The Globe and Mail

These are the top business and investing stories of the past week: 🛢️ Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith signed a major energy agreement on Thursday, laying the conditions for construction of a new oil pipeline to the West Coast. 📊 GDP grew 2.6 per cent, annualized, in the third quarter after contracting 1.8 per cent in the previous quarter. The upside surprise, which blew past Bay Street expectations, was driven by a swing in imports and exports that masked underlying weakness in domestic demand. 🏭 Two different StatsCan job surveys showed a discrepancy in in the manufacturing industry. 🍺 Molson Coors Canada has uncovered an alleged embezzlement scheme that led to losses totalling at least $9-million since 2021. 🇨🇦 One year ago, President Donald Trump threatened to hit Canada, Mexico and China with 25-per-cent tariffs unless they stopped migrants and drugs from entering the U.S. Jason Kirby, Matt Lundy and Mark Rendell outline 29 ways Canada has changed during this remarkable year – including a shift in our views of the U.S. overall, an uptick in domestic tourism spending, a surge in our national pride and more. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gN3Xu9s6

AI isn’t going anywhere but, if left unchecked, a new report warns that its overuse could chip away at the very things that keep employees productive, creative and connected

Top Russian opposition figure Ilya Yashin heads to Canada to push for Ottawa to open its doors to Russian dissidents at risk of being deported from the U.S. - and back into Putin’s prisons. My report https://lnkd.in/e9tQFpkU

If you want my takeaway on the pipeline component of the Ottawa-Alberta MOU, it's largely that federal politics is a flat circle. I still can't quite believe that in a year that started with talk of needing to do things dramatically differently in this country and embrace new ideas, we've somehow wound up with a jettisoned project from nearly a decade ago - which is great at dividing us while letting everyone play their political part, but probably won't actually get built now either - dominating the discourse again. But if you want my takeaway on the actual policy substance of the new federal-provincial deal, which is the clearest indication yet of how Carney is shifting Canada away from Trudeau's more comprehensive approach to regulatory climate and energy-transition policy in favour of mostly putting his faith in a single lever, it's here: https://lnkd.in/grUBJd3h

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We're thrilled to share that Ottawa bureau chief Robert Fife will receive the 2026 Hyman Solomon Award for Excellence in Public Policy Journalism this coming May. A profile published by the Public Policy Forum describes Mr. Fife as “arguably the country’s most experienced political reporter.” Read Robert Fife's stories and learn more about the award at https://tgam.ca/43V3r1V.

It’s no longer just about holding on to your job. It’s also very much about how can you be part of the creative destruction economy – at the level of your own influence and agency?

Canada and India are restarting free-trade talks and turning the page on two tumultuous years of diplomatic discord. Much of the credit goes to Prime Minister Mark Carney for using his global gravitas to reset the bilateral relationship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But Mr. Carney’s unofficial Western Canadian wingman merits a mention, too. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe had a major hand in repairing Canada’s relationship with India because of his government’s behind-the-scenes efforts to strengthen business ties between the two Commonwealth countries – even when the antipathy between Ottawa and New Delhi hit new lows. That persistence – let’s call it Saskatchewan soft power – underscores why the federal government must increasingly leverage this type of subnational savvy if it is serious about finally clinching a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with India after more than 15 years of on-again, off-again talks. #Saskatchewan #Trade #India #Uranium #Potash #Pulses #Tariffs Opinion: Saskatchewan soft power fuelled the Canada-India reset on trade - https://lnkd.in/gEV7XSa7

Every year Ontarians put tens of millions of dollars into the trust bank accounts of real estate brokerages as part of the home buying process, and while the law says any interest earned on those deposits belongs to the homebuyers in practice millions of dollars is being captured by the brokerage businesses through contract terms that are sometimes onerous, such as a $500 transaction fee to issue a cheque. If you bought a home in recent years, did you read the Schedule B, and did you get any interest back? (Let me know in the comments, or message me) https://lnkd.in/gKnjQYNN

The plot thickens. Barrick's lead independent director, Ben van Beurden, abruptly left the gold miner after plans for him to succeed John Thornton as chairman fell apart, according to sources Mr. van Beurden, the former CEO of Shell, lasted only six months on the board https://lnkd.in/ga4Txf4V #mining #gold