As a long-time reader and admirer of Mike's work, this is great news. Welcome back!

"The letter was sent on Saturday, Feb. 28, hours after the U.S. began bombing Iran." www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/artic...

"The White House’s stop-and-start policymaking—Trump threatened new tariffs on Europe, Canada and South Korea in recent weeks—has also led to what many executives view as a lost year for investment."

Chinese EV giant BYD has already made a Canadian foray – and it didn't exactly go to plan. (via @jasonkirby.bsky.social)

📈📉 One year ago this week, Trump threatened Canada with 25% tariffs. Since then, the country has changed dramatically. Here, in text and charts, we look at 29 ways that Canada has changed in this very turbulent year.

Yamamoto is a wizard.

Great article on the bottlenecks to building better apartments in Canada. If you ask a random Canadian on the street they will tell you they want shorter high-rises, taller low-rises, and more livable apartments with cross-ventilation. Yet politicians and policymakers force the opposite.

Stark comments from Tiff Macklem: "Increased trade friction with the United States means all that works less efficiently ... What's most concerning is that unless we change some other things, our standard of living as a country, as Canadians, is going to be lower than it otherwise would have been."

Most Stellantis workers in Brampton have been on furlough for two years (!). And with the company shifting production to Illinois, they're not confident they're getting their old jobs back.

Is this real life?

The Carney government wants to double non-U.S. exports in a decade. How feasible is that? @markrendell.bsky.social and @jasonkirby.bsky.social break it down:

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Great piece from @markrendell.bsky.social on Canada's cabinet and furniture makers, who warn of a "blood bath" as the contend with new American tariffs on their orders.

📈📉 Ten charts that explain Canada's weird, messy and complicated housing markets:

All seven obstetrician-gynecologists at Kamloops hospital resign “It is fairly unprecedented for an entire group of physicians to depart, but with the state of obstetrics in our community…we see no viable way forward.” www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/briti...

Terrible, terrible news. One of the great recording artists of the last 30 years.

A record $1-million fine for violating the rules of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program – nearly triple the previous high.

A nuanced and entertaining read on the TFW program — and specifically its agriculture stream — from @jasonkirby.bsky.social. Maybe the best piece ever written on the program. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

Microsoft went public when Trump was nearly 40.

Why is youth unemployment so high in Canada? Here's our feature (and a gift link):

No other way to slice it: this is incredibly fucked up.

This is one of the biggest shifts in the Canadian housing market, and frankly a rare bright spot: We're building a lot of rental units, even as the economics prove challenging for other housing types.

This lede. 😂 "Two Republicans named Kevin are vying to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve."

"Finally, nothing is written in stone in Trump World. There are no binding accords, negotiated over years by experts, spelling out legal obligations in minute detail. ... International trade law is being rewritten with sketches on the back of a wet cocktail napkin."

👀 From Rob Carrick's (sorta) last column: "A guy once walked up to me while I was showering at the gym to ask if I thought the government would raise the contribution limit for tax-free savings accounts that year."

💀 "Canada’s national housing agency says it is no longer possible to build enough homes to bring housing affordability back to 2004 levels and it will starting using 2019 as a more realistic benchmark." www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

In April, Canadian imports of U.S. wine plummeted 94 per cent (!) from the monthly average last year, owing to widespread bans. Gift link: www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/d6b0095...

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Tony Keller on the One Big Beautiful Bill: "It’s reverse Robin Hood economics. It’s stealing from the poor and the future, to give to the wealthy and the present."

Trump does not plan to produce t-shirts or socks in the United States

My story on Spier & Mackay (a favourite of @dieworkwear.bsky.social), which has faced US tariffs as high as 170% this month.

This is one of the worst job markets for university/college grads in decades. “Youth have borne the brunt of Canada’s weaker labour market,” says one economist. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

"Across Ontario, 25 per cent of properties bought in 2022 and sold in 2024 suffered a loss in value. The median loss was $45,000, while in the Toronto-region it was a little higher at $56,000."

"The Globe and Mail asked the Liberals, Conservatives and New Democrats whether they’d like to see their policies bring down home prices. None of them answered the question."

“When I went to the booking site of Italian train operator Trenitalia … I counted 54 departures on Saturday alone from Rome to Milan – the same distance as Toronto to Montreal.”

LINKEDIN POST: What I learned about personal growth from rising bond yields. ...more

⬇️ Canadian car travel to the U.S. fell 32% in March, year over year. International arrivals at major U.S. airports are tanking. Delta Air Lines is scrapping is financial guidance. The travel industry is a mess.

Great yarn here. “We didn’t write the paper as an encouragement for any country, in particular the U.S., to start the trade war. That was never intended.”

“Right now, UAW and us, we’re not friends. The gloves are off as far as I’m concerned.”

Confused about tariffs? We all are. Here's a gift link to an explainer from @markrendell.bsky.social. We update this piece any time tariff rules change (so, frequently).

The shutdowns are about to start.

Ten charts that explain the economic stakes in this federal election

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New vehicle prices are set to jump by thousands of dollars because of incoming tariffs. “Not a lot of households are going to be able to finance new vehicles at current interest rates and these elevated price points potentially.” (via @markrendell.bsky.social)

What lawyers are telling Canadians who work in the United States: Don’t leave the country, because you may not be allowed back in.

The trade war has come for one of Canada's biggest exports: hockey. Specifically, the U.S. has imposed tariffs on rink chairs, steel-wire structures that support rebar and refrigeration pipes in the concrete floors of rinks.

On Canada's immigration surge: "In fact, rising immigration did not alleviate economy-wide labour shortages. The induced expansion in labour demand matched – and very probably exceeded – the initial increase in labour supply." cdhowe.org/publication/...