Ottawa intervenes in Canada Post strike, Bank of Canada delivers a cut and the 100 most livable cities: Must-read business and investing stories

Getting caught up on a week that got away? Here’s your weekly digest of the Globe’s most essential business and investing stories, with insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies and more.

Ottawa directs labour board to order striking Canada Post employees back to work

On Friday, Ottawa directed the Canadian Industrial Relations Board to order striking Canada Post workers back to their jobs, and to extend their existing collective agreement until May, 2025. Labour Minister Steve MacKinnon said a federal mediator appointed by the government during the strike informed him that negotiations were going in the wrong direction, leaving Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers unable to reach an agreement, Vanmala Subramaniam reports. The federal labour board will now determine if the Labour Minister’s assessment is accurate. If so, they will order postal workers back to their jobs next week.

Bank of Canada cuts rate by half-point to 3.25%

The Bank of Canada has delivered its second half-point rate cut in a row, bringing the policy rate to 3.25 per cent from 3.75 per cent. It is the fifth consecutive rate cut since June and the second oversized move in a row. The central bank also signalled that it will slow the pace of rate cuts going forward as the Canadian economy enters a period of economic uncertainty around population growth and the threat of tariffs, Mark Rendell reports. Governor Tiff Macklem said he expects inflation to remain around 2 per cent, on average, over the next couple of years. Meanwhile, the bank also expects home sales will start to pick up with latest rate cut.

Decoder: Canadian households are coping with their debt loads surprisingly well

In other rate-relief news, data suggests that Canadians have managed their finances reasonably well despite heavy debt loads. Households paid $176.9-billion in interest in the third quarter, down 0.6 per cent from the second quarter, according to Statistics Canada. Jason Kirby reports that most of the interest savings came in the form of lower non-mortgage interest payments, which are more sensitive to changes in the Bank of Canada’s policy interest rate. Debt loads also became more manageable, with Canadians seeing the lowest debt-to-income ratio since the end of 2015 – outside of the early months of the pandemic.

Troubled condo project The One fails to find a buyer, Tridel hired to finish development

A troubled luxury condo project in Toronto, The One, has failed to find a buyer after a months-long sale process – so the court-appointed receiver who now controls the project is hiring Tridel Corp. to finish construction, Tim Kiladze and Rachelle Younglai report. As part of this agreement, The One will file for creditor protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) and the project’s senior lenders will finance its remaining construction. The project has been under development since 2015 at the corner of Yonge and Bloor streets in Toronto. It is now years behind schedule and hundreds of millions of dollars overbudget – owing, in part, to severe cost inflation and construction delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The One was put into receivership in October, 2023.

The 100 most livable cities in Canada for 2024

The Globe and Mail has brought back its Most Livable Cities ranking. This year, the ranking evaluated 448 communities across the country and considered factors that often define a city – from transportation, to amenities, to the local economy, to housing. One of the newest categories is climate, which was added after readers pointed out that last year’s ranking didn’t consider the effect that climate change might have on a city’s long-term livability. Reporters Chen Wang and Mahima Singh also designed subrankings to help people find the best city for them based on their stage of life – from young professionals to newcomers to families to those embracing retirement and more. The No. 1 spot on the Most Livable Cities list this year goes to North Vancouver – which came as little surprise to locals who love its natural beauty.

Meet the Canadian Excel king who just got crowned the new world spreadsheet champion

Canadian Michael Jarman was crowned a Microsoft Excel winner at this week’s World Championships in Las Vegas. His prize? A cheque for US$5,000 and a shiny, new accessory: the wrestling-style belt that accompanies the title of spreadsheet champion, Pippa Norman reports. The championship brought together 64 finalists with a passion for spreadsheets that extends beyond their day jobs. At each stage, competitors are given a case study and a half hour to answer a problem-solving question using Excel. Mr. Jarman began his journey into competitive spreadsheeting in 2017, and spent two to three months earlier this year preparing for the event. His claim to victory came in the final question, which related to tracking stats in a simulated game of World of Warcraft.

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