The Year Ahead

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

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.

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 fermenting milk the way we brew beer, we can disrupt Canada’s dairy industry 

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. 

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.

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. 

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. 

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.

Antibiotic-resistant infections threaten our health system. We need urgent action.