This province seems to be marching to its own drum when compared to rest of the country on a couple major economic indicators released this week.
The first centred on inflation. The national headline is that our inflation rate is at an 18-year high, with November’s figure matching the increase of 4.7% we saw in October. It is the kind of increase that is liable to trigger some decisions in Ottawa. But here’s the rub.
Saskatchewan posted the lowest inflation rate in the country in both October and November. We were about 3 percent in October and a just a smidge higher in November but still below 4-points. We really don’t need federal intervention but we’re going to feel the consequences of tightening anyway because the inflation rate east of Manitoba is above 5-percent.
The second big indicator is manufacturing activity. November sales for companies in this sector in Saskatchewan are up more than 50-percent over the same month a year ago. That’s the biggest increase in the nation and four-times higher than the national growth figure with Regina leading all cities with an 87% increase.
