Roundup: Two percent ahead of schedule

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The big news yesterday was that according to August data, headline inflation returned to the Bank of Canada’s target of 2.0 percent, well ahead of schedule. It’ll bounce around for a while as the economy continues to rebalance, but it’s a sign that the Bank has essentially stuck the soft-landing. And before you repeat the Andrew Scheer line of “People are going to food banks, you call that a soft landing?” the answer is that the alternative was a recession, so yeah, this definitely beats that.

Things are still uneven, and yes, housing costs continue to drive much of the current inflation, and gasoline prices are a big reason why it fell as much as it did in August, so those will bounce around some more. Food is still running a little bit above headline, but nowhere near what it was before because supply chains have evened out, prices have stabilized from supply shocks (driven by climate change and the invasion of Ukraine), but seasonal price changes are also having an impact. (More from Trevor Tombe in this thread).

https://twitter.com/trevortombe/status/1836026950281744434

Meanwhile, I have seen zero discussion about how everything that Pierre Poilievre has claimed was causing inflation—deficit spending, the carbon levy, and so on—has all been proven false, to say nothing about the comparison between us and the US in terms of deficits and economic performance. Oh, but then they may have to actually point out that he’s lying, and they don’t want to do that. Not to mention, this is Canadian journalism, and we don’t like to actually talk to economists to understand what’s going on, we only need them to assist in both-sidesing bullshit talking points from the parties that paint a picture of doom (because there is “no such thing as a good-news economic story”). Is it any wonder Canadians have such a distorted view of the economy?

Ukraine Dispatch

Russians have once again targeted energy faculties in Sumy region, while shelling in Zaporizhzhia, has killed two people. Russians claim that they have captured the town of Ukrainsk in the eastern Donbas region.

Good reads:

  • Justin Trudeau spoke of the need for “reflections” after the narrow by-election loss in LaSalle—Émard, but the party seems to want to just double down harder.
  • The government plans to schedule the first Supply Day of the cycle next week, which the Conservatives have promised will be a confidence vote.
  • Canada is consulting with the US, UK and Australia on a potential future (non-nuclear submarine) phase of AUKUS.
  • The Chief Electoral Officer is suggesting that candidacy rules need to change after two by-elections were hit by the Longest Ballot Committee.
  • The Elections Commissioner told the Foreign Interference Inquiry that there was insufficient evidence of meddling for them to intervene with Kenny Chiu.
  • Conservatives are trying to insist that Mark Carney is in a conflict of interest as an advisor to the Liberal Party (but no rules are actually being broken).
  • The Bloc are hoping to squeeze concessions out of the Liberals now that they’ve won the by-election in LaSalle—Émard.
  • Jagmeet Singh confronted members of the Asshole Brigade who called him a “corrupted bastard,” who folded (but are being offered succour by Canada Proud).
  • Not unsurprisingly, there is a lot of pushback to Brian Jean’s suggestion that public dollars should help clean up Alberta’s orphan wells.
  • Alberta has returned $137 million in unspent federal funds intended to help clean up orphan wells as a pandemic spending project. (Complete mismanagement).
  • Former cabinet minister Herb Dhaliwal wants to register the “New Liberal Party of BC” to appeal to centrist voters who have been abandoned by BC United’s retreat.
  • Wesley Wark walks through what we know of the allegations against Han Dong and the sources that the dubious reporting relied upon.
  • Susan Delacourt thinks that Poilievre’s unlikability in Quebec could be a boon for the Bloc in the next election.
  • Paul Wells travelled to Kyiv for the Yalta European Strategy Conference, and relays what he heard, particularly how much rests on Biden in the next few months.

Odds and ends:

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