A vast plot of land in the municipal district of Greenview, Alta, is the potential site for "Wonder Valley," what would be the largest AI data centre complex in the world.Kelsey McMillan/The Globe and Mail
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.
Trump’s tariffs hit businesses across North America
The commercial transportation industry is bracing for a sudden drop in work as fallout from U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs continues.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imports from dozens of countries are hitting businesses across North America. Canada’s biggest trucking company, TFI International Inc., says the trade war is hammering some of its freight volumes and fuelling uncertainty. The fortunes of U.S. truckers matter because they touch virtually every sector of the U.S. economy and are among the first to register changes in business activity, Nicolas Van Praet reports. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund slashed its forecasts for growth in the United States, China and most countries, including Canada, citing the impact of U.S. tariffs now at 100-year highs, and warning that further trade tensions would slow growth further.
The future of Hudson’s Bay is still up in the air
Sale signage is seen at the Hudson's Bay store in Toronto, Tuesday, April 22, 2025.Giordano Ciampini/The Canadian Press
The future of Hudson’s Bay Co. continues to hang in the balance after new court documents showed that Canada’s oldest retailer will begin clearance sales at six stores that it previously left out of the liquidation. The company also faces a deadline next week for bids to be submitted in the sale process for the company’s assets and operations. That sale is being conducted separately from the bidding for 96 leases on its stores and four leases on its distribution centres – but Hudson’s Bay has received expressions of interest for dozens of its leases. Bids for the leases are due on May 1, the day after the bidding deadline in the sale process. Susan Krashinsky Robertson takes a look at the fall of Hudson’s Bay and how Richard Baker presided over the failure of a retail icon.
Decoder: First-time homebuyers in Ontario are getting older, and fast
Young people in Canada looking to buy their first homes have faced many obstacles in recent years – a higher cost of living, skyrocketing home prices, rising interest rates. It’s no surprise that those affordability issues have pushed homebuyers to delay their transition to ownership. The median age of a first-time homebuyer in 2024 was 40, according to a report from Teranet, the province’s land registry service. The median age in 2014 was 36. Meanwhile, a Royal Bank of Canada report found that while the cost of owning a home has eased for four straight quarters, this burden remains higher than at any time since 1990. Jason Kirby takes a closer look at the numbers in this week’s Decoder series.
Move to the U.S. to avoid tariffs? These Canadian companies say no way
Erick Vachon and his son Jean-Sébastien Vachon, president and vice-president of Ideal Can.Renaud Philippe/The Globe and Mail
A growing number of Canadian companies – big and small – are betting on increasing sales at home rather than relying on the U.S. market. The emerging trend pushes back on the rhetoric of Trump’s tariffs to lure manufacturers to the United States. In fact, some Canadian companies are seeing the opposite of Trump’s wishes come true, especially as governments, corporations and consumers here understand the necessity of building capacity and economic autonomy at home. Pippa Norman and Irene Galea spoke to a handful of businesses that are going all in on Canada instead.
Alberta has a big vision to build massive AI data centres, but do they have the power to handle it?
Minister of Technology and Innovation Nate Glubish stands outside the Alberta Legislature in Edmonton, Alberta, on April 14, 2025.Kelsey McMillan/The Globe and Mail
Alberta wants to attract massive data centres to power generative artificial intelligence. The provincial government has a plan to attract data centres to Alberta, aiming for $100-billion of investment over a few years – and so far, it’s working. O’Leary Ventures, headed by Canadian celebrity businessman Kevin O’Leary, is looking at rural Alberta to build Wonder Valley – the largest AI data centre complex in the world. There’s just one problem. The province’s current infrastructure can’t handle the near-endless demand for electricity by these data centres. Joe Castaldo reports on Alberta’s vision when it comes to data centre development and the push to build energy infrastructure that would power these massive centres.
Take our business quiz for the week of April 25
b. Bank of Montreal. You know that old line about how timing is everything? It’s especially true with investing. Ms. Wood, a passionate booster of the U.S. tech scene, rode the sector to enormous returns five years ago. Sadly, the performance of her ARK Investment Management funds since 2022 has been dismal, and that has prompted BMO Investments to close down three exchange-traded funds and three mutual funds it had launched in partnership with her.
Get the rest of the questions from the weekly business and investing news quiz here, and prepare for the week ahead with The Globe’s investing calendar.