Canadians are anxious; they’re worried a recession might be around the corner and a signed NAFTA 2.0 trade agreement has done little to dissolved that fear, according to Nik Nanos, Chairman of Nanos Research.
Nanos is a featured speaker at the upcoming CADA Summit that will take place on February 13, 2019 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. He says Canadians feel fairly stable when they look at their finances today, but they are concerned about the future. He believes this has a lot to do with uncertainty.
“They hear news, for example about the Oshawa GM plant closing. Even if you’re not in the auto sector and you see something like that — and you (typically) think of something like General Motors and Oshawa as being rock solid — it grabs people’s attention,” said Nanos in an interview with Canadian auto dealer.
The negativity felt by Canadians about the future is greater than in 2008, the last time there was an actual recession. That mood has a lot to do with tariffs on steel (which are still pending removal), and Nanos says the energy portion of our economy is weak.
Furthermore, even with the new USMCA deal signed, there is still uncertainty among Canadians. “It hasn’t really put things to rest,” said Nanos.
He will provide an update on the consumer mood and an outlook for the year to come when Nanos takes the stage at the CADA Summit in February. Until then, dealers can register for the event to ensure they will be there for his session, where he will also explore auto industry related topics of interest to dealers, and shed light on millenials.
Dealers can also get a sneak peak of speakers like Warren Ritchie, author of Competing in the Connecting World, and John Possumato, Founder and CEO of DriveItAway.
Brendan Shanahan, President of the Toronto Maple Leafs, will be headlining the event. For the full list of speakers, click here.
The CADA Summit is supported by an exclusive sponsorship from TD Auto Finance.
