Related Articles
Treasury
Canada's Sales of Zero-Emission Vehicles Continue to Rise, Says BMO
Canadian zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) sales continued accelerating in March, rising 74.7% year over year to 21,574 units, said Bank of Montreal (BMO).March was the first full month with reinstated federal incentives of up to $5,000, and the response highlights how price-sensitive demand remains, noted the bank.The ZEV share of new vehicle sales rose to 12.2% nationally, up "meaningfully" from a year earlier.Regionally, sales more than doubled in Quebec to 8,752 units, or 136.4% year over year, supported by low electricity prices and provincial incentives. Ontario and British Columbia also saw renewed momentum, with sales up 40.1% year over year and 53.3% year over year, respectively.In both B.C. and Quebec, ZEVs once again accounted for more than one-fifth of new vehicle sales, stated BMO.Elevated gasoline prices may continue to lend support to electric vehicle (EV) demand in Canada, reinforcing the impact of renewed incentives, pointed out the bank. Even so, the domestic market remains modest -- peaking at just over 260,000 units in 2024 -- and unlikely to support further production expansion without materially faster growth or renewed access to the United States market.By contrast, U.S. ZEV sales remain under pressure, down 29% year over year in March and about 28% lower year-to-date, following the expiry of federal tax credits, added BMO.
$$CXY
Treasury
BMO Expects "Tick Up" In April Housing Starts, Due Out This Morning
Canada will publish the April housing starts at 8:15 a.m. ET on Friday, said Bank of Montreal (BMO).The starts look to "tick up" to around 240,000 annualized units, according to the bank. "While housing starts have remained relatively resilient, they're unlikely to gain much traction while the market for new homes struggles to absorb a glut of inventory," it said.BMO noted CMHC is looking into collecting additional data -- including building permits and more insight into the pre-construction world -- so the bank awaits more details on that front.At 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday, Canada will release manufacturing sales for March and also international securities transactions for March.Manufacturing sales look to rise 3.5% month over month, while new orders could be a touch stronger in March, stated the bank. BMO will keep an eye on volumes, given the big increase in prices. Wholesale volumes were "sturdy" on Thursday.The US dollar (USD) index has strengthened while the Canadian dollar (CAD or loonie) is a bit softer at $1.734 (72.8 cents US) early Friday, added the bank.
$$CAD$$CXY$$USD
Treasury
Too Soon to Shout "Recovery" in Canada's Housing Market After April Lift, Says Scotiabank
Canadian housing sales increased nationally in April after five months of consecutive declines, said Scotiabank after Thursday's data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).But both indicators of market conditions the bank reports suggest "still-soft" conditions nationally. The MLS HPI for all markets continued to decline in April.The number of housing sales in units increased 0.7% seasonally adjusted from March to April, its first monthly rise since October 2025. Sales increased in 17 of the 31 markets Scotiabank tracks from March to April, with the strongest increases posted in Barrie (18.8%), St. Catharines (18.2%) and Charlottetown (Prince Edward Island; 16.6%).National sales declined 4% non-seasonally adjusted over the 12-month period ending in April 2026.The good news this month is that national housing sales in units increased in April, but it is clearly too soon to claim they are on a recovery path, stated the bank. National housing conditions are still soft, as reflected by its sales-to-new listings ratio that has been hovering in the lower half of the range for balanced market conditions for most of the period since March 2022.In addition, the downward trend in the national MLS HPI since early 2022 -- which continued in each month so far in 2026 -- adds support to Scotiabank's call for weak market conditions nationally.The bank can reasonably say that the national housing market is still too weak to support a sustained rise in house prices, and that housing sales would have been weaker without that trend decline in house prices as reflected by the MLS HPI.Scotiabank still predicts housing market conditions to start improving sustainably near the end of this year and in 2027 as the headwinds from ongoing trade frictions and recent geopolitical events wane, which will improve confidence and expected income conditions for potential buyers.
$$CXY