The Year Ahead: Our Guide To 2024
Our annual look at what’s coming your way this year
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December 28, 2023
If 2023 was the year of wake-up calls—to the dystopian reality of AI, to the destructive force of climate change, to the challenges plaguing immigration and the cost of living—then 2024 will be the year we finally do something about it all. Post-secondary institutions will prep students for careers in quantum computing, the EV economy and, yes, artificial intelligence. Evacuation shelters and emergency management plans will protect Canadians from extreme weather, and governments will finally join forces to build the housing stock we need to solve the affordability crisis. We’ll also finally get some answers—to questions like who will win the U.S. presidential election and, for that matter, whether we’ll have a leadership shakeup of our own. We’ll find out what will come out on top in the battle between fossil fuels and renewables, and whether Quebec’s new language laws will hold water. Here, a guide to everything to expect in the year to come.
The Year Ahead: Food in 2024
The federal government will apply pressure to skyrocketing grocery prices, while food banks will struggle to keep up with demand. Canadians will have more options for sustainably grown meat but fewer pickings for pasta—and less interest in any wine to pair with it.
BY H.G. WATSON
On to the list...
More grocery stores will sell lab-grown dairy products
By fermenting milk the way we brew beer, we can disrupt Canada’s dairy industry
BY LENORE NEWMAN
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The Year Ahead: Business in 2024
Slowing inflation and rising incomes will provide relief, even as the threat of an economic slowdown looms. Canadian business stalwarts like Indigo and Irving Oil are in for serious change. And fast-evolving AI will keep transforming everything.
BY ALEX CYR
On to the list...
Canada will put the pedal to the metal to become an EV powerhouse
Canada is poised to become a leader in EVs, but we’ll need to move fast
BY MEENA BIBRA
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The Year Ahead: Science and Technology in 2024
The AI revolution will transform the way scientists think and do business, while regulators will struggle to keep up. At the same time, new frontiers like hydrogen power, quantum computing and agetech will keep gaining steam.
BY KATIE UNDERWOOD
On to the list...
Canada will be a key player in the global commercial space race
In 2024, the country will launch payloads (plus an astronaut of our own) into orbit
BY TIMOTHY CAULFIELD
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The Year Ahead: Culture in 2024
Taylor Swift will leave her mark on Toronto and Vancouver, while business mogul Ryan Reynolds returns to the big screen. Montreal’s video game industry will boom with new business, but Canada’s film and TV sector may take a hit.
BY H.G. WATSON
On to the list...
Canadian film will stay stuck in the past—for now
If we expand our idea of what Canadian film means, we can watch our industry boom
BY MATT JOHNSON
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The Year Ahead: Housing in 2024
Interest rates will finally give it a rest, while household debt spirals out of control. Cities will flood the market with rental projects (and ask provinces to foot the bill). And new housing stock will crop up in creative places—office buildings, laneways and tiny-home communities.
CAITLIN WALSH MILLER
On to the list...
Cities will learn to live with encampments
Tent cities are here to stay, thanks to increasing support from the courts
BY STEPAN WOOD
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The Year Ahead: Sports in 2024
Canada’s men’s basketball team will make its first Olympic appearance since 2000, and soccer superstars are building our first women’s pro league. Pickleball’s popularity isn’t dying down anytime soon—but Hockey Canada remains on the rocks.
BY H.G. WATSON
On to the list...
Sport-ticket prices are going to balloon out of reach
As old favourites grow costlier, fans will start seeking new teams and new experiences
BY KEN WONG
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The Year Ahead: Climate in 2024
Canadian premiers will battle the feds over renewable energy projects and emissions caps, while cities and communities will prep for fires and floods with innovative new emergency-readiness plans
BY KATIE UNDERWOOD
On to the list...
Fires will get bigger, faster and hotter—and communities need to prepare
The Earth has a fever, and we’re all feeling the symptoms
BY JOHN VAILLANT
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The Year Ahead: Health in 2024
Governments will shell out more cash for struggling health systems as private care providers make new inroads. Technological breakthroughs will create new treatments. And psychedelics will find a cannabis-like fast track to the mainstream.
BY ALEX CYR
On to the list...
The threat of superbugs will loom too large to ignore
Antibiotic-resistant infections threaten our health system. We need urgent action.
BY GERRY WRIGHT
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The Year Ahead: Politics in 2024
Immigration, LGBTQ+ rights and language laws will raise provincial hackles, while Justin Trudeau’s long-time leadership might be on shaky ground. Meanwhile, the next Oval Office occupant will have a ripple effect on Canada’s relationship with its closest neighbour.
EMILY LANDAU
On to the list...
Far-right politics will fuel extremism
Global conflicts are deepening political divisions at home, and Canadians need to fight back
BY BARBARA PERRY
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The Year Ahead: Education in 2024
Pronoun arguments and French-English language tensions will ensnare school boards. International students will get extra government protection, but find housing harder to come by—and fewer will come from India. For the rest of us: AI lessons.
BY CAITLIN WALSH MILLER
On to the list...
More Canadian schools will say no to smartphones
Whether distraction or addiction, devices will keep getting kicked out of classrooms
SACHIN MAHARAJ
On to the story...