The Canadian Press

Solving a longstanding construction worker shortage will be key to boosting housing supply, experts say, as Canada's national housing agency continues to forecast housing start levels that fall short of growing demand.

The federal budget has not won support from Canada's tech industry.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland introduced the 2024 federal budget on Tuesday. Some key highlights:

The annual inflation rate ticked higher in March compared with February, boosted by higher prices for gasoline, Statistics Canada said Tuesday.

The Canadian Real Estate Association says it's now expecting the national average home price to climb 4.9 per cent on an annual basis to $710,468, more than double the hike it had predicted at the start of 2024.

In a Calgary warehouse almost as big as eight football fields, an army of robots whir about, carrying massive quantities of merchandise bound for Walmart Canada customers.

Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says the central bank could begin lowering its key interest rate at its next decision in June after deciding to hold it steady for now. 

Tech experts are hopeful that more than two billion dollars in federal funding for Canada's artificial intelligence industry will accelerate the adoption of technology and help businesses commercialize AI products and services. 

After five straight holds of the Bank of Canada's key interest rate that followed its hiking cycle of more than a year, economists say a rebound awaits the national housing market — but don't expect a big surge just yet.

Bureaucracy makes it too difficult for Canadian tech companies to sell to government, a new report from an industry group says — and all that red tape is keeping them from a bigger piece of the billions spent on procurement.