Corporation’s achievement of its mandate while striving to maintain Canadians’ confidence that their eligible deposits are protected.

Portugal, Canada, and the United States were the countries with the highest house price to income ratio in 2024. In all three countries, the index exceeded 130 index points, while the average for all OECD countries stood at 116.2 index points. The index measures the development of housing affordability and is calculated by dividing nominal house price by nominal disposable income per head, with 2015 set as a base year when the index amounted to 100. An index value of 120, for example, would mean that house price growth has outpaced income growth by 20 percent since 2015. How have house prices worldwide changed since the COVID-19 pandemic? House prices started to rise gradually after the global financial crisis (2007–2008), but this trend accelerated with the pandemic. The countries with advanced economies, which usually have mature housing markets, experienced stronger growth than countries with emerging economies. Real house price growth (accounting for inflation) peaked in 2022 and has since lost some of the gain. Although, many countries experienced a decline in house prices, the global house price index shows that property prices in 2023 were still substantially higher than before COVID-19. Renting vs. buying In the past, house prices have grown faster than rents. However, the home affordability has been declining notably, with a direct impact on rental prices. As people struggle to buy a property of their own, they often turn to rental accommodation. This has resulted in a growing demand for rental apartments and soaring rental prices.