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City of Vaughan

Vaughan Economic and Business Update – July 2024

Highlights

  • The Consumer Price Index rose 2.9 per cent year-over-year in May following a 2.7 per cent increase in April.
  • The national unemployment rate rose 0.2 per cent to 6.4 per cent in June.
  • The national Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 0.3 per cent in April after being unchanged in March.
  • The Vaughan Business and Entrepreneurship Centre experienced demand for consultations in retail trade, professional scientific and technical services and healthcare and social assistance in June.
  • Cardinal Health Canada introduces 80 autonomous mobile robots at 165,000 square foot Vaughan distribution centre.
  • First of its kind fuel terminal opened at CN’s Mac Millian Rail Yard in Vaughan.
  • Vaughan-based Novel Biotechnology Inc. is one of eleven Ontario Companies to receive $500,000 in funding through the Life Sciences Innovation Fund.

SELECT Economic Indicators

The Consumer Price Index rose 2.9 per cent year-over-year in May following a 2.7 per cent increase in April.

The national Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.9 per cent year-over-year in May following a 2.7 per cent increase in April. In Ontario, the CPI rose 3.0 per cent year-over-year in May after a 2.7 per cent year-over-year increase in April.

Grocery prices increase month over month – prices of food purchased from stores increased 1.5 per cent in May following a 1.4 per cent increase in April. This marks the first acceleration in food prices since June 2023. On a month-over-month basis, grocery prices rose 1.1 percent in May and while this is seasonally typical, it was the largest increase since 2023. The increase in food prices in May was largely attributed to fresh vegetables (3.5 per cent), meat (1.3 per cent), fresh fruit (2.2 per cent) and non-alcoholic beverages (2.4 per cent).

Cellular service prices have fell at a slower pace year-over-year in May (-19.4 per cent) than in April (-26.6 per cent). On a monthly basis, cellular services were up 1.2 percent in May compared to April.

Ontario residents continue to see increases in the cost of rent. On a year-over-year basis rent prices rose 8.4 per cent, up from the 6.1 per cent increase in April. Higher interest rates and population increases continue to put increased pressure on rent prices nationally.

The national unemployment rate rose 0.2 per cent to 6.4 per cent in June.

The national unemployment rate rose 0.2 per cent to 6.4 per cent in June. Ontario’s unemployment rate increased 0.3 per cent in June to 7.0 per cent, while unemployment in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) – which includes Vaughan – decreased 0.1 per cent to 7.8 per cent.

Employment in Canada was unchanged in June (-1,400; -0.0 per cent) following little change in May (+27,000; 0,1 per cent). The national employment rate declined 0.2 percentage points to 61.1 per cent in June, marking the eighth decrease in the past nine months.

In June, employment declines were noted in the transportation and warehousing (-12,000; 1.1 per cent) and public administration (-8,800; 10.7 per cent) sectors. Industry sectors that experienced some growth in June included accommodation and food services (17,000; 0.8 per cent) and agriculture (12,000; 5.5 per cent).

Every year, statistics Canada collects data from youth who attended school full-time in March and who intend to return to school full-time in the fall. The employment rate of youth aged 15 to 24 was 46.8 per cent with the youth unemployment rate increasing 0.9 percentages points to 13.5 per cent in June. This marks the lowest employment rate of youth returning to summer work since 1998.

Average hourly wages among employees increased 5.4% in June on a year-over-year basis, following growth of 5.1% in May (not seasonally adjusted).

The national Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 0.3 per cent in April after being unchanged in March.

The national Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 0.3 per cent in April, after being essentially unchanged in March. Both goods and services-producing industries contributed to growth in April with 15 of 20 sectors posting increasing.

Whoelsale trade, mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction, retail trade and manufacturing were the largest contributors to GDP growth in April. Following two consecutive months of declines, retail trade was also among the top contributors to GDP growth in April.

Wholesale trade expanded 2.0 per cent in April with most subsectors posting increases. Motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and accessories wholesaling increased 8.0 per cent and personnel and household goods rose 3.5 per cent.

Manufacturing posted its first increase after two consecutive months of declines, expanding 0.4 per cent in April. Durable goods manufacturing contributed the most to April’s growth with transportation and equipment manufacturing growing 1.9 per cent. Non-durable goods rose 0.2 per cent in April with chemical manufacturing contributing 2.6 per cent to the manufacturing sector’s growth in April.

Advance information indicates that real GDP rose 0.1 per cent in May. Increases in manufacturing, real estate and rental and leasing and finance and insurance were partially offset by decreases in retail trade and wholesale trade.

LOCAL TRENDS, INVESTMENTS, AND SUCCESS STORIES

The Vaughan Business and Entrepreneurship Centre experienced demand for consultations in retail trade, professional scientific and technical services and healthcare and social assistance in June.

Economic Developments Small Business and Entrepreneurship top five industries seeking consultations in June were:

  1. Retail trade (24 per cent)
  2. Professional scientific and technical services (15 per cent)
  3. Health care and social assistance (7 per cent) and Other Services (7 per cent)
  4. Wholesale trade (7 per cent)
  5. Education services (4 per cent)
Cardinal Health Canada introduces 80 autonomous mobile robots at its 165,000-square-foot Vaughan distribution centre.

Cardinal Health Canada is a global healthcare company providing products and services to hospitals, pharmacies, and clinics. The 165,000-square-foot distribution centre in Vaughan. The facility is dedicated to providing Cardinal Health’s ValueLink logistics service which is innovating how healthcare products are distributed across Canada. The addition of autonomous robots will support companies’ ability to provide quality products to healthcare settings.

Vaughan’s Health and Healthcare Tech and Life Sciences sector comprises More than 350 life sciences and health-tech companies in York Region. More than 1,300 businesses employing more than 17,000 people in life sciences, health and health-tech across Vaughan.

First of its kind fuel terminal opened at CN’s Mac Millian Rail Yard in Vaughan.

Canadian National (CN) railway recently announced the opening of a first of its kind fuel terminal at the Mac Millian Rail Yard in Vaughan. The new terminal opened in partnership with Norcan an international fuel distributor to lower greenhouse gas emissions and provide timely and on-site refuelling of train cars. CN will soon begin phase 2 of the project which will expand the terminal allowing for more fueling capabilities and capacity.

The logistics, distribution and E-commerce solutions sector is thriving in Vaughan. As one of the largest transportation hubs in Ontario, this sector plays a crucial role in moving goods across North America with direct rail connections to air- and sea-ports linking Vaughan to the world. Vaughan’s logistics sector is comprised of nearly 190 companies that employ more than 9,670 people.

Vaughan-based Novel Biotechnology Inc. is one of eleven Ontario Companies to receive $500,000 in funding through the Life Sciences Innovation Fund.

Vaughan-based Novel Biotechnology Inc. was recently selected to receive $500,000 through the Life Sciences Innovation Fund (LSIF). Novel Biotechnology is a synthetic biology company focused on developing non-steroidal therapies to transform the treatment of immune diseases. The funding awarded through the provinces of Ontario’s LSIF to help companies develop and launch mad-in-Ontario healthcare technologies and innovations.

This investment is part of the province’s $15 million LSIF that was established in 2022 to help companies and innovators bring their ideas to the marketplace. The fund is part of the provinces Taking Life Sciences to the Next Level life science strategy.