What Happened When The Carneys Walked Into This Grocery Store?

Added: 2026-06-07

[00:00:00]All right, good morning everyone. See, I've got I was given this uh it's it's this is uh a good day. Um it's always a good day when you get a lovely uh card from a lovely young lady. Um uh >> just a few days ago, headlines across Canada were dominated by recession fears, economic uncertainty, tariff pressures, warnings about the impact of Donald Trump's trade measures on Canadian workers. But today, something happened that very few people expected.

[00:00:33]Canada added 88,000 jobs in a single month. Not only did the country add jobs, it added full-time jobs, private sector jobs. And according to the latest numbers, those gains erased nearly 80% of all the job losses Canada had experienced so far this year. This raises an important question. If Canada's economy was supposed to be weakening under all this pressure, why did it just produce one of the strongest employment reports in recent memory? And perhaps more importantly, what does this tell us about where Canada's economy is heading next? Because today's announcement was not just about jobs. It was also about affordability, grocery bills, and why the federal government believes Canadians need more support while the economy continues to adjust.

[00:01:23]Before we dive deeper into the video, make sure to subscribe to Canada Today and share this video with your loved ones.

[00:01:31]>> We're getting close to the official start of summer. Certainly, the weather is headed uh in that direction. Uh we had some positive news on the economic front today. Uh 88,000 jobs created, all full-time, all in the private sector, pick up in wages, drop in the unemployment rate, big drop in the youth unemployment rate. uh signs that our plan's working. But let's let's be clear and we've been very clear about this. Uh we are transforming uh this economy uh with a major plan. Uh we're transforming this economy to become stronger, more resilient, more independent, more sustainable. Uh and a big transformations, they don't happen overnight. They take some time. And while that's underway, >> the headline today from Mark Carney was simple. 88,000 jobs. But the composition of those jobs is what makes the story much more interesting. These weren't temporary positions. These weren't public sector jobs. The overwhelming majority were full-time jobs and they came from the private sector. At the same time, unemployment declined, wages increased, and youth unemployment fell significantly.

[00:02:42]That combination is important because it suggests strength across multiple indicators rather than a single statistical anomaly. After months of uncertainty, this was one of the strongest labor market reports Canada has seen. The jobs number itself was impressive, but one detail stood out above everything else. Nearly 80% of the jobs Canada had lost earlier this year were recovered in a single month. That changes the conversation dramatically.

[00:03:12]Only days ago, much of the discussion centered around recession concerns and economic weakness. Now, economists are being forced to reassess whether Canada's economy is showing more resilience than many expected. Even commentators acknowledged that many economists were waiting for this jobs report to determine whether Canada was slipping into a deeper slowdown or whether the economy still had momentum.

[00:03:36]Today's numbers provided a clear answer.

[00:03:38]The government has been under a lot of pressure, especially this government when it comes to economy, jobs, affordability. They may have a reason to smile this morning, but let's just backtrack a little bit and talk about how these numbers compare to what has been happening over the past few months.

[00:03:53]Yeah, I mean, there's a there's a significant difference. You touched on it off the top, but 88,000 jobs added last month. that nearly eclipses uh 122,000 jobs that were lost in the economy um in the previous 4 months. So it is the largest uh the the first significant uh jobs added or gains for the for the for jobs uh in the country since October of 2025. So we're really seeing this jobs report kind of buck a trend that we have seen for some time now which has been you know uh dips and and jumps but slight movements in uh in terms of of the jobs report and um uh employment across the country. So this is significant and we're seeing that same trend in youth unemployment uh that is down uh pretty significantly 0.9% um in in this jobs report. So, we saw 99,000 of the jobs added coming from that cohort, youth jobs. Um, that's between uh the ages of uh 15 to 24. One of the most interesting parts of the report was where some of the jobs were created. Manufacturing, construction, transportation, and warehousing. These are not sectors that have been immune from uncertainty. In fact, manufacturing has been one of the sectors most exposed to trade tensions and tariff related concerns. Yet, despite that environment, employment growth remains surprisingly strong. This doesn't mean tariffs aren't causing damage. They are. But it does suggest that the Canadian economy may be proving more adaptable and resilient than many critics expected. And so the other surprising thing here Akay is if you start to look at uh where these jobs are coming from some of the sectors uh rounding out the top five sectors that uh drove these job gains in the economy.

[00:05:47]Manufacturing you just talked about um the effects of the tariffs in Donald Trump's trade war. Manufacturing is a sector that has been hit hard by this.

[00:05:56]Of course steel and aluminum um is one of the sectors that has been hit hard.

[00:06:00]So manufacturing uh jobs uh rounding out the top five. Then you have accommodation and food services, transportation and warehousing, information, culture and recreation, and number one in terms of jobs added was construction in Maine. One of the things we found most interesting today was the setting. Mark Carney could have made this announcement from a podium in Ottawa. Instead, he chose a grocery store. And that wasn't accidental.

[00:06:24]Because while governments can celebrate positive economic data, Canadians experience the economy through something much simpler. Their monthly bills, their rent, their mortgage, their grocery cart. Carney clearly understood that reality, which is why today's announcement wasn't only about jobs. It was also about affordability.

[00:06:48]>> We are laser focused on affordability for Canadians, for Canadian families. uh providing them with a boost today and a bridge uh to that better tomorrow. So uh the government cut taxes for 22 million Canadians uh on their incomes. We cut the uh consumer carbon tax. We removed uh for a period the excise tax on uh on gas and diesel. So, the combination of those last two, it's about 28 cents off of the price of filling up uh per liter uh filling up your car. Um and today, uh it's another reason why it's a good day.

[00:07:27]Today, 12 million Canadians, including 5 million Ontarians, will receive a firsttime increase in what's called the groceries and essentials benefit. So, if they're buying fresh produce uh here at uh Hello Fresh, um they have a little bit more money in order to do so and uh feed their family, feed their family however they want, but uh nutritiously.

[00:07:52]So, uh that uh increase um will bring the total amount for a family of four this year to um over $1,800, $1,890 this year. And what we're going to do is that we're increasing by 25% that groceries uh benefit uh and essentials benefit uh relative to the past uh going forward.

[00:08:15]So it's a significant amount of money.

[00:08:17]Checks up to $533 uh today for a family of four uh to help uh with the pressures on cost of living.

[00:08:25]Uh enjoy the uh summer, enjoy uh the summer weather. Um and uh and we'll continue to move forward as a as a country and we'll continue to move forward all building because we're building Canada strong for all.

[00:08:38]>> While much of the media focused on the jobs report, Carney also highlighted additional support for Canadians dealing with the cost of living. The government announced increased support through the groceries and essentials benefit affecting millions of Canadians. The message was straightforward. Yes, job creation matters. Yes, economic growth matters. But if families still feel pressure at the checkout counter, governments cannot simply point to economic statistics and declare victory.

[00:09:11]That is why today's announcement combined economic optimism with affordability measures. The government is essentially arguing that Canadians need support today while larger economic transformations continue. The biggest takeaway from today isn't that Canada's economy is suddenly perfect. There are still challenges. There are still uncertainties and there are still risks.

[00:09:36]The bigger takeaway is that Canada's economy appears to be showing signs of resilience at a moment when many expected continued weakness. That doesn't guarantee success tomorrow, but it does suggest that predictions of immediate economic collapse were premature. and that's a meaningful development. Today's announcement delivered two messages. The first was that Canada's labor market remains far stronger than many expected. The second was that economic strength alone is not enough if Canadians continue to feel pressure in their daily lives. That is why today's story was about more than jobs. It was about confidence. It was about affordability. and it was about whether Canada creating opportunities while helping families navigate a challenging economic environment. The months ahead will tell us whether this jobs report marks the beginning of a larger trend. But for now, one thing is clear. Canada's economy just delivered a result that very few people were expecting. If you enjoyed this analysis, subscribe to Canada Today for more coverage of Canadian politics, economic strategy, global affairs, and the major stories shaping Canada's future.