Consumers in this province are among the most upbeat in the country.
We are finally starting to see the impact of tariffs and trade uncertainty at the retail level. People in Canada have, simply put, starting to cut back on their spending. New figures on retail activity from May show a national decline with the biggest drop being felt in the automotive area: new car purchases, parts and gasoline sales. Yet, things such as home and garden suppliers were doing better.
Now, those are national numbers and don’t necessarily jive with what we’re seeing in Saskatchewan.
Retail or consumer spending did decline in May in this province – less than half a point which is far less than the 1.1-percent pullback nationally and the three-percent decline in Toronto. Only parts of Atlantic Canada did better than Saskatchewan as the pullback was seen in nine of the ten provinces.
Compared to a year ago, consumer spending in Saskatchewan was up more than six-percent, well ahead of inflation and second only to BC.
