Canada's key release on Wednesday is the Q1 labor productivity, at 8:30 a.m. ET, said Bank of Montreal (BMO).
After slipping in Q4 2025 and expanding all of 0.3% in the past year -- and even less on average in the past three years -- the bank looks for a 0.5% bounce in Q1, as work hours declined somewhat more than real gross domestic product.
With the population not expected to grow for two more years, the economy could remain stagnant if productivity doesn't pick up on a sustained basis, stated BMO.
Released earlier Wednesday, Toronto existing home sales rose for a third consecutive month in May, or 10% month-over-month seasonally adjusted and 6.3% year over year, while listings continued to decline.
Despite some tightening in the market, benchmark prices slipped 0.2% and are down 6.7% year over year, with condos down 9.1% year over year. That's helping to improve affordability, but further price softness may be required to fully "revive" demand, added the bank.