In This Economy?!

The trade dispute with the US rages on, our closest ally and for many decades, our closest trading partner. But it wasn’t always like that. Going back in history shows we’ve been in this position with the U-S before, and Canada found a way through without giving up our sovereignty. Host Kris McCusker speaks to Joy Nott, Partner - Trade & Customs with KPMG Canada – about the week that was and where the trade drama could go from here – with a few interesting history lessons along the way. Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: rogerspodcastnetwork@rci.rogers.com. Thank you for listening! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

US President Trump is touting what he calls the biggest energy deal ever: a plan to gain control of Venezuela's massive oil reserves and boost Us energy supply. But is it fact, fiction, or political spin? Host Mike Eppel speaks to Tim Pickering, Founder and Chief Investment Officer at Auspice Capital. They dig into the claims, the impact of rising global oil prices, growing tensions in key energy markets, and what it all could mean for Canada. Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: rogerspodcastnetwork@rci.rogers.com. Thank you for listening! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Canadian small businesses are a big part of the economy. And like the rest of us, they're dealing with more tariffs as the trade war with the US heats up again, with Canadian counter tariffs set to take effect next month. It's the latest economic hit coming from south of the border, just as businesses were seeing a degree of recovery from the pandemic. Host Kris McCusker speaks to Brad Poulus, lecturer in the Entrepreneurship Department at The Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University. They discuss how these latest levies could hit small businesses, if the government is doing enough to help them, and if there are any potential new trade opportunities for them abroad. Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: rogerspodcastnetwork@rci.rogers.com. Thank you for listening! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The U.S. government has reached a staggering milestone: $40 trillion in debt. As deficits continue to grow and borrowing costs rise, bond investors are demanding higher yields, pushing long-term Treasury rates to their highest levels in decades. Host Mike Eppel speaks to Tiago Figueiredo, Macro Strategist at Desjardins Financial to discuss what's driving the bond market turmoil, how Washington is responding, and whether America's debt burden could become a bigger threat to markets and the broader economy. Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: rogerspodcastnetwork@rci.rogers.com. Thank you for listening! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

2026 has certainly been a "headline driven" year for the markets. Whether it's A.I., war, tariffs and trade, or inflation and interest rates, the markets have seen big daily price swings, and several sectors have seen huge percentage run-ups for stocks—along with big losses. As of the first week of august, the TSX composite index, Dow Jones industrials average, and Nasdaq have all set record highs, up by on average 12% to 14% for the year, a respectable rate of return for money in an index fund. Host Mike Eppel speaks to Jordan Damiani, an investment advisor and certified financial planner at Meridian Credit Union, about being focused on the big picture, and why and how to keep calm and stay strategic with your investments instead of being distracted by the headlines and the flood of so called "finfluencers" on social media platforms. Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: rogerspodcastnetwork@rci.rogers.com. Thank you for listening! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

OpenAI recently went rogue, hacking into an AI start-up in a matter of hours. It stunned some – even those in the tech industry – but it also opened the door to a series of new questions as companies and consumers rely more and more on the technology. Host Kris McCusker gets some perspective on what it really means from Charles Findlay, Executive Director of the Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst at Toronto Metropolitan University. Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: rogerspodcastnetwork@rci.rogers.com. Thank you for listening! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Back in June of 2021, the federal government legalized single-event sports betting in Canada, birthing a multi-billion dollar industry basically overnight. Licenses began being granted in Ontario the next year, with formerly off-shore companies rushing into Canada to apply. Now, just this month, Alberta has decided it too wants a piece of the action. Will other provinces be next? Host Mike Eppel is speaking with Steve McCallister, Editor and Chief of Gaming News Canada, about how the industry has grown over the years, why other provinces haven't jumped in as quickly as Ontario did, what the future of sports betting might be in Canada, and more. Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: rogerspodcastnetwork@rci.rogers.com. Thank you for listening! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The biggest World Cup ever is over – with 13 matches played on Canadian soil. The Canadian men’s team saw a fair bit of success on the pitch, but it’s more difficult to define success for the host cities, Vancouver and Toronto. Many contend there were some big positives to come out of the event – some of them unexpected. In this episode of In This Economy?! host Kris McCusker speaks to Royce Chwin, President and CEO of Destination Vancouver and Andrew Weir, President and CEO at Destination Toronto about how they measure success, why it might take time for all the “results” to be in, and how this could lead to more big events in the future. Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: rogerspodcastnetwork@rci.rogers.com. Thank you for listening! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Prime Minister Mark Carney continues to get high marks from Canadians on his handling of the economy, despite the actual economic performance numbers showing that real gross domestic product has shrunk by 0.05% since he was elected, presiding over the worst first year of growth for a Prime Minister since at least 1963. However, a Nanos research group poll shows 60% of Canadians think Carney has done a very good or good job of handling economic issues. The data suggests Canadians are blaming global factors for the economic slump rather than Carney himself. But how long can that be expected to last? With Canadian households dealing with pocketbook issues such as high prices for gasoline and food, along with uncertainty about the job market, will those numbers start to decline? Or will they be solid so long as U.S. President Donald Trump is in the White House? In today's episode of In This Economy?! host Mike Eppel speaks with Nik Nanos, chief data scientist at Nanos research. Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: rogerspodcastnetwork@rci.rogers.com. Thank you for listening! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

With the rise of A.I. and hybrid work, there were concerns that demand for office space would weaken. In reality, return to office policies and a growing corporate footprint for some of the country's biggest companies has led to increased demand for office space and a drop in office vacancy rates. New buildings, those with the best amenities, and good locations are in the highest demand. And the industrial vacancy rate (think logistics plants and warehousing) has tightened-- dropping in the GTA to just 2.2%, the lowest in the country. Both are positive signs for the economy. In today's edition of In This Economy?! host Mike Eppel talks the future of office space in Toronto with Adam Jacobs, national head of research for Colliers Canada. Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: rogerspodcastnetwork@rci.rogers.com. Thank you for listening! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Artificial intelligence is working its way into our daily lives – and it’s probably turning up in places you hadn’t though of – like the local coffee shop. While there are many positive applications, the technology is also very expensive to run – and not just financially. And while it continues to proliferate into our workplaces, our homes, and the public, it remains something few people, even those politicians charged with regulating it, actually understand. Today on In This Economy?!, host Kris McCusker speaks to Richard Lachman, professor of Digital Media at Toronto Metropolitan University. He recently published a book called “Digital Wisdom: Searching for Agency in the Age of AI,” designed to help policy-makers, professionals, educators, and regular citizens understand all the impacts this groundbreaking technology could have. Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: rogerspodcastnetwork@rci.rogers.com. Thank you for listening! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The economy started off 2026 in what economists called a 'technical recession', but a huge bounce-back at the start of the second quarter has raised some eyebrows about the validity of the Statistics Canada numbers in the first place. Host Mike Eppel speaks to LJ Valencia, an economist at Desjardins and co-author of a study called 'Diagnosing the Data Quality Crisis'. They discuss the cutbacks at the government data agency, the implications of questionable information for policy makers, and just how much we could trust the data. Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: rogerspodcastnetwork@rci.rogers.com. Thank you for listening! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It’s now the biggest IPO in history – when Space X hit the US market this month, it made CEO Elon Musk a trillionaire on day one. But there are still many questions about the company and its plans for the future without any current stream of revenue. The stock also hit a few bumps recently, with the company losing $600 billion dollars in market cap over a 3-day losing streak. Host Kris McCusker speaks to Alison Kemper, Associate Professor in the Entrepreneurship and Strategy Department at Toronto Metropolitan University, to discuss why this was such a big deal, what might happen next and why you may want to rethink investing in the company. Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: rogerspodcastnetwork@rci.rogers.com. Thank you for listening! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Big players in the artificial intelligence space like OpenAI or Anthropic continue to take up tons of conversational space, whether it's about how much they're worth, how much they spend, and how much it takes to maintain their systems. Often left out of the conversations, though, are whether or not their investments could be a net benefit to the economy. Host Mike Eppel speaks to Raj Juneja, President of Cisco Systems Canada, about the company's leadership role in AI infrastructure, what he’s hearing from CEOs about the growth payback from investing in AI, and how building trust and data security is key to Canadian user adoption. Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: rogerspodcastnetwork@rci.rogers.com. Thank you for listening! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Kevin Warsh will officially take over as the head of the US central bank on Wednesday – but it’s not clear how his term will play out. The U-S President has been calling for interest rate cuts since he returned to office last year but several factors suggest that’s not likely in the cards. But will Warsh feel the pressure from Donald Trump to cut anyway? And how might his decisions impact Canada? In today's episode of In This Economy?!, host Kris McCusker speaks to Scott Anderson, Chief US Economist for BMO Capital Markets - based in San Francisco, California about how the Fed might look different under Warsh and what could be coming during the early part of his term. Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: rogerspodcastnetwork@rci.rogers.com. Thank you for listening! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Following a negative performance for economic growth in the first quarter of 2026, the Canadian economy fell into what's been described as a "technical recession". While the headline was pounced on for political debate, with such a small decline (just a 0.1% contraction) and some parts of the economy still doing quite well, economists are downplaying the significance of all this recession talk. Nevertheless, under the weight of the trade war with the U.S., there are a lot of questions around the recent signals by the Bank of Canada even talking about hiking interest rates and whether the central bank will be changing its message to the markets next week with it's policy announcement on June 10th. Today on In this economy?!, host Mike Eppel speaks with Royce Mendes, the managing director and head of macro strategy at Desjardins, about this so-called "recession", and what the consequences of reading too much into it might be. Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: rogerspodcastnetwork@rci.rogers.com. Thank you for listening! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A recent survey shows many Canadians are scaling back their spending on vacations this summer as life continues to get more expensive. And while it’s not surprising, experts say it presents a really unique opportunity to re-examine your finances overall to prioritize things like trips. This week on "In This Economy?!" Co-Host Kris McCusker speaks to Sumaiya Bhula, Senior Manager, Saving, and Investing Journey at TD Bank for tips and tricks to make the most of your paycheque – and score yourself a getaway. Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: rogerspodcastnetwork@rci.rogers.com. Thank you for listening! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You've likely heard a lot about crypto currencies. Now, there's something called "stablecoin". Think of it as the next wave of digital payment systems. But, how does it work? Who controls it? And is it something that consumers need to pay attention to for everyday banking? In today's episode of "In This Economy?!", co-host Mike Eppel is joined by Laure Fouin, an Associate General Counsel at Coinbase Canada for a tutorial on the future of digital money and why Fouin believes it's something Canada needs to grow the economy. Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: rogerspodcastnetwork@rci.rogers.com. Thank you for listening! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

"The K-shaped economy." From housing, to productivity, to wages, it's a phrase you hear more and more often these days. But what exactly does it mean? And how is it effecting your wallet? In this episode of In This Economy?!, co-host Kris Kris McCusker is speaking to economist Jim Stanford, director of the Centre for Future Work, to find out. Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: rogerspodcastnetwork@rci.rogers.com. Thank you for listening! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

During the course of a year that saw heavy flight delays and cancellations, crowded airports and rising ticket prices and baggage fees, airlines in North America still managed to deliver stand-out passenger experiences. The JD power 2026 North America airline satisfaction study shows the overall satisfaction rate up 8 points (on a 1,000-point scale) year over year, with improvement occurring across all segments. However, as airfares have begun to skyrocket in 2026, airlines may soon find it difficult to offset high costs with great service, and customers can expect to see a lot of new fees this summer for fuel surcharges and checked bags. So, will travellers balk at higher prices or if they do travel, will they be starting their vacation in a lousy mood? In this episode of In This Economy?!, host Mike Eppel talks to Michael Taylor, senior managing director of travel, hospitality, retail and customer service at JD power, to discuss their recent findings, and what it could mean going forward. Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: rogerspodcastnetwork@rci.rogers.com. Thank you for listening! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.