Theophilos Argitis

5 days ago | thehub.ca | Theophilos Argitis

Welcome to The Notebook, where each week I’ll share notes on some of the most important economic issues impacting Canada right now. In this edition, I focus on the big economic choices that await the next government—no matter who wins. I also look at why the Bank of Canada chose to hold off from further interest rate cuts, for now.

1 week ago | thehub.ca | Theophilos Argitis

The Bank of Canada put its interest rate cutting cycle on pause at a policy decision on Wednesday, citing massive uncertainty around U.S. trade policy and its inability to forecast the nation’s economic outlook with any precision. The Ottawa-based central bank held its “overnight” policy rate unchanged at 2.75 percent. It’s the first hold on rates since the Bank of Canada began lowering borrowing costs in June.

1 week ago | thehub.ca | Theophilos Argitis

Welcome to The Notebook, where each week I’ll share notes on some of the most important economic issues impacting Canada right now. In this edition, I take a closer look at how the global trade war—sparked by a fresh wave of U.S. tariffs—is reshaping Canada’s economic outlook, and what policymakers can realistically do in response. As global trade wars escalate and markets reel, Canada’s economic outlook has grown so precarious that even a mild recession might end up feeling like a win.

2 weeks ago | thehub.ca | Theophilos Argitis

A question that journalists, pundits, and politicos like to ask each other during federal elections is which past campaign does the current one resemble most. Because 2025 will be a very consequential election, the 1988 free trade campaign often comes up as a point of comparison—and for good reason. But I’d argue that 1984 is the closer parallel. That campaign had more of a sense that the ground was shifting—that a new economic framework was beginning to take shape.

3 weeks ago | thehub.ca | Theophilos Argitis |Joseph Steinberg |Sean Speer |Livio Di Matteo

Welcome to Need to Know, The Hub’s roundup of experts and insiders providing insights into the federal election stories, policy announcements, and campaign developments Canadians need to be keeping an eye on. Could deeper integration with the U.S. now be on the table? By Theo Argitis, The Hub’s editor-at-large for business and economicsReports of the death of Canada’s deep economic relationship with the United States may have been greatly exaggerated.