Despite rising living costs, the share of income spent on necessities has declined. In 1976, households spent about 43 percent of their income on shelter, food and clothing. Today, this has fallen to around 35 percent. What has risen is the share we pay to taxes.1 In 2025, the average Canadian family paid 43.1 percent […]

If you’ve eaten fast food recently, you may be surprised by the bill. Thirty years ago, a Big Mac hamburger cost around $2. Today, it is almost four times the price. Over the same period, average family income has risen by 162 percent, while the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the official measure of inflation, increased […]

After a summer of considerable market enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence (AI), it’s worth taking a step back. Why does AI seem to be advancing so quickly? While it may feel like a recent phenomenon, its roots stretch back to the 1950s when Alan Turing proposed his now-famous “Turing Test” for machine intelligence. What’s different today […]

Markets rarely linger in equilibrium. The pendulum of sentiment swings between fear and greed, and this year has been no exception. After April’s lows, the S&P surged over 30 percent in just two months, one of the fastest rallies in recent history, while the TSX hit multiple all-time highs. Yet, the mood among investors remained […]

The Canadian dollar’s (CAD) weakness has raised questions about its broader impact and the path forward: The CAD is trading below its historical average. To start 2025, it fell below 68 U.S. cents – a level not seen in two decades. The decline has been driven by factors such as diverging U.S. and Canadian monetary […]

In May, Moody’s downgraded the U.S. credit rating from the top Aaa to Aa1. This move by one of the major credit ratings agencies – S&P and Fitch are the other two – raised the question: Does a downgrade matter? First, what is a rating? A credit rating assesses a borrower’s ability and willingness to […]

The double-edged sword of the information age is that it often feels as though the world is getting worse, even as many things have been gradually improving. While access to information has never been greater, the headlines are driven by negativity and sensationalism, rarely highlighting the progress being made. Yet, we’re living in one of […]

As we enter the summer, why not resolve to better protect your financial security? Financial fraud continues to be on the rise and scams have become increasingly sophisticated. Scammers continue to seek financial gain by stealing identities, accessing login details, acquiring personal financial information and obtaining funds through false pretenses. “Phishing” remains one of the […]

In brief, here are four perspectives on Canada/U.S. trade: 1. The U.S. is Canada’s main export market. In 2023, Canadian total exports were valued at C$965 billion, with 77 percent going to the U.S. No other nation accounts for more than 5 percent of Canada’s exports.1 2. Canada is the U.S.’s largest export market. However, […]