Key View

• We maintain our growth forecast despite revisions to historical data for Canada’s pharmaceutical market.
• In 2021, drivers of medicine sales in Canada were at high levels because of Covid-19 vaccines administered as well as an increase in private sector prescription drug expenditure.
• Successful intervention from Innovative Medicines

Key View

• Canada’s medical devices market will register mid-single digit growth over our forecast period to 2026.
• A slowdown in economic growth in 2023 will pose challenges to the medical devices market.
• We expect that increased government focus on improving healthcare will support the medical devices market over the medium-to-long term.

Ca

Key View

• Natural gas production in Canada has exceeded our expectations in 2022 and we now expect output to increase by 7.5% y-o-y as compared to our initial forecast of 4.0% y-o-y this year.
• Recovering local gas prices over Q422 coupled with bullish natural gas production guidance from some producers bode well with our forecast of 3.0% y-o-y

Key View

• At Fitch Solutions, our view is that one more 50 basis point interest rate increase lies in store in Canada this year, taking the benchmark overnight rate to 4.25% by the end of 2022.
• This hike will, however, bring an end to the current monetary tightening cycle. We expect that in the second of 2023, policymakers will reverse course

Key View

• We retain a generally positive outlook for Canadian household spending growth over 2022 and 2023. However, we note that rising inflation and interest rates present downside risks to momentum.
• Real household spending is projected to grow by 3.78% in 2022 and 3.24% in 2023, on the back of steady real GDP growth. Real GDP growth is

Key View

• The semiconductor shortage, in partnership with high inflation and rising interest rates, will continue to restrict passenger car sales in Canada.
• Record vehicle prices, pushed up by the supply-side shortage and high inflation, will restrict vehicle sales, particularly amongst low and middle-income consumers, as prices are widely

Key View

• Growth in Canada’s banking sector will likely decelerate as the Bank of Canada continues tightening monetary policy and economic growth slows.
• At Fitch Solutions, we forecast loan growth of 5.8%, well below the 9.9% seen in 2022, while asset growth will ease from 5.7% to 4.0% in 2022.
• That said, the sector is well positioned to

Key View

• At Fitch Solutions, we have revised down our 2022 Canadian growth forecast to 3.6%, from 3.8% previously, as sustained inflation and weaker global demand following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine restrains headline growth.
• That said, the Canadian economy will be better positioned to absorb the shock to global growth, particularly as it

Key View

• Canada’s medical device regulator is seeking to protect its medical device supply chain with new reporting requirements, which came into effect on March 1 2022.
• The new requirements reflect the strain on global supply chains of medical devices amid Covid-19 pandemic induced disruptions.
• The new requirements will predominantly