Vaughan Economic and Business Update – June 2025

Highlights

The national Consumer Price Index rose 1.7 per cent year-over-year in April, showing deceleration from the 2.3 per cent year-over-year increase in March.
The national unemployment rate climbed marginally to seven per cent in May, up from 6.9 per cent in April, while the employment rate held steady at 60.9 per cent.
The national Real Gross Domestic Product saw a slight increase in March by 0.1 per cent, offsetting a 0.2 per cent contraction in February.
In May, the Vaughan Business and Entrepreneurship Centre experienced demand for consultations in retail trade, transportation and warehousing and professional, scientific, and technical services industries.
Laminam, a global leader in Italian porcelain surfaces, held the grand opening for new Canadian flagship showroom in Vaughan, marking a significant investment in the North American market.
Vaughan-headquartered Doorland Group announced the acquisition of U.S.-based DoorWorks Company as part of a strategy to expand their North American presence.

Select Economic Indicators

The national Consumer Price Index rose 1.7 per cent year-over-year in April, showing deceleration from the 2.3 per cent year-over-year increase in March.

The national Consumer Price Index rose 1.7 per cent year-over-year in April, a deceleration following a 2.3 per cent year-over-year increase in March. April saw a 18.1 per cent year-over-year decline in gasoline prices, compared to a 1.6 per cent decline in March. This sharp decline in gasoline prices, which led the deceleration in overall consumer price index, can be attributed to lower crude oil prices and the removal of consumer carbon prices. In Ontario, the Consumer Price Index also continued to fall on a year-over-year basis, dipping from 2.3 per cent in March to 1.6 per cent in April.

Canadians continue to feel the impact of higher price levels for day-to-day basics – notably, the prices for groceries have exceeded the all-items Consumer Price Index for the third consecutive month. Price increases for fresh vegetables (+3.7 per cent), fresh or frozen beef (+16.2 per cent), coffee and tea (+13.4 per cent), sugar and confectionary (+8.6 per cent) and other food preparations (+3.2 per cent) were the largest contributors in April. Similarly, restaurant food prices rose at a faster rate in April, increasing 3.6 per cent year-over-year compared to a 3.2 per cent increase in March.

The national unemployment rate climbed marginally to seven per cent in May, up from 6.9 per cent in April, while the employment rate held steady at 60.9 per cent.

The national unemployment rate climbed to seven per cent in May, up from 6.9 per cent in April, while the employment rate held steady at 60.8 per cent. This marks the highest unemployment rate since September 2016, excluding the peak impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic seen during 2020 and 2021. Ontario’s unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points between April and May to 7.9 per cent, while unemployment in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) –which includes Vaughan– increased to 9.1 per cent.

May saw minimal changes to employment, with growth in full-time employment (+58,000; +0.3 per cent) tempered by a decline in part-time work (-49,000; -1.3 per cent). This marks virtually no employment growth since January, following steady gains from October 2024 to January 2025 (+211,000; +1.0 per cent).

By sector, employment increased in wholesale and retail trade (+43,000; +1.5 per cent), information, culture and recreation (+19,000; +2.3 per cent) and finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (+12,000; +0.8 per cent). Over the same period, employment fell in public administration (-32,000; -2.5 per cent), transportation and warehousing (-16,000; -1.4 per cent); accommodation and food services (-16,000; -1.4 per cent) and business, building and other support services (-15,000; -2.1 per cent).

As May kicks off the start to the summer student job season, the unemployment rate for returning students aged 15 to 24 rose to 20.1 per cent, a 3.2 percentage point increase year-over-year. Since record lows in 2022, unemployment rate for this group continues to trend up each May. Among other age and gender groups, the employment rate has increased for core-aged women (+42,000; +0.6 per cent) and fallen for core-aged men (-31,000; -0.4 per cent).

In March 2025, Economic Development held the third annual Talent City Vaughan Youth Careers Expo in partnership COSTI Employment Services and Next Steps Employment Centre. The event drew nearly 300 registrants, the majority of whom were between 15 and 19 years of age. Notable employers from the 25 employers in attendance included Canada’s Wonderland, Costco, Reena, Service Canada, Multimatic, and York Region Police. An initial survey of employers showed that there was approximately 50 youth expected to or had already been hired immediately following the event. Since it first launched in 2023, the Talent City Vaughan Youth Careers Expo has drawn in nearly 600 participants to support youth employment across the city.

Average hourly wages among employees increased 3.4 per cent (up $1.20 to $36.14) on a year-over-year basis in May, remaining steady with the same growth rate of 3.4 per cent in April (not seasonally adjusted).

The national Real Gross Domestic Product saw a slight increase in March by 0.1 per cent, offsetting a 0.2 per cent contraction in February.

The national Real Gross Domestic Product saw a slight increase in March by 0.1 per cent, offsetting a 0.2 per cent contraction in February. Real Gross Domestic Product by industry continued to grow quarter-by-quarter, rising 0.4 per cent in the first quarter, following a 0.4 per cent increase in the previous quarter.

For the second time in three months, the goods-producing aggregate (+0.2 per cent) led the growth, primarily driven by rebounds in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction and construction sectors. Similarly, the services-producing industries aggregate rose 0.1 per cent, recording growth in retail trade, transportation and warehousing and accommodation and food services and drinking places.

Among the goods-producing industries, the construction sector expanded by 0.5 per cent in March, with residential building construction (+1.3 per cent) contributing the most to the increase. This marks the subsector’s highest level of activity since November 2023, although gains in the construction of new single and multi-unit homes were offset by a decline in home alterations and improvements. Non-residential building construction (+1.5 per cent) recorded its eighth consecutive month of increases, in large part due to more activity in public and industrial building construction.

Within services-producing industries, manufacturing fell by 0.4 per cent in March, with chemical manufacturing (-6.1 per cent) and machinery manufacturing (-3.8 per cent) driving the contraction. Despite the decline, the transportation equipment manufacturing subsector (+3.1 per cent) and motor vehicles and parts manufacturing (+2.4 per cent) experienced growth in March.

As weather conditions improved, transportation and warehousing rose 0.8 per cent in March, following adverse weather-driven declines in February across Canada. Rail transportation expanded by 5.4 per cent in March, rebounding from a 5.8 per cent decline in February due to winter storm disruptions in the previous month. Notably, intermodal shipments originating in Canada (+6.4 per cent) rose to its highest level of activity in four years.

Advance information indicates that real GDP increased 0.1 per cent in April. Increases in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction and finance and insurance were partially offset by decreases in manufacturing.

LOCAL TRENDS, INVESTMENTS, AND SUCCESS STORIES

In May, the Vaughan Business and Entrepreneurship Centre experienced demand for consultations in retail trade, transportation and warehousing and professional, scientific, and technical services industries.

In May, Economic Development’s Small Business and Entrepreneurship top five industries seeking consultations were:

Retail trade (21 per cent)
Transportation and warehousing (16 per cent)
Professional, scientific and technical services (10 per cent)
Construction (9 per cent)
Manufacturing (8 per cent)

Laminam, a global leader in Italian porcelain surfaces, held the grand opening for new Canadian flagship showroom in Vaughan, marking a significant investment in the North American market.

Laminam, a global leader in Italian porcelain surfaces, held the grand opening for its new Canadian flagship showroom in Vaughan. Located at 51 Graniteridge Rd., the nearly 3,000 square metre (30,000 square foot) space will feature a product showcase, working slab gallery and on-site warehouse.

Headquartered in Italy, the new Vaughan location represents a significant investment in the North American market for Laminam. Vaughan is the prime destination for companies, such as Laminam, to gain access to industry leaders and a bustling local construction economy.

In 2024, Vaughan’s construction industry contributed more than $4 billion in real Gross Domestic Product to the city’s economy. The city is home to three state-of-the-art training centres and 15 technical and trade schools, allowing companies to tap into a well-skilled workforce.

Vaughan-headquartered Doorland Group announced the acquisition of U.S.-based DoorWorks Company as part of a strategy to expand their North American presence.

Doorland Group, a Vaughan-headquartered leading Canadian manufacturer, recently announced the acquisition of DoorWorks Company, a U.S.-based manufacturer. This announcement is part of Doorland Group’s strategy to their expand product offerings and market presence in North America. With headquarters in Vaughan, Doorland Group supplies interior door solutions to architects, designs, builders and developers across North America.

Vaughan provides construction and building material companies, such as Doorland Group, with the opportunity to connect to a concentrated ecosystem. The city is home to industry leaders including Bondfield Construction, Condrain Group, Empire Communities and Improve, Canada’s largest home improvement centre with over 350 showrooms.