Canada's economy gained a net 100 jobs in December, entirely in part-time work, and the jobless rate held at 5.8%, Statistics Canada data showed on Friday, Reuters reported. Employment in the goods producing sector fell by a net 42,900 jobs, largely in manufacturing. The services sector was up by a net 43,100 positions, mostly in professional, scientific and technical services, as well as health care and social assistance. Read more.

Activity in Canada's service sector deteriorated for a seventh consecutive month in December as elevated borrowing costs weighed on the housing market, S&P Global Canada services PMI data showed on Thursday, Reuters reported. The headline business activity index edged up to 44.6 in December from a near three-and-a-half-year low of 44.5 in November. However, it remained well below the 50 threshold which separates expansion from contraction in the sector. The index has been below 50 since June.

The U.S. Supreme Court review of Purdue Pharma’s $6 billion opioid settlement could open the door for Canada’s municipalities and indigenous First Nations—the only two groups not made up of individual claimants that have opposed the deal—to seek compensation they say has been denied them, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Purdue’s bankruptcy plan would compensate thousands of individuals, healthcare providers, and U.S. state and local governments accusing the maker of the OxyContin painkiller of helping to fuel the opioid epidemic.

Electric scooter rental giant, Bird, amidst bankruptcy proceedings in the United States, has conveyed that its Canadian operations will remain unscathed, BNNBreaking.com reported. The assurance comes from Bird Canada’s COO, Alex Petre, who confirmed to CBC News that the Canadian branch operates independently of the U.S. filing. Alex Petre emphasized the significance of the Canadian market for the company and reassured that the availability of scooters in cities like Windsor would endure unimpeded. Bird Global, the parent company, is currently navigating a restructuring phase.

Canadian retail spending flattened heading into the holiday season, an indication consumers may be hesitating in an environment of high interest rates and with signs showing the broader economy is struggling, the Wall Street Journal reported. Retail sales were relatively unchanged last month, according to an advance estimate of receipts released Thursday by Statistics Canada. That comes after sales in October rose 0.7% to a seasonally adjusted 66.95 billion Canadian dollars, the equivalent of about $50.08 billion, the data agency said.

Canada's federal government will give C$471 million ($354 million) to Toronto, the country's largest city, to help it build more housing and alleviate a shelter crisis, the Globe and Mail reported. The newspaper said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose popularity has slumped in recent months amid complaints about housing, would make the announcement in Toronto. The money will come from a special C$4 billion fund which pays cities that agree to loosen zoning rules that protect neighborhoods dominated by single-family homes.

Canada’s small business minister is resisting a push to give companies more time to repay pandemic-era loans from the government, despite warnings from a lobby group that 250,000 firms are at risk if she doesn’t, Bloomberg News reported. Rechie Valdez, who was sworn into the cabinet post in July, said the government has been flexible by pushing back the deadline multiple times already and offering billions in support to small business. “I don’t think we’re giving small businesses enough credit. They’re unbelievably resilient,” she said in an interview in her Ottawa office.

Canada plans to revive a post-World War Two strategy of using pre-approved designs so homes can be built quickly and economically, in an effort to tackle a housing affordability crisis that has dented Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's popularity, Reuters reported. Housing Minister Sean Fraser said on Tuesday public consultations on the strategy - used in the 1950s to 1970s when housing demand surged after soldiers returned home - will begin in January.

Unsecured creditors of Metroland have approved an insolvency proposal by the Toronto Star's sister company, the Toronto Star reported. The creditors, including former employees, voted Tuesday at a meeting chaired by proposal trustee Jonathan Krieger, a partner at Grant Thornton, a restructuring and insolvency consultancy. The proposal still needs court approval.

Canada’s banking regulator chose not to boost capital requirements on the country’s largest lenders, signaling that officials believe banks’ balance sheets are strong enough to withstand economic turbulence, Bloomberg News reported. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions left the domestic stability buffer at 3.5%. It had increased it in June and last December. The buffer is like a rainy-day fund designed to protect the system by ensuring that banks can absorb losses in a weak economy or shock to the financial system.