Canada’s employers put hiring on ice in February ahead of tariff impacts [Video]

Harsh winter weather put a chill on Canada’s labour market in February as employers braced for headwinds from the looming trade dispute with the United States.

Statistics Canada said Friday that the Canadian economy added just 1,100 jobs last month, falling short of economists’ expectations and well below the 76,000 jobs added in January.

February’s modest gains were enough to keep the unemployment rate steady at 6.6 per cent as the Canadian population grew at its slowest monthly pace since April 2022.

Brendon Bernard, senior economist at job site Indeed, said in an interview that stability in the unemployment rate is a clear sign that Canadian employers were not turning to layoffs en masse ahead of looming tariffs from the United States.

“There’s potential trouble ahead for the job market, but that’s not what we saw in February,” Bernard said.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs finally arrived on March 4 …