Episode Details

Canada is in a technical recession. The Prime Minister was in New York telling Americans that "Canada Strong will help make America great again." And the first Chinese-made EVs under Carney's 49,000-vehicle tariff deal have arrived off the coast of Vancouver. Join Jim and Iain as they wrap up the week with the latest in Canadian news.

Real GDP has now failed to grow for 2 consecutive quarters and business capital investment has fallen for 5 consecutive quarters. The pipeline Carney and Smith announced requires more than $100 billion in total private sector commitment with no confirmed builder, no approved route and no final investment decision. And a Labour Minister who quashed a legal strike by claiming a medical emergency has been caught by access to information records that show no such emergency ever existed.

Today's show covers:

►Statistics Canada confirms Canada has entered a technical recession after real GDP was unchanged in Q1 2026, following a 0.2% decline in Q4 2025, with business capital investment falling for a 5th consecutive quarter and the household saving rate at its lowest since early 2024, though April is tracking a 0.4% rebound

►Carney told the Economic Club of New York that "Canada Strong will help make America great again," arguing Canada's energy and critical minerals make it a more valuable partner than rival, with U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra responding that "a lot of Americans can get behind that kind of message"

►Imperial Oil's CEO says the Alberta-to-B.C. pipeline will require more than $100 billion in total investment including production growth, shipping commitments and the government-mandated $16.5 billion Pathways carbon capture project, with no confirmed builder, no approved route and no final investment decision

►The first Chinese-made EVs under Carney's 49,000-vehicle import deal have arrived off Vancouver, with a ship carrying Lotus luxury EVs starting at $119,900 moored outside the Port since Sunday, as U.S. lawmakers from Michigan propose banning Chinese-connected vehicles from the United States and cite Carney's tariff cut as a direct CUSMA irritant

►Toronto's Daily Bread Food Bank CEO told a Commons committee that food bank visits hit a record 4.1 million last year, feeding 1 in 10 Torontonians, with the fastest growing demographic being employed, post-secondary educated Canadians aged 19 to 44 who have "done everything right"

►Canada needs 480,000 new homes annually but only 247,000 are expected this year, construction starts are projected to fall another 18%, and the government's $13 billion Build Canada Homes program will produce just 5,200 units annually according to the PBO

►Labour Minister Patty Hajdu insists she quashed Air Canada's 2025 strike to prevent a medical emergency, but access to information records show no such emergency existed, Air Canada's own letter cited lost tourism revenue, and her deputy minister told a Commons committee he has no record of any such briefing

►The Lawrence Bishnoi gang delivered a letter to Abbotsford police boasting it had 1,000 soldiers willing to carry out shootings in B.C., with RCMP testimony confirming every individual identified in the investigation is either a temporary foreign worker or international student "relatively new to Canada"

►Conservative MP Chak Au told a Commons committee that shoplifting has hit $9.2 billion annually, up from $5 billion in 2019, with violence in shoplifting incidents up 76%, while Public Safety Minister Anandasangaree said he was "not an expert on shoplifting" and did not agree it constitutes a national crisis

►Liberals claim they lack the authority to overturn the CRTC's decision to triple the mandatory Canadian content levy on streaming platforms to 15%, despite having created the regulator's expanded mandate thr