CIPH and HRAI hosting complimentary economic outlook webinar

The Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating (CIPH) and the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI) are once again joining forces to present a complimentary economic forecast webinar featuring Peter Norman, chief economist at Altus Group.

Peter Norman, chief economist, Altus Group

The webinar, to be held on Wednesday, November 25 at 1:30 pm (eastern time), is a six month update following Norman’s presentation on  May 13th when he noted at the time: “By some measures this is among the deepest recessions ever,” and he predicted that the Canadian economy was likely headed for three straight quarters of decline before bouncing back in 2021.

Norman also acknowledged at that time that this is “not a regular recession” and he anticipated that some segments of the market would rebound quickly. In general, his forecast for the Canadian economy was something of a ‘V-shaped’ recovery, with 2020 ending with a 7% drop in GDP and the upswing beginning in 2021 and an overall growth rate of 5% for next year.

His upcoming talk in November, entitled “What a Year It’s Been: What a Year Ahead!”, will cover many familiar economic touch points including:

• The economy, housing market and construction sector: 2020 pre- and post-COVID and what could possibly lie ahead?
• Outlook for residential and commercial and construction through 2021.
• Outlook for renovation spending with implications on plumbing & heating dollars.
• Residential Construction: Will the pandemic change what and where homebuyers will buy?
• Commercial sector: Expect newbuilds to shift to CAPEX as changes in workplace needs dominate.
• Findings from original Altus Economics research including results from the Altus Home Buyer Intentions Index.
• Government sector investments: will infrastructure investment be part of a COVID economic recovery plan?