Ontario mortgage delinquency rate jumps 50% amid growing signs of high-rate renewal shock

The mortgage renewal shock many experts have been predicting appears to have arrived.

Mortgage delinquencies in Ontario have skyrocketed 50 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels, and more than 11,000 mortgages in the province missed at least one payment in the fourth quarter of 2024, nearly three times the number seen in 2022, Equifax Canada said in its quarterly credit report.

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CHARLEBOIS: Nova Scotia smashes food trade barriers, will the rest of Canada follow?

The federal government can talk endlessly about eliminating interprovincial trade barriers, but ultimately, it is up to the provinces to take real action. Canada now has a clear front-runner in this effort: Nova Scotia.

Premier Tim Houston and his government have recognized the steep cost that interprovincial trade barriers have imposed on their province and the Atlantic region. Being geographically distant from major markets has already put Nova Scotia at a disadvantage, making it difficult to compete against larger provinces unless a sector has developed a unique competitive edge — such as the province’s thriving wine industry. However, with trade barriers limiting access to larger provincial markets, growth in the food sector has been stifled.

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Doug Ford: rightwing populist becomes Canada’s anti-Trump figurehead

The day Donald Trump won the United States presidential election was a happy one for Doug Ford.

The conservative politician who oversees Canada’s most populous province – and its largest economy – made the admission to caucus and supporters, in off-the-cuff remarks accidentally caught by a nearby microphone.

But, Ford said, after Trump announced tariffs on Canada, he was devastated.

“The guy pulled out the knife and fucking yanked it into us,” Ford said. “We’re supposed to be his closest allies, his closest friend. It’s terrible.”

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Trump and Zelensky to sign mineral deal Friday

What we know about US-Ukraine minerals deal

Ukraine says it has agreed to the terms of a “preliminary” deal that would give the US access to its deposits of rare earth minerals.

Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelensky said he hoped the initial agreement with the US “will lead to further deals”, but confirmed no American security guarantees have been agreed yet.

US President Donald Trump said a deal would help American taxpayers “get their money back” for aid sent to Ukraine throughout the war and give Kyiv “the right to fight on” against Russia.


Trump and Zelensky to sign deal Friday

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Trump adviser rules out Canada’s expulsion from Five Eyes, but experts warn of risks

A report that Canada could be ousted from the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance was publicly denied by a senior adviser to Donald Trump Tuesday, but experts say the risk remains that Canadian assumptions about security co-operation with the United States will be tested in the months ahead.

The U.S. President’s installations of loyalists – including director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who is accused of repeating Russian propaganda, and FBI director Kash Patel, who has spoken positively of the QAnon conspiracy-theory movement and supported the Jan. 6 Capitol attack – have thrown his country’s intelligence community into upheaval, and spread uncertainty among its allies.

Canada should be tossed out for this TDS laden article alone.

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Raid on notorious migrant development Colony Ridge in Texas nets 118 criminals — including accused killers and rapists

Authorities raided the notorious migrant development of Colony Ridge just north of Houston on Monday, rounding up 118 illegal migrants — including accused killers and kiddie-sex offenders.

Border czar Tom Homan told Fox News that the raid by federal and state agencies was only the first of many that will target the crime-ridden “colonia.

 

h/t kiki9

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York University student president urged to resign over ‘deeply concerning’ support for Hamas

“Lived a hero and died a hero,” York University student Somar Abuaziza wrote on Instagram following the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar last October.

Last Tuesday, Abuaziza became president of the York Federation of Students (YFS), representing nearly 50,000 undergraduates and boasting an almost $2 million annual budget, raising concerns from students and others who question the leadership of a student leader with views they see as toxic.

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An affordability crisis has Ontario in its grip and ‘people are still feeling the pain’

Your paycheque — if you’ve got one — probably doesn’t go quite as far as it used to.

Since June 2022, the price of groceries in Ontario has gone up more than 11 per cent. Vegetables, in particular, have shot up by almost 20 per cent. Meat? 9.2 per cent. Dairy and eggs? 10.6.

Shelter? That other big thing the United Nations counts as a universal human right? That hasn’t been easy, either. Between October 2022 and October 2024, the price of an average two-bedroom rental in Ontario has gone up 12.8 per cent, according to the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation.

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Apple AI tool transcribed the word ‘racist’ as ‘Trump’

Apple says it is working to fix its speech-to-text tool after some social media users found that when they spoke the word “racist” into their iPhones it typed it out as “Trump.”

The tech giant has suggested the issue with its Dictation service has been caused by a problem it has distinguishing between words with an “r” in them.

“We are aware of an issue with the speech recognition model that powers Dictation and we are rolling out a fix today,” an Apple spokesperson said.

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5 key takeaways from the final Liberal leadership debate … There weren’t any

The four candidates vying to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took the debate stage for the final time as the Liberal leadership contest enters the home stretch.

Former deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, former government House leader Karina Gould and former MP and businessman Frank Baylis squared off in an English debate Tuesday night.

It was like watching a turd dry out in the sun.

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