What’s the Economic Outlook for Canada in 2026?

Canada’s economy faced significant shocks in 2025 due to a trade conflict with the United States, and the ripple effects are expected to carry into 2026.

Several factors are still in play, including Ottawa’s increased spending to stimulate growth and its efforts to diversify trade beyond the United States. At the same time, the outcome of ongoing trade negotiations with Washington—and any relief they might bring—remains unpredictable.

It also remains to be seen whether Ottawa’s Budget 2025 plan to create corporate incentives will attract investment, and whether this is enough to offset concerns about Canada’s lagging productivity and regulatory and tax burden.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada

‘I hid from a wall of heat’: Eyewitnesses describe escape from Swiss bar inferno

“I thought my little brother was inside so I came and tried to break the window to help people to exit, and after that I went in.”

The 18-year-old man, who did not want to give his name, was speaking to the BBC after a huge fire at a New Year’s Eve party in the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana rapidly turned what was an evening of celebration into a nightmare.

Police say around 40 people died when the blaze broke out in a bar called Le Constellation at around 01:30 local time (00:30 GMT) on Thursday. A further 115 more were injured, mainly with severe burns.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Mass Casualty Event"

Millions of Canadians struggling as social safety net lags behind federal priorities: economist

While Ottawa debates affordability, defence spending and investment incentives, millions of Canadians are struggling with stagnant wages, weak unemployment benefits and growing economic insecurity, which is a disconnect economist Lars Osberg says is having serious social consequences.

“The big missing link is that we don’t have much of a social safety net in Canada,” the Dalhousie University economics professor said. “We haven’t had it for quite a while and we’re facing an enormous amount of economic insecurity and a long period of stagnant real wages.”

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government

Trump warns US will intervene if Iran kills protesters

US President Donald Trump has warned Iran’s authorities against killing peaceful protesters, saying Washington “will come to their rescue”.

In a brief post on social media, he wrote: “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.” He gave no further details.

A senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, responded by saying Trump should “be careful” if he intervened, warning of potential chaos across the Middle East.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inIran, USA

Britain should bring Shamima Begum home to face justice

Shamima Begum. A name that needs no introduction. A face etched into our collective consciousness. And a fate that stains our national conscience – which is why a new intervention by the European Court of Human Rights is to be welcomed.

Less welcome is the news that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has pledged to fight any attempt by Begum to return home. I say home because whatever showboating politicians claim, Begum is and always will be British.

The ECHR is disputing the legality of the vengeful treatment meted out to her in 2019 by the then Home Secretary Sajid Javid, who revoked her citizenship. And so it should.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Islamophobia", Islam, Islam and violence, Islamization of the West, UK

Bruce Pardy: Virtue-signalling devotion to reconciliation will not end well

Indian Money Dance

In September, the British Columbia Supreme Court threw private property into turmoil. Aboriginal title in Richmond, a suburb of Vancouver, is “prior and senior” to fee simple interests, the court said. That means it trumps the property you have in your house, farm or factory. If the decision holds up on appeal, it would mean private property is not secure anywhere a claim for Aboriginal title is made out.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Aboriginal Fatigue"

German Elections 2026: Coalition Faces Tough Test Amid AfD Surge

Germany is heading into a critical election year in 2026, with five state votes set to challenge Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s centre-right-leftist (CDU-SPD) coalition.

Public dissatisfaction with the government is high, driven by stalled reforms, broken promises, the inability to handle illegal migration, and internal infighting, leaving the right-wing AfD poised to make historic gains.

In the eastern states of Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the party is positioned to dominate local politics unless centrist parties can form broad coalitions. Even in regions where the AfD is not leading, its growth signals a significant shift in voter sentiment, challenging the traditional dominance of the CDU and SPD.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inGermany, Germany - AfD party

OK they can still have two donuts each but XL Coffees are totally out!

TPS demands legislative reforms to police hateful anti-Israel rallies

OTTAWA — In the wake of demands from Ontario’s solicitor general that Toronto police stop allowing hateful anti-Israel protesters run roughshod on the city, Toronto’s top cop says his officers are doing the best they can within the limits of existing laws.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Islamophobia", "Toronto - Canada's version of a Democrat run city"

Times correspondents reflect on Ukraine — and what 2026 might hold

Throughout the past year, correspondents for The Times have travelled the length and breadth of Ukraine to report on the fourth year of Russia’s full-scale invasion. With a new president in the White House, shifts on the battlefield and political crises in Kyiv, it has been perhaps the most consequential year since 2022. Here are some reflections from our writers on moments that stayed with them from the past year and what they may mean for the future.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Ukraine - Russia"