Canada's Job Market Shifts: EV Rebates Return, Manufacturing Jobs Drop, and Workplace Upheaval

This week's essential business and investing stories from Canada reveal significant developments affecting jobs, the economy, and workplace dynamics.

Carney Reinstates EV Buyer Incentives, Scraps Sales Mandate

Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled Ottawa's revamped national automotive strategy, announcing incentives to buy electric vehicles and a proposal to use credits to encourage domestic manufacturing. The changes included scrapping a mandate that would have required all new vehicles sold to be electric by 2035, put in place under former prime minister Justin Trudeau.

The plan is meant to bolster the automotive sector and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As announced, Ottawa will introduce tougher emission standards for new car models, reinstate subsidies for consumers of up to $5,000 on EV purchases and up to $2,500 on purchases of plug-in hybrids under $50,000, and spend up to $3.1-billion to help the auto industry grow and diversify to new markets, among other changes.

The announcement was welcomed by the auto industry, which had fought the EV mandates as it struggles with tariff burdens and questions over the future of North American free trade.

Canada Sheds 25,000 Jobs in January Due to Losses in Manufacturing Sector

Canada's economy lost almost 25,000 jobs in January, but the unemployment rate fell to 6.5 per cent – the lowest level in 16 months. Statistics Canada said the jobless rate was the result of fewer people actively searching for work. Economists were expecting the jobless rate to hold steady at 6.8 per cent. The first set of job numbers for 2026 are the result of the manufacturing industry shedding 28,000 workers in January and Ontario losing a whopping 67,000 positions.

The job market has been under severe stress over the past year, resulting in layoffs in industries targeted by U.S. tariffs, including steel and autos, and many companies that are hesitant to hire new employees because of economic uncertainty. Despite the hit, full-time positions jumped by 45,000 last month and Alberta posted a jobs increase of 20,000.

Snack Inflation Bites Canadians Harder Than Americans

Ahead of the Super Bowl this weekend, there is some unfortunate news for north-of-the-border snackers: Canadians face steeper price increases on products like potato chips. Snack prices have increased both in Canada and the United States, but the evidence is clear that Canadians have been hit harder by snack inflation. Compared to December 2020, snack prices in the U.S. have climbed 20 per cent. In Canada, they're up 31.2 per cent.

Moreover, the consumer price index category of potato chips and other snacks in Canada climbed nearly 8 per cent in December – roughly 3.5 times faster than the U.S. category of snacks.

CEO's Payout, Workplace Relationship Spur Upheaval at Ontario Pension Plan

A governance crisis has hit Ontario pension plan CAAT after senior executives raised concerns about the approval of an unusually large payout to the plan's chief executive officer.

Three of the plan's top executives abruptly left CAAT in January amid concerns over decisions approved by the board. Two of the key flashpoints were a $1.6-million vacation payout to chief executive officer Derek Dobson that board leadership approved last year in lieu of vacation time, and a workplace relationship that Mr. Dobson has been having with a CAAT employee that the board sanctioned.

Meanwhile, board chair Don Smith was recently suspended from his position on the board of trustees, seeing that Mr. Smith oversaw both of those decisions.

Ontario Proposes New Class of Mutual Funds

Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government is pushing for the creation of a new class of mutual funds aimed at giving retail investors access to private assets such as real estate. The initiative is being touted as a way to give ordinary investors access to the burgeoning world of privately owned companies and assets.

But investor advocates say private-asset investing is riskier and typically more expensive than traditional mutual funds – especially for small investors. Advocates warn that the plan could lead to investors' money being locked up for years in long-term real estate or infrastructure projects that have extremely complex fee structures.