The Canada Brief: Week of November 2, 2026

Editor’s note

Interest rates went up, Loblaw is fighting its suppliers over price hikes, and a federal audit found that a coal promise quietly stopped being pursued. We also ran our own numbers on where jobs are hardest to find. Here is the week in four minutes.
The Canada News Media team

The big story

File photo, not from the Oct. 28 announcement: Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem, 2018. Photo: Bank of Canada (CC BY 2.0)

Bank of Canada raises rate to 2.5%, first hike since 2023

The Bank of Canada raised its key policy rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 2.5 per cent on Oct. 28, its first increase since July 2023. Governor Tiff Macklem said the outlook for inflation has “deteriorated” since July and that a hike was needed to keep high energy prices from spilling into the cost of everything else. Inflation is at 3.1 per cent, and the bank’s report said Brent crude averaged $124.96 US a barrel in October, about $35 more than in July. High energy costs have not yet spread broadly to other prices, the report said, but cost pressures are building. The bank said more increases could be needed, but that it will proceed carefully.

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Five things to know

Carney, Trump talk trade; teams to work on a deal
Prime Minister Mark Carney said Sunday he had a “good conversation” with U.S. President Donald Trump, and that their teams will work in the coming weeks toward an agreement. CBC News reported that sources said talks have intensified but a deal is not imminent, so the two countries remain without one two days before the U.S. midterm elections. Read more

Carney calls six byelections for Dec. 7
Voters in six ridings in Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan will go to the polls on Dec. 7. The Liberals hold 173 seats in the House of Commons, and losing all six races would not affect their ability to govern, CBC News reported. Read more

Satellite data questions military account of Wainwright fire
A Global News analysis of satellite images and weather records suggests the Oct. 17 fire at CFB Wainwright was burning for hours before it overran soldiers, challenging the military’s description of a sudden event. Four soldiers were killed and 39 were injured, and the military’s timeline has shifted since the fire. Read more

Loblaw rejects hundreds of millions in supplier hikes
Loblaw said it has pushed back on “hundreds of millions” of dollars in proposed supplier price increases this year, and that the dollar value of fourth-quarter requests rose 120 per cent from a year earlier. That is the pressure behind your grocery bill, and it comes with new tariffs that Loblaw says could affect 2,500 products. Read more

Ottawa quietly dropped its thermal coal export ban work
Auditor General Karen Hogan said Environment and Climate Change Canada stopped its work on banning thermal coal exports without any record of being told to do so. Ottawa promised the ban in 2021 for 2030, and thermal coal exports were higher in 2025 than in 2021, the audit found. Read more

Only at Canada News Media

Alberta’s jobless-per-vacancy ratio drops from 3.9 to 2.8
We took Statistics Canada’s provincial tables and calculated the ratio for every province, which no one else has published. Newfoundland and Labrador had the most crowded market at about 5.4 unemployed people per vacancy, and Manitoba the least at 1.9. Read more

Buxton settlers bought 50-acre farms from 1849 on
Our Black Canadian history series looks at the Elgin Settlement in southwestern Ontario, where Black settlers could buy 50-acre lots and had 10 years to pay, and at the complicated history of its founder. Read more

Your money

Asking rents fall 4.2% to $2,034 for 24th month
Canada’s average asking rent was $2,034 in September, the 24th consecutive month of annual declines, according to Rentals.ca and Urbanation. The drop is not uniform: asking rents in Toronto and Vancouver have started to climb again. Read more

Health desk

Dental Care Plan: how to avoid surprise charges
The federal government’s own guidance says that even when the Canadian Dental Care Plan pays 100 per cent of its set fees, you may still owe money. Your co-payment depends on your adjusted family net income, so ask before your next appointment. Read more

By the numbers

2.8: Alberta had 2.8 unemployed people for every job vacancy in August, down from 3.9 a year earlier. Source

$124.96 US: Brent crude oil averaged $124.96 US a barrel in October, about $35 more than in July. Source

120 per cent: the dollar value of Loblaw’s fourth-quarter supplier cost increases rose 120 per cent compared with a year earlier. Source

Sports

Connor McDavid became the fastest player in NHL history to reach 30 assists, doing it in 15 games as the Oilers beat the Rangers 4-1 and improved to 11-2-2. Read more

On this day

Banting jots down the insulin idea, 1920
Frederick Banting woke in the early hours of Oct. 31, 1920, and wrote a 25-word note that became the starting point for the discovery of insulin. Read more

Before you go

How to get your snow blower ready for winter
Drain any old fuel, refill with fresh gas and stabilizer, change the oil, and start the machine now while the driveway is still bare. Read more

This week’s best buys

Black Friday is Nov. 27. Start with our Black Friday 2026 on Amazon.ca hub, then see this week’s newest guides.

Samsonite vs Travelpro: which carry-on is better? For travellers choosing a carry-on.

Best checked luggage in Canada for 2026. For anyone packing a big bag for the holidays.

Best tablets in Canada on Amazon.ca in 2026. For shoppers comparing tablets for home, school or gifts.

Gift ideas for a tea lover in Canada 2026. For anyone shopping for a tea drinker.

Best electric toothbrushes on Amazon.ca for Canadians. For anyone upgrading their daily brushing routine.

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