As we wait for US data to start being released, let us take an overdue look at Canadian printing shipments, and how the Canadian printing has fared in the pre- and post-COVID period. Canadian print businesses see a lull in December, and that was the case even pre-COVID. As in the US, 2019 shipments were especially strong, with November 2019 being the high water mark for the Canadian printing industry. And, as in the US, 2020 started strong—but plummeted and hit rock bottom in April 2020.

We found in the US that 2022 was the year that we finally came back from COVID, and that also appears to have been the case, and 2023 continued that trend—at least until the middle of the year. In 2025, Canadian shipments have been about as flat as US shipments, although August saw the worst month in the past six years.

Part of the issue—probably a big part—is the state of the Canadian economy, which has been weathering its share of storms, says the CBC. Growth has stalled, and unemployment is rising.

In normal times, the remedy is clear. The Bank of Canada cuts interest rates and the federal government boosts spending to help businesses and households weather the storm.

These are decidedly not normal times.

And Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem knows it.

“The structural damage caused by tariffs is reducing our productive capacity and adding costs. This limits the ability of monetary policy to boost demand while maintaining low inflation,” said Macklem last week.