Canadian economic growth, bank earnings and the push to use public land for housing: Business and investing news for June 2

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Getting caught up on a week that got away? Here’s your weekly digest of the Globe’s most essential business and investing stories, with insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies and more.

Canada’s GDP grew by 1.7% in 1st quarter

Canada’s economic growth fell short of expectations in the first quarter, prompting traders to boost bets on the Bank of Canada cutting interest rates as early as next week. Real gross domestic product (GDP) rose at an annualized rate of 1.7 per cent in the first quarter, Statistics Canada reported Friday, slower than analyst expectations of 2.2 per cent and Bank of Canada estimates of 2.8 per cent. The GDP report is the last major economic release before the Bank of Canada’s policy announcement on June 5, one of the most anticipated decisions in recent memory. Interest rate swaps were pricing in just over an 80-per-cent chance that the central bank trims its policy interest rate by a quarter-percentage-point, according to data as of Friday morning.

Canada’s Big Six banks report second-quarter earnings

Another bank earnings season is in the books as Canada’s Big Six lenders reported their second-quarter financial results this week. The top six banks, which together control more than 90 per cent of the country’s banking market, are emerging from a tumultuous year marked by climbing reserves for potential loan losses, mounting costs and higher capital requirements, Stefanie Marotta reports. The good news is they’ve been setting aside money for loans that could default, known as provisions for credit losses, to help them absorb the impact of those losses. Royal Bank of Canada, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, National Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank and Bank of Nova Scotia posted second-quarter results that beat analysts’ estimates. Meanwhile, Bank of Montreal posted a profit that fell below analysts’ expectations.

Decoder: Canada’s job vacancy roller coaster ride is over

Canada’s job vacancy rate is continuing to decline to its lowest level since before the pandemic, Jason Kirby reports. According to the latest payroll survey by Statistics Canada, there were just over 610,000 job openings in March. That results in a job vacancy rate of 3.4 per cent. In comparison, job vacancy numbers hit a record high of more than one million in May, 2022. The demand for jobs is still highest relative to early 2020 in health care, where hospitals are struggling with an acute shortage of nurses. Get a closer look at the figures in this week’s Decoder.

Glenn Chamandy is back on Gildan board after estimated $65-million proxy battle

The months-long corporate battle at Gildan Activewear Inc. comes to end with Glenn Chamandy back as chief executive and on the board. Earlier this week, shareholders of the Canadian T-shirt maker voted overwhelmingly to give Mr. Chamandy his board seat back. He’ll join seven other directors, all candidates put forward by activist investor Browning West, which has taken control of the company, Nicolas Van Praet reports. United Rentals Inc. CEO Michael Kneeland is now Gildan’s chairman. The war for control came to a sudden conclusion last week, when Gildan’s entire board of directors and former CEO Vince Tyra quit. The proxy fight is likely to wind up costing Gildan US$65-million or more, according to preliminary estimates.

Wasted space: The push to use public land to help solve Canada’s housing crisis

Could Canada’s underused public land be the key to solving the housing crisis? Ottawa has announced an ambitious plan to transform “every possible piece” of federal land – including large armouries with empty parking lots, aging post offices, and low-rise office buildings in high-storey streetscapes – into the affordable housing for Canadians. Housing experts have a term for properties like this – “lazy land.” No one has done an exhaustive survey of exactly how much federal land like this exists, or the amount of housing that could potentially be built on it. So, The Globe and Mail went searching. Read the complete Globe analysis by Erin Anderssen, Rachelle Younglai and Chen Wang.

Trudeau says housing needs to retain its value

In a recent episode of The Globe and Mail’s City Space podcast, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that his government aims to make housing more affordable for younger Canadians without bringing down home prices for existing homeowners. “Housing needs to retain its value,” Mr. Trudeau said. “It’s a huge part of people’s potential for retirement and future nest egg.” Many residents have been priced out of Canada’s housing market, but for a large number of Canadians, their house is a vital asset for retirement and passing on wealth. Listen to the entire episode here.

Get the rest of the questions from the weekly business and investing news quiz here, and prepare for the week ahead with The Globe’s investing calendar.