In This Economy?!

Back in June of 2021, the federal government legalized single-event sports betting in Canada, birthing a multi-billion dollar industry basically overnight. Licenses began being granted in Ontario the next year, with formerly off-shore companies rushing into Canada to apply. Now, just this month, Alberta has decided it too wants a piece of the action. Will other provinces be next?

Host Mike Eppel is speaking with Steve McCallister, Editor and Chief of Gaming News Canada, about how the industry has grown over the years, why other provinces haven't jumped in as quickly as Ontario did, what the future of sports betting might be in Canada, and more.

Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: [email protected]. Thank you for listening!

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The biggest World Cup ever is over – with 13 matches played on Canadian soil. The Canadian men’s team saw a fair bit of success on the pitch, but it’s more difficult to define success for the host cities, Vancouver and Toronto. Many contend there were some big positives to come out of the event – some of them unexpected.

In this episode of In This Economy?! host Kris McCusker speaks to Royce Chwin, President and CEO of Destination Vancouver and Andrew Weir, President and CEO at Destination Toronto about how they measure success, why it might take time for all the “results” to be in, and how this could lead to more big events in the future.

Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: [email protected]. Thank you for listening!

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Prime Minister Mark Carney continues to get high marks from Canadians on his handling of the economy, despite the actual economic performance numbers showing that real gross domestic product has shrunk by 0.05% since he was elected, presiding over the worst first year of growth for a Prime Minister since at least 1963.

However, a Nanos research group poll shows 60% of Canadians think Carney has done a very good or good job of handling economic issues. The data suggests Canadians are blaming global factors for the economic slump rather than Carney himself.

But how long can that be expected to last? With Canadian households dealing with pocketbook issues such as high prices for gasoline and food, along with uncertainty about the job market, will those numbers start to decline? Or will they be solid so long as U.S. President Donald Trump is in the White House?

In today's episode of In This Economy?! host Mike Eppel speaks with Nik Nanos, chief data scientist at Nanos research.

Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: [email protected]. Thank you for listening!

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With the rise of A.I. and hybrid work, there were concerns that demand for office space would weaken. In reality, return to office policies and a growing corporate footprint for some of the country's biggest companies has led to increased demand for office space and a drop in office vacancy rates. New buildings, those with the best amenities, and good locations are in the highest demand. And the industrial vacancy rate (think logistics plants and warehousing) has tightened-- dropping in the GTA to just 2.2%, the lowest in the country. Both are positive signs for the economy.

Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: [email protected]. Thank you for listening!

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Artificial intelligence is working its way into our daily lives – and it’s probably turning up in places you hadn’t though of – like the local coffee shop. While there are many positive applications, the technology is also very expensive to run – and not just financially. And while it continues to proliferate into our workplaces, our homes, and the public, it remains something few people, even those politicians charged with regulating it, actually understand.

Today on In This Economy?!, host Kris McCusker speaks to Richard Lachman, professor of Digital Media at Toronto Metropolitan University. He recently published a book called “Digital Wisdom: Searching for Agency in the Age of AI,” designed to help policy-makers, professionals, educators, and regular citizens understand all the impacts this groundbreaking technology could have.

Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: [email protected]. Thank you for listening!

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The economy started off 2026 in what economists called a 'technical recession', but a huge bounce-back at the start of the second quarter has raised some eyebrows about the validity of the Statistics Canada numbers in the first place.

Host Mike Eppel speaks to LJ Valencia, an economist at Desjardins and co-author of a study called 'Diagnosing the Data Quality Crisis'. They discuss the cutbacks at the government data agency, the implications of questionable information for policy makers, and just how much we could trust the data.

Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: [email protected]. Thank you for listening!

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It’s now the biggest IPO in history – when Space X hit the US market this month, it made CEO Elon Musk a trillionaire on day one. But there are still many questions about the company and its plans for the future without any current stream of revenue.

The stock also hit a few bumps recently, with the company losing $600 billion dollars in market cap over a 3-day losing streak.

Host Kris McCusker speaks to Alison Kemper, Associate Professor in the Entrepreneurship and Strategy Department at Toronto Metropolitan University, to discuss why this was such a big deal, what might happen next and why you may want to rethink investing in the company.

Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: [email protected]. Thank you for listening!

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Big players in the artificial intelligence space like OpenAI or Anthropic continue to take up tons of conversational space, whether it's about how much they're worth, how much they spend, and how much it takes to maintain their systems. Often left out of the conversations, though, are whether or not their investments could be a net benefit to the economy.

Host Mike Eppel speaks to Raj Juneja, President of Cisco Systems Canada, about the company's leadership role in AI infrastructure, what he’s hearing from CEOs about the growth payback from investing in AI, and how building trust and data security is key to Canadian user adoption.

Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: [email protected]. Thank you for listening!

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Kevin Warsh will officially take over as the head of the US central bank on Wednesday – but it’s not clear how his term will play out.

In today's episode of In This Economy?!, host Kris McCusker speaks to Scott Anderson, Chief US Economist for BMO Capital Markets - based in San Francisco, California about how the Fed might look different under Warsh and what could be coming during the early part of his term.

Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: [email protected]. Thank you for listening!

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Following a negative performance for economic growth in the first quarter of 2026, the Canadian economy fell into what's been described as a "technical recession". While the headline was pounced on for political debate, with such a small decline (just a 0.1% contraction) and some parts of the economy still doing quite well, economists are downplaying the significance of all this recession talk.

Nevertheless, under the weight of the trade war with the U.S., there are a lot of questions around the recent signals by the Bank of Canada even talking about hiking interest rates and whether the central bank will be changing its message to the markets next week with it's policy announcement on June 10th.

Today on In this economy?!, host Mike Eppel speaks with Royce Mendes, the managing director and head of macro strategy at Desjardins, about this so-called "recession", and what the consequences of reading too much into it might be.

Do you have a topic that's confounding you in this economy? We'll be happy to dig into it for you and get you the answers you need. Email us at: [email protected]. Thank you for listening!

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