A new train system launching today in Montreal is set to reshape how people get around the city—and could become a proof of concept for a new way of building infrastructure elsewhere in the country. 

Catch up: The first phase of the Réseau Express Métropolitain (REM) will whisk riders from the suburb of Brossard to Montreal’s central station—a trip that takes up to 40 minutes in rush hour traffic—in just 18 minutes. 

Inflation is cooling across the Western world, but don’t grab your party hats just yet. 

Driving the news: Over the last month, the Bank of Canada, US Federal Reserve, and European Central Bank (ECB) each raised their respective key interest rates by 0.25 of a percentage point, bringing the cost of borrowing in Western markets to 22-year highs. 

According to a new TD Economics report, Canada's historic population growth risks exacerbating the country’s biggest problem areas.

What happened: With Canada on track to welcome over one million permanent and temporary residents in 2023—between immigrants, students, temporary workers, and refugees—economists from a Big Five bank are urging the feds to pump the brakes.

Get ready to cross some more squares off your extreme weather bingo card, because El Niño is here. 

Driving the news: El Niño—a weather phenomenon that shifts temperatures and intensifies climate conditions—is underway and likely to become unusually strong later in the year. 

Columbia Business School professor and economist Brett House joined us on Free Lunch this week to explain what was behind the Bank of Canada’s latest decision to raise interest rates, and how they’re thinking about the economic picture moving forward.

Temperatures are still hot, but at least inflation is cooling. 

What happened: Canada's annual inflation rate dropped to a 27-month low of 2.8% in June, closing in on the Bank of Canada’s headline inflation target of 2%. The bank still expects that closing the gap could take another two years, or in other words, by mid-2025.  

If you ask US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the debt problems facing low-income countries are a problem for the global economy. 

What happened: The world’s wealthiest countries are reportedly dragging their feet on restructuring the mounting debt load they’re owed by low-income countries, per Reuters.  

Don your Kangol hat, crack open a Foster’s, and prepare to say “g’day mate,” because Australian leaders are coming to Canada.

Driving the news: Political and business big shots from Down Under will be Up North on Monday to discuss ways to deepen ties with Canada and compare economic policy. It’s all part of the Australia-Canada Economic Leadership Forum happening in Toronto. 

Another strike has come and gone in what’s becoming a #LabourActionSummer. 

What happened: The union representing BC port workers reached a tentative four-year deal with their employer to re-open Canada’s westernmost ports, ending a 13-day-long strike. 

Like us at an open bar, T-Mack and friends have said, “Sure, I’ll have another one.”

What happened: Tiff Macklen and the Bank of Canada (BoC) did what most economists expected and raised the base interest rate by 0.25 of a percentage point to 5%—the highest rate seen (by anyone over 21) since 2001.