Major City Insights
Navigating headwinds while opportunities develop
How are ongoing trade tensions, fiscal pressures, and stalled population growth hitting cities across Canada? Despite these headwinds, what are the bright spots supporting growth in local economies? We share our urban economic outlook, including local GDP, employment, and population growth.
This edition of our Major City Insights provides new forecasts for economic growth in 11 major Canadian cities. The forecasts were completed March 4, 2026.
Read the online experience to get our full analysis.
Page updated: March 27, 2026
City Forecasts
4-min read/city
Spring 2026: Book 2
Greater Sudbury
March 26, 2026
Forthcoming
Guelph
Month XX, 2026
Forthcoming
Kingston
Month XX, 2026
Forthcoming
Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo
March 26, 2026
Forthcoming
Moncton
Month XX, 2026
Forthcoming
Oshawa
Month XX, 2026
Forthcoming
St. Catharines–Niagara
Month XX, 2026
Forthcoming
St. John’s
Month XX, 2026
Forthcoming
Thunder Bay
Month XX, 2026
Forthcoming
Windsor
Month XX, 2026
Forthcoming
Winter 2026: Book 1
Ottawa–Gatineau
January 5, 2026
Forthcoming
Québec City
January 5, 2026
Forthcoming
About the Series
Major City Insights is a quarterly report that analyzes the economies of major urban centres across Canada, using meticulous city-level historical data gathered by our forecasting team.
Benefits of this report:
- Understand how inflation rates, local GDP, employment, and population growth affect businesses and people in Canada’s major cities.
- Keep an eye on economic trends within these centres to identify emerging risks and opportunities.
- Get a medium-term view of Canada’s urban economies.
Major City Insights is available online from March 2002 onwards.
Methodology
This online experience examines the economic outlook for 24 Canadian Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs). The outlook is based on detailed analysis of local and regional conditions combined with Signal49 Research’s proprietary macroeconometric model of each CMA’s economy. Updated quarterly, the model contains more than 2,700 variables and equations uniquely structured to each CMA. Inputs and outputs include the interaction of 17 industry sectors (gross domestic product and employment), detailed population and labour-force conditions, housing, income, retail sales, inflation, and potential output.
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Questions?
If you have any questions about the Major City Insights, or about becoming a subscriber, please contact us.