Last week was a quiet one for economic announcements in Canada, but Canada-U.S. tensions reemerged, putting Canada’s economy back into the spotlight. This week, Canada’s inflation and retail sales come into attention. There will also be several announcements in the U.S. and globally that will drive financial markets and expectations for central bank actions. Here’s what to watch for this week.

• Statistics Canada (StatsCan) will announce Canada’s inflation for January today. In December, Canada’s annual inflation rate climbed to 2.4%, due in part to low base prices in the previous year in response to the HST holiday. The Bank of Canada (BoC) believes inflation is largely contained, but there are still some upside risks.
• Canada’s retail sales for December will be released on Friday. Retail sales rose by 1.3% in November, which was their biggest jump since June 2025. StatsCan earlier estimated that retail sales may have fallen in December.
• In the U.S., an advanced reading on fourth-quarter 2025 growth will be released on Friday. Also on Friday, the personal consumption expenditure price index will be announced along with personal spending and income.
• Elsewhere, the U.K. unemployment rate will be released today, Japan’s trade balance tonight, U.K. inflation on Wednesday, Japan’s inflation rate on Thursday night and European services sector activity on Friday.
• Key earnings in Canada include RioCan, Kinross, Teck Resources, Canadian Tire and Boardwalk REIT. Notable earnings in the US include Constellation Energy, Walmart and Newmont.

Despite the short week for financial markets in Canada, it’ll be a busy week for critical economic announcements. Inflation will likely garner the most attention as it will help set the stage for the next policy interest rate decision by the BoC, whose January 2026 meeting minutes noted that monetary policy decisions are becoming more difficult given the unpredictability of the global economy, trade and geopolitics.

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