Growth of 1.5% in the country in 2025, according to the Business Development Bank of Canada

The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) forecasts economic growth in the country of 1.5% in 2025. This is the prediction of the chief economist of the BDC, Pierre Cléroux, who spoke at an event held Thursday at the Le Montagnais hotel in Chicoutimi, at the initiative of the Saguenay-Le Fjord Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCISF).

Although Pierre Cléroux remains optimistic, he recognizes that the return of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States and that the reduction of immigration thresholds are two important issues.

Lower interest rates will help consumers spend more and this will stimulate our economyhe said.

Pierre Cléroux expects that the year 2025 will be better economically than the year which has just ended. He made rather positive remarks in front of business people and elected officials.

Consumption makes up 60% of our economy. So, when we lower interest rates, we will see an increase in growth. That said, there are still clouds above our heads.

These clouds consist first of all of the considerable reduction in the number of immigrants who will arrive in Canada over the coming years and Donald Trump’s tariff threats.

In October, our forecast was 2% growth for 2025. There are two elements that brought us back to 1.5: the new immigration thresholds, but also the uncertainty linked to the election of Mr. Trump. So, we will have growth, but growth which will be below our potential given these events.he states.

Although many questions remain regarding the real intentions of the American president, the reduction of immigration thresholds in the country is very real.

Many companies that rely on this valuable workforce risk suffering. This is the case at CONFORMiT where around twenty positions remain to be filled in the region.

We have 35% of our workforce in Quebec, around 60 people come from immigration, especially from the Maghreb and West Africa. This fall, we had four who arrived from Tunisia. And we’re talking about experts, people who have master’s degrees, doctorates, either in computer security or in the development of artificial intelligence. mentions Éric Desbiens, president and CEO at Conformit.

To compensate for the tightening of immigration, businesses will have to innovate. At least that is the point of view of Emna Braham, general director of the Institut du Québec.

We need to rethink business models to ensure we provide services and produce goods, but with fewer staff. We need to automate, we need to focus more on technology. These are all good solutions, but they are solutions that take time. You have to invest, have business plans, business strategies that will take this into accountshe argues.

The unemployment rate stood at 3.9% in December in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. The Quebec average is 5.7%.

According to the report by Mireille Chayer