Three Million Reasons to Panic ‼️

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Last week’s spring economic update came with a mixed bag of headlines, from a lower-than-expected deficit to $37.5 billion in net new spending. A big focus: Canada’s skilled trades and tackling youth unemployment through an initiative called “Team Canada Strong.” The plan proposes $6 billion over five years to recruit, train and hire up to 100,000 new trades workers, with a focus on Canadians ages 15 to 30. The update also pledged more than $750 million toward sport in Canada, which Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne described as “the most significant investment in our sport system in 20 years.” Another notable move: making it easier for Canadians living with disabilities to apply for the disability tax credit — a move praised by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, whose daughter has autism and is non-verbal. And want to know what the economic update actually means for your bank account? There’s a pod for that.

To Alberta, where a massive voter data leak involving a separatist group has raised serious concerns about privacy and public safety. Nearly three million names, home addresses and phone numbers were made publicly accessible online. The data was allegedly accessed by a separatist group called the Centurion Project, which used a voter list that was legitimately provided to the Republican Party of Alberta in 2025, and turned it into a searchable app. A judge has since ordered the group to take the database down. Both the Alberta RCMP and Elections Alberta are investigating, and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says those responsible for exposing the information should be held legally accountable. Adding another twist: a journalist says she warned Elections Alberta weeks ago about the issue, but the agency says provincial legislation passed last year stopped it from investigating. So yes, a lot of questions — and not (yet) many satisfying answers.

Committee Chaos: First, the Liberals secured their majority in the House of Commons, then they moved to take control of parliamentary committees (aka groups where parliamentarians examine proposals for new laws, study issues and consult with experts). The Liberals used their increased power to move a number of committees behind closed doors, which Conservatives called anti-democratic. Now the gov’s House leader says he’s committed to ensuring parliamentary committees operate in public. So the doors are back open... at least for now.

Price Politics: We’ve talked before about a new bill in Manitoba tackling predatory pricing, specifically, grocers that make customers pay different prices for the same items online. Predatory pricing, also known as surveillance pricing, is now attracting more political attention, including from Marit Stiles, leader of the Ontario NDP, and Avi Lewis, the federal NDP’s new leader. Read how companies are using our data to gouge us, and why governments ought to ban the practice.

AI Agenda: Thanks to the spring economic update, we’re finally getting a slightly clearer picture of Canada’s long-awaited AI strategy. The federal gov unveiled the six pillars of the strategy: Protecting Canadians and safeguarding our democracy; empowering Canadians; powering AI adoption for shared prosperity; building the Canadian sovereign AI foundation; scaling Canadian champions; and building trusted partnerships and global alliances. We’ll be watching for more deets from this long-promised but repeatedly delayed document.

More tariff relief is on the way. The federal gov announced Monday a series of relief measures worth $1.5 billion for Canada’s steel, aluminum and copper industries, which have been hard hit by U.S. tariffs. The relief package includes two parts: loans by the Business Development Bank of Canada, and additional funding through the Regional Tariff Response Initiative. Announcing the relief, Ministers Mélanie Joly and Evan Solomon pointed to recent U.S. tariff changes that have made things even tougher for Canadian manufacturers. As for whether Ottawa thinks tariffs are here to stay? Joly says she doesn’t know.

And now it’s time for dessert...your weekly crossword! A little hint for you: make sure you review last week’s edition to complete the crossword:

SWEET, SWEET CROSSWORD

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