Canada

On September 20, Canada voted to extend the term of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He did not, however, clinch a majority win, therefore raising the barrier to success in the passing of any laws. The closer-than-expected result is attributed in part to the heavy criticism he faced for not securing adequate volumes of vaccines early on and for the economic fallout from having locked down the country so drastically.

An estimated 70% of Canadians were fully vaccinated as of October 1. A recent slight uptick in infection numbers in a few provinces has put the authorities on alert but experts anticipate that the high vaccination rate will prevent a fourth wave from challenging the country. In October, the government unveiled a vaccine policy that will require all those travelling to Canada after October 30 to be fully vaccinated. Additionally, public servants will be required to have vaccinations in order to work.

Since the previous report, the Canadian dollar has weakened against its US counterpart by a few cents, sitting at around C$ 1.26 to US$ 1. This is favourable for US purchasing of Canadian goods, including recyclable materials. Metal flows have remained strong across most provinces. Although still challenging, container and drayage availability has improved to many international destinations and remains tight to others.