CIBC sees rebound led by consumers

VACCINE ROLLOUTS

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce CEO Victor Dodig says the country's consumers are poised to start spending again once coronavirus vaccines become more widely available.

Dodig says an accelerated vaccine campaign will allow Canada to ease pandemic restrictions as other countries have. That should spur consumers whose finances weren't hit hard by the pandemic to spend some of the extra cash they have saved over the last year, he said.

“There are parts of the economy that are more scarred than others, but I think that with that inflection point coming, I am reasonably confident that you will see a healthy, consumer-led recovery,” Dodig said in an interview.

Canada is set to ramp up its vaccination activity in the coming weeks, with as many as 14.5 million, or 38 per cent, of the country's 38 million people expected to be fully inoculated by the end of June, the government said in an update last month. All Canadians who want the vaccine will have a chance to receive it by the end of September, the government has said.

Canada had just 1.4 per cent of its population fully vaccinated as of March 1, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker, which compiles data from government websites, news conferences and other sources. That trails countries including the U.S., which has fully vaccinated 7.7 per cent of its population, and Israel, where about 38 per cent are inoculated.

Dodig said he expects that restrictions like mask-wearing and distancing measures, along with more frequent testing, will remain a part of life even after vaccinations become widespread in Canada. Although Canadians will probably travel once they're able to, that sector will still need some time before rebounding to 2019 levels, Dodig said.