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Signal49 Research is Canada’s foremost independent applied research organization, delivering rigorous, unbiased, evidence-based insights to help Canadians navigate complex challenges. Each year, we publish over 500 research outputs, offering trusted data, forecasts, and analysis to inform decision-making and drive progress.

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We are an independent, non-partisan, not-for-profit organization guided by the public interest and committed to real-world impact. We create rigorous, evidence-based research that leaders can trust to inform confident decision-making. A proudly Canadian organization, we focus on understanding the country’s most pressing challenges and advancing prosperity and wellbeing for all who live here.

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Latest Research by Topic

Discover the latest data, analysis, and commentary from our economists and researchers on the most urgent issues facing communities, organizations, and the country.

Index of Business Confidence for February 2026

Measured Momentum Our Index of Business Confidence reached its highest level over the past year, though it remains well below historical norms. Concerns about the trade tensions with the U.S.,…

Index of Consumer Spending for November 2025

Consumer Spending Strengthens as Holiday Promotions Boost Activity This month, we consider the results of the Index of Consumer Spending for November 2025. How did consumers respond to Black Friday…

Index of Consumer Spending for October 2025

Consumer Spending Stabilizes Amid Mixed Regional Trends The Index of Consumer Spending (ICS) edged up to 116.8 points in October, a modest 0.6 per cent increase from September (April 2022…

Canadian Hiring Index for January 2026

Hiring Momentum Eases Again in December Canada’s hiring index edged down by 4.5 points in December, marking a second consecutive decline and signaling a modest cooling in hiring momentum. However,…

Index of Consumer Confidence for January 2026

Consumer Confidence Holds Steady Amid Lingering Uncertainty After a weak 2025 where consumer confidence hit a record low in March, consumer sentiment started 2026 on a sour note due to…

Employment Gains Freeze in January

Employment declined by 25,000 in January (0.3 per cent). The labour force participation rate edged down to 65.0 per cent, a 0.4 percentage decrease, while the unemployment rate declined to…

Canadian Hiring Index for January 2026

Hiring Momentum Eases Again in December Canada’s hiring index edged down by 4.5 points in December, marking a second consecutive decline and signaling a modest cooling in hiring momentum. However,…

Employment Gains Freeze in January

Employment declined by 25,000 in January (0.3 per cent). The labour force participation rate edged down to 65.0 per cent, a 0.4 percentage decrease, while the unemployment rate declined to…

Canada’s Economy in a Soft Spot at the End of the Year

Real gross domestic product (GDP) was unchanged month-over-month in November, following a 0.3 per cent decline in October. Advanced estimates indicate the economy likely contracted by 0.1 per cent in…

Bank of Canada Steadies Rate at 2.25 Per Cent

The Bank of Canada held the target for the overnight rate at 2.25 per cent, with the Bank Rate at 2.50 per cent and the deposit rate at 2.20 per…

Employment Stays Resilient, but Losing Steam

Employment rose by just 8,200 in December (0.0 per cent). The unemployment rate rose to 6.8 per cent as the labour force participation rate edged up to 65.4 per cent….

Prince Edward Island’s Travel Markets Outlook—February 2026

Bounce-back in American Tourists to Support Growth in Visitors in 2026 The completion of the expansion of the Charlottetown Airport Terminal, along with a reduction in bridge and ferry tolls,…

Nova Scotia’s Travel Markets Outlook—February 2026

Tourism Remains Resilient, but Challenges Ahead Total and overnight visits to Nova Scotia will see another year of healthy growth despite fraught trade relations between Canada and the United States….

Quebec’s Travel Markets Outlook—February 2026

Overseas Visitors Brighten the Picture In this biannual report, we consider the five-year outlook for Quebec’s tourism industry, forecasting domestic, United States, and overseas tourist activity and focusing on Montréal…

Ontario’s Travel Markets Outlook—February 2026

U.S. Travel Rebounds as Demographics Constrain Domestic Demand This quarter, we consider the five-year outlook for the tourism industry in Ontario, including domestic, United States, and overseas tourist activity and…

Yukon’s Travel Markets Outlook—February 2026

Growth Hinges on Pace of U.S. Traveller Rebound Shifting Canadian travel patterns in the wake of changing Canada–United States relations will remain the pre-eminent driver of the tourism outlook for…

Manitoba’s Travel Markets Outlook—February 2026

Value Over Volume Manitoba’s tourism economy is moving into an era of expansion focused on profitability per visitor over volume, where a new and stable opportunity exists to capture higher-value…

Self-Employment for Neurodivergent Canadians—January 2026

Creating Their Own Path: Unlocking Self-Employment for Neurodivergent Canadians Neurodivergent Canadians continue to face exclusion from or barriers to employment in traditional workspaces, leaving valuable skills underused in the labour…

Strategies to Reduce Workplace Stigma—January 2026

Overcoming Workplace Stigma: Inclusive Strategies for Supporting People Experiencing Disability In this research, we examine the results of employer and employee surveys and findings from interviews with employers, DEI and…

Career Development for Neurodivergent Students—January 2026

Career Development Strategies to Support Neurodivergent Students In this resource for career advisors, we suggest a number of ways to help neurodivergent post-secondary students develop their career, building on our…

Supporting Inclusive Work-Integrated Learning—January 2026

Supporting Inclusive Work-Integrated Learning as an Employer In this resource for employers, we suggest a number of ways to include and support neurodivergent post-secondary students in work placements, building on…

Workforce Prep for Neurodivergent Students—January 2026

Preparing for the Workforce as a Neurodivergent Student In this resource, we offer neurodivergent post-secondary students a variety of tips to prepare for their first job and plan for their…
Series:Trade

Trade Surplus With the U.S. Narrows Significantly in October

Canada’s merchandise exports increased 2.1 per cent (month-over-month) in October 2025. Meanwhile, imports were up 3.4 per cent. As a result, Canada’s merchandise trade balance moved from a slight surplus…

U.S.’s 20-Year Outlook—December 2025

Softer Growth Lies Ahead This online experience examines projections for the U.S. economy until 2045, including demographics and housing, employment, consumer spending and inflation, GDP growth, and trade policy. Economic…
Series:Trade

Gold Shines in Canada’s Trade Turnaround

Canada’s merchandise exports increased 6.3 per cent (month-over-month) in September. Meanwhile, imports were down 4.1 per cent. As a result, Canada’s merchandise trade balance moved from a deficit of $6.4…

Public hope for private action: How much does Canada’s budget move the needle on prosperity?

Geopolitical tensions, trade wars and a change in posture from the United States have ushered in new thinking in Canada. The days of being a beneficiary of a reliable, transparent…
Focus Area: Canadian Economics
15 min read

U.S.’s Five-Year Outlook—November 2025

The Slowdown Takes Hold Given the level of uncertainty surrounding global trade policy, our forecast presents a scenario operating under the assumption of a 15.0 per cent effective tariff rate…
Series:Trade

Gold Slump Behind Latest Trade Balance Decline

Canada’s merchandise exports fell 3.0 per cent (month-over-month) in August. Meanwhile, imports were up by 0.9 per cent. As a result, Canada’s merchandise trade deficit widened from $3.8 billion in…

Genomic Profiling for Stage 4 Cancer—November 2025

Precision in Practice: Costs and Benefits of Comprehensive Genomic Profiling for Five Stage 4 Cancers This report evaluates the costs and benefits of comprehensive genomic profiling with next-generation sequencing for…

Retaining Canada’s Healthcare Workforce—August 2025

Retaining Canada’s Healthcare Workforce: Keeping Talented Workers in Our Health Systems—August 2025 This research will examine how healthcare workers move into and within Canada. Through focus groups with representatives from…

A Model of Care for Migraine in Canada—June 2025

Presenting a Model of Care for Migraine in Canada People with migraine are important advocates and navigators of their care. They want timely, evidence-informed care that reduces pain and suffering,…

Increasing Indigenous Physicians in Healthcare—June 2025

Strategies to Increase the Number of Indigenous Physicians in Canada There are longstanding health inequities for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities in Canada, but Indigenous physicians are well positioned…

Clinical and Economic Impacts of New Therapies for Three Hematologic Cancers—March 2025

The Value of Access: Clinical and Economic Impacts of New Therapies for Three Hematologic Cancers This paper examines how pre-existing healthcare challenges and the pandemic affected blood cancer patients’ care,…

Trends in Retaining Skilled Immigrants—November 2025

The Leaky Bucket 2025: Retention Trends in Highly Skilled Immigrants and In-Demand Occupations This latest research builds on the 2024 Leaky Bucket report and confirms that one in five immigrants…

Retaining Canada’s Healthcare Workforce—August 2025

Retaining Canada’s Healthcare Workforce: Keeping Talented Workers in Our Health Systems—August 2025 This research will examine how healthcare workers move into and within Canada. Through focus groups with representatives from…

Leveraging the Skills of Newcomers

Française à suivre Future Skills Centre Podcast: Season 5, Episode 2 Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify All Future Skills Episodes In this episode of the Future Skills Podcast,…

Insights From the 2024 Canadian Immigration Summit—June 2025

Building Inclusive Communities Amid Immigration Shifts: Insights From the 2024 Canadian Immigration Summit In this research, we summarize the insights gathered from 230 immigration experts and 61 esteemed speakers at…

Supporting Indigenous Exporters—October 2025

Gearing Up for Global Exports: Identifying Skills and Promising Practices to Support Indigenous Exporters Indigenous small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Canada continue to be under-represented in global trade due…

Learning from One Another: Skills, Training, and Workforce Development in Northern Communities

Française à suivre Future Skills Centre Podcast: Season 5, Episode 5 Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify All Future Skills Episodes In this episode of the Future Skills Podcast,…

Recruiting and Retaining Indigenous Professionals—July 2025

Insights from Indigenous Executives: Recruitment and Retention in Business, Finance, and Administration Indigenous professionals play a vital role in advancing economic reconciliation and expanding community-driven opportunities, yet they remain considerably…

Increasing Indigenous Physicians in Healthcare—June 2025

Strategies to Increase the Number of Indigenous Physicians in Canada There are longstanding health inequities for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities in Canada, but Indigenous physicians are well positioned…

Indigenous Representation in Healthcare—May 2025

Indigenous Professionals Needed: Increasing Indigenous representation in Healthcare in Canada In this research, we undertake a quantitative analysis of Indigenous representation in primary care occupations in Canada based on national…

Industry Lens: Utilities—February 2026

Wired for Change Canada’s utilities sector is entering a transformative period, driven by rising electricity demand, decarbonization policies, and technological change. The shift to a cleaner economy will put growing…

Canada’s Economy in a Soft Spot at the End of the Year

Real gross domestic product (GDP) was unchanged month-over-month in November, following a 0.3 per cent decline in October. Advanced estimates indicate the economy likely contracted by 0.1 per cent in…

Industry Lens: Non-Energy Mining—January 2026

“Au” Revoir! Farewell Cheap Start-ups, Hello Premium Profits Canada’s non-energy mining industry is at a pivotal juncture. While there are benefits from having a large resource endowment and a clear…

Housing Market Update for December 2025

National Resale Market Eases but Housing Starts Rebound This month, we describe a modest slackening of the national resale market but firming housing starts. What has trimmed existing housing sales?…

Economy Expands but Remains on Fragile Footing

Real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased 0.2 per cent in September, offsetting the 0.1 per cent decline in August. For the third quarter as a whole, real GDP rose 0.6…

Economic footprint of the non-alcoholic beverage sector—November 2025

The Refreshment Economy: Exploring the Economic Footprint of Canada’s Non-Alcoholic Beverage Sector In 2024, the non-alcoholic beverage sector added a total of $5.8 billion to Canada’s GDP. The sector delivers…

Compensation Planning Outlook Pulse Check—February 2026

Compensation Planning Outlook 2026: Pulse Check This research examines projected salary increases and short-term incentive pay for 2026, based on a fall 2025 survey of 248 Canadian organizations. We compared…
Series:HR Metrics

HR Metrics Q3—February 2026

HR Metrics Quarterly: Q3 2025 In this research, we provide access to human resources benchmarking data compiled from a total of 163 organizations, representing 691,000 employees, for the third quarter…
Focus Area: Human Resources
1 min read

Strategies to Reduce Workplace Stigma—January 2026

Overcoming Workplace Stigma: Inclusive Strategies for Supporting People Experiencing Disability In this research, we examine the results of employer and employee surveys and findings from interviews with employers, DEI and…
Series:HR Insights

HR Insights: Employee Perks Beyond the Paycheque—December 2025

HR Insights: Perks Beyond the Paycheque Workplace perks are no longer just “nice to have.” As organizations face ongoing talent shortages and rising costs, understanding which perks drive the most…

Case Study Spotlight Series: Total Rewards—November 2025

Case Study Spotlight: An Employee Lens on Total Rewards—Lessons from Wajax Faced with shifts in voluntary turnover, industrial products and services provider Wajax took a closer look at what its…

Employees Perspectives: Salary—November 2025

Show Me the Money: Canadians Value Salary Over Other Total Rewards This data briefing explores how different employee groups prioritize salary, drawing on findings from our What Matters Most: Employee…

Prince Edward Island’s Travel Markets Outlook—February 2026

Bounce-back in American Tourists to Support Growth in Visitors in 2026 The completion of the expansion of the Charlottetown Airport Terminal, along with a reduction in bridge and ferry tolls,…

Nova Scotia’s Travel Markets Outlook—February 2026

Tourism Remains Resilient, but Challenges Ahead Total and overnight visits to Nova Scotia will see another year of healthy growth despite fraught trade relations between Canada and the United States….

Quebec’s Travel Markets Outlook—February 2026

Overseas Visitors Brighten the Picture In this biannual report, we consider the five-year outlook for Quebec’s tourism industry, forecasting domestic, United States, and overseas tourist activity and focusing on Montréal…

Ontario’s Travel Markets Outlook—February 2026

U.S. Travel Rebounds as Demographics Constrain Domestic Demand This quarter, we consider the five-year outlook for the tourism industry in Ontario, including domestic, United States, and overseas tourist activity and…

Yukon’s Travel Markets Outlook—February 2026

Growth Hinges on Pace of U.S. Traveller Rebound Shifting Canadian travel patterns in the wake of changing Canada–United States relations will remain the pre-eminent driver of the tourism outlook for…

Manitoba’s Travel Markets Outlook—February 2026

Value Over Volume Manitoba’s tourism economy is moving into an era of expansion focused on profitability per visitor over volume, where a new and stable opportunity exists to capture higher-value…

Data Science Skills Trends—January 2026

Work, Recoded: Data Science Skills Trend In this research, we examine online job postings data from our high-frequency labour market data (formerly Vicinity Jobs), the Model of Occupations, Skills and…

Self-Employment for Neurodivergent Canadians—January 2026

Creating Their Own Path: Unlocking Self-Employment for Neurodivergent Canadians Neurodivergent Canadians continue to face exclusion from or barriers to employment in traditional workspaces, leaving valuable skills underused in the labour…

Career Development for Neurodivergent Students—January 2026

Career Development Strategies to Support Neurodivergent Students In this resource for career advisors, we suggest a number of ways to help neurodivergent post-secondary students develop their career, building on our…

Supporting Inclusive Work-Integrated Learning—January 2026

Supporting Inclusive Work-Integrated Learning as an Employer In this resource for employers, we suggest a number of ways to include and support neurodivergent post-secondary students in work placements, building on…

Workforce Prep for Neurodivergent Students—January 2026

Preparing for the Workforce as a Neurodivergent Student In this resource, we offer neurodivergent post-secondary students a variety of tips to prepare for their first job and plan for their…

Tracking Social Impacts of Canadian Wildfires—December 2025

Canada’s Wildfire Blind Spot: The Missing Data on Social Impacts Discussions around Canadian wildfires often focus on their physical impacts, but overlook their social impacts. This limits the effectiveness of…

Skill Shifts in Canada’s Primary Industries—October 2025

Tech-Driven Skill Shifts in Canada’s Mining and Oil and Gas Industries In this research, we examine how emerging technologies are reshaping work in the mining and oil and gas industries…

Emissions Reduction and Demand for Skilled Trades—August 2025

Building Tomorrow: Canada’s Emissions Reduction Plan and Future Demand for Skilled Trades In this research, we examine the potential impact of policies outlined in Canada’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan on…

Employment Impacts of Canada’s Emission Reduction Plan—July 2025

Employment Impacts of Canada’s Emission Reduction Plan This research examines the effect of the federal government’s Emission Reduction Plan (ERP) on Canada’s labour market, using Signal49 Research’s Long-Term Forecasting Model…

Smart Manufacturing in the Meat Processing Industry—June 2025

Beefing Up Innovation: Smart Manufacturing and Cutting-Edge Skills for the Meat Processing Industry Smart manufacturing in the meat processing industry increases the demand for advanced technical and digital skills, such…

Data Science Skills Trends—January 2026

Work, Recoded: Data Science Skills Trend In this research, we examine online job postings data from our high-frequency labour market data (formerly Vicinity Jobs), the Model of Occupations, Skills and…

AI on the Horizon: December 11, 2025

Canada’s latest AI news on the economy, society, and policy. In the last decade, buzzwords like the metaverse, digital transformation, and crypto have echoed from the rooftops of tech firms….

AI on the Horizon: November 13, 2025

Canada’s latest AI news on the economy, society, and policy. In this issue, we explore the potential opportunities and challenges of AI in innovative processes for logistics, healthcare, and media….

Major City Insights: Halifax—January 2026

Slowing demand weighs on growth Which sectors of the area’s economy are feeling the worst effects? How are slower population gains affecting the city’s labour and housing markets? We share…

Major City Insights: Hamilton—January 2026

Headwinds persist but opportunities emerge This quarter, we examine the effects of headwinds on Hamilton’s economy, including U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum and stalled population growth. Which sectors of…

Major City Insights: Regina—January 2026

Expected easing of trade tensions lifts economic outlook This quarter, we look at how easing trade tensions with the United States and China later this year could affect Regina’s economy….

Major City Insights: Toronto—January 2026

Outlook for Core Industries Remains Bright This quarter, we look at how Toronto’s economy continues to navigate the uncertainty sparked by volatile U.S. trade policies. Which sectors of the area’s…

Major City Insights: Vancouver—January 2026

Resilience in the face of trade uncertainty This quarter, we look at how persistent housing unaffordability, unfavourable demographics, and a modest Canadian economy are weighing on prospects for Vancouver’s economy….

Major City Insights: Winnipeg—January 2026

Building up growth This quarter, we look at how Winnipeg’s diverse industry landscape is helping the local economy withstand trade headwinds from the U.S. and China. Which sectors of the…

Impact paper
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