John, this was a great episode, thank you for supporting Canadian ingenuity.

It’s a new year and the Bank of Canada (BoC)'s overnight rate is currently sitting at its highest level in over two decades. Canadians facing higher borrowing costs are eager to see the BoC come to the rescue by changing course with interest rate cuts. But is the economic data soft enough for the BoC to pivot? On this episode of the 10-Minute Take, RBC economists Carrie Freestone and Claire Fan unpack their views on when rate cuts will happen and what the trajectory will look like.

When are interest rate cuts coming?

Just a couple of weeks into the new year and the economic landscape is full of surprises. Data on Canadian inflation again showed just how "sticky" domestic price pressures can be. Globally, supply chains are again being challenged, with attacks in the Red Sea disrupting container shipments. And finally, Canadian labour markets have been slowing for months. But unlike prior downturns, layoffs have actually been relatively limited and it's longer job searches for students and new graduates that are bearing the brunt instead.

On this episode of the 10-Minute Take, join RBC economists Carrie Freestone and Claire Fan as they walk through three key trends that already jumped out as surprises in 2024.

Surprises in 2024, already?

In 2023, Canadian households faced higher debt-servicing costs on mortgages and consumer credit as well as higher rents. Canadians had to tighten their belts and in many cases, forgo savings. Will 2024 look different? What will drive the slow rebound in the back half of the year? Join RBC Economists Claire Fan and Carrie Freestone as they unpack consumer trends and explain why the back half of this year will look different.

What will drive growth in the back half of 2024?

Over the past few years, Canada’s population growth has eclipsed the global average. International students accounted for about 20% of the recent population surge. The immense growth has ignited concerns about housing availability and affordability. On this episode of the 10-Minute Take, we welcome back RBC Economist Rachel Battaglia, who will unpack the new federal policy and explain whether it will have an impact on rental demand (and prices) going forward.

Will the international student cap impact Canadian rents?

Generative AI is still a relatively new technology- to-date, just over 9% of Canadian businesses have adopted it. But among Canadians who use generative AI, the vast majority say it improves their work. Canada has been long plagued by slowing productivity growth, which is essential for raising Canadians’ standard of living. Will generative AI be the silver bullet solution to Canada’s productivity challenge? In this week’s episode of the 10-Minute Take, RBC Economists Carrie Freestone and Claire Fan answer all of your burning questions around generative AI and what it could mean for economic growth in Canada.

Can Generative AI solve Canada’s productivity challenge?

Canadian renters are more squeezed than ever before! Renters are allocating a greater share of their take-home pay to housing than homeowners at the same time that costs for other essentials (and interest on debt) have risen. This has resulted in renters as a collective spending more than they earn. Down-payment requirements are mounting relative to take-home pay, making it exceptionally difficult to save for a home. 

On this week’s episode of the 10-Minute Take, RBC Economists Claire Fan and Carrie Freestone unpack housing as a vehicle for wealth accumulation, explaining how opportunities for wealth generation are becoming less accessible and what that means for a large segment of Canada’s population.

Why is it so hard for renters to save?

Two weeks ago, Canada’s Minister of Immigration announced plans to limit the scope of international migration in Canada over the coming years. The announcement detailed early plans to reduce the share of temporary residents (mostly study and work permit holders) in the population to 5% over the next three years. In order for that target to be reached, the number of temporary residents will need to drop by a staggering 20% over the same time frame. 

On this week’s episode of the 10-Minute Take, RBC Economists Claire Fan and Carrie Freestone break this new policy down. They will walk through details of the newly announced cap, who’s expected to be impacted in the near-term before delving deeper to discuss the broader implications on Canada’s population growth, GDP and other important economic metrics.

What can we expect from Canada’s new cap on temporary residents?

Housing affordability has become a generational concern in Canada and recently took centre-stage in the Federal Budget. At today’s prices, two-thirds of Canadian households cannot afford to purchase a detached home based on earned-income alone. How did we get here? And how can we improve access to home ownership?

On this week’s episode of the 10-Minute Take we are joined by special guest, RBC’s Assistant Chief Economist Robert Hogue to discuss his latest report, The Great Rebuild. Robert will unpack what has driven Canada’s momentous housing supply challenges and how they can be solved in the years ahead.

How can we improve housing affordability for Canadians?

On New Year’s Eve, BlueDot—a Toronto technology company aiming to fight epidemics using AI—saw something concerning. By the next day, BlueDot had alerted its clients of the possible outbreak of a novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China—days before the World Health Organization.

On RBC Disruptors, meet Dr. Kamran Khan, a Canadian physician and entrepreneur using AI and Big Data to create an early-warning system for infectious diseases. Khan and John Stackhouse discuss:
-	How BlueDot’s early warning system detected the 2020 coronavirus ahead of everyone else
-	Why Canada is a challenging environment for healthcare innovation
-	How societies struggle in 2020 to contain infectious diseases despite a wave of new technologies

Sign up for the RBC Disruptors email newsletter at rbc.com/disruptors.

How a Canadian Company Used AI to Detect the Coronavirus

RBC Disruptors is an ongoing speaker series at RBC, moderated by SVP John Stackhouse,  designed to bring leading thinkers into the enterprise to talk about major shifts in the world around us. Featuring thought-provoking sessions on digital technology, changing workplaces and big shifts in consumer behaviour, we aim to stimulate new conversations and ideas.

How a Canadian Company Used AI to Detect the Coronavirus

RBC Disruptors

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