The economics of Taylor Swift gave B.C. a significant financial jolt toward the end of 2024,
But it was concern about affordability and the long-term direction of the province that dominated the financial corner of the news cycle throughout the year.
When Swift took her bows following her third and final show at B.C. Place on Dec. 8, she did not just wrap up her Eras tour that had started on March 17, 2023. She also completed the first music tour ever to gross more than $US2 billion 香蕉视频直播� doubling the previous record held by Coldplay, according to the New York Times.
More than 10.1 million fans attended 149 concerts across the world, with each having sold out and fetching what the Times called "eye-popping prices" for secondary tickets.
The overall economic impact of the Eras Tour is said to have boosted Vancouver's economy by $157 million. That is peanuts, however, compared to global figures. One estimate released seven months into the tour pegged its potential economic impact at $80 billion. Some commentators crediting Swift with rescuing entire economies from slipping into recession.
Other, more scientific accounts have offered less hyperbolic assessments. TD Economics said in a report published Dec. 10 that Swift's November stop in Ontario boosted spending in that province's service sector relative to that sector's performance compared to the same period last year, but generally questions the premise of Swiftnomics.
"If economic growth were that simple, provinces could line up concerts year-round and watch GDP soar," it reads.
While Swift's stop in Vancouver undeniably boosted the business of Vancouver hotels, restaurants, bars and beauty shops, its biggest value lies perhaps in the fact that it glammed up an otherwise greyish economic picture for B.C. and the rest of Canada.
With one final month of figures left, B.C. exits 2024 with the second-lowest unemployment rate in Canada at 5.7 per cent, below the national rate of 6.8 per cent and neighbouring Alberta's rate of 7.5 per cent. Overall, the job market has remained resilient despite population growth and a sluggish economy. The provincial GDP grew by about 1 per cent in 2024 with some estimates forecasting growth just above that, others just below.
The figures clearly show a provincial economy that struggled to meet its full potential, with B.C. "still expected to undershoot" Canada as a whole, according to TD Economics' provincial forecast published on Dec. 18.
One factor has been the cost of borrowing. When 2024 started, the Bank of Canada's base lending rate stood at five per cent, the highest rate in more than two decades. That impacted all Canadians, but perhaps British Columbians more so because B.C.'s most populated regions 香蕉视频直播� the Vancouver, Victoria and Kelowna Census Metropolitan Areas 香蕉视频直播� are among the most expensive housing markets in all of Canada. Higher housing costs ultimately mean less disposable income.
Not surprisingly, cost-of-living concerns joined health care as top-of-mind concerns for voters during the October provincial election. Voters narrowly favoured the proposed remedies of the incumbent New Democrats under Premier David Eby ahead of the Conservative Party of B.C. under John Rustad.
The baseline interest rate has since dropped to 3.25 per cent as of Dec. 11 following five cuts since June 2024, including back-to-back cuts of 0.5 per cent. These cuts, along with future ones, promise to stimulate the economy by spurring investment, but will take time to work through the system.
2024 was also another mediocre, if not damaging year for key provincial industries. Sluggish global growth depressed demand for energy exports from B.C. for much of 2024 with the proviso prices have been rising against since September, according to TD Economics. Meanwhile, one piece of bad news chased the next in the forestry sector throughout 2024, with layoffs impacting communities across B.C., especially in the less-diversified corners of the province.
These developments have also left their marks on the provincial budget. The latest available forecasts peg the provincial deficit at $9.4 billion. This historically high figure has set off alarm bells among some economists with critics fearing B.C. could be falling off a financial cliff in 2025.
After initially dismissing these concerns, the provincial government has since signalled a course correction, promising to boost private sector growth in areas such as mining, and freezing hiring in some parts of the provincial bureaucracy.
Meanwhile, the picket lines of 2024 香蕉视频直播� whether they ran along the shorelines of provincial ports or outside of postal offices 香蕉视频直播� also suggest worsening relations between labour and their employers..
If 2024 was a year of growing protectionism around the world, 2025 may top it by magnitudes.
Incoming U.S. president Donald Trump rounded out 2024 with the threat of 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian goods, a move that would hurt B.C. the 'least' among provinces since 'only' 53 per cent of its exports head south of the border. That would be cold comfort to impacted industries, however, and devastating to provincial coffers.
Trump's threats echo developments during his first term between 2016 and 2020. Provincial leaders including Eby have so far signalled they will respond by threatening counter-measures themselves.
