Books are back

Good morning. The GOAT of competitive eating, Joey Chestnut, added another trophy to the mantle this weekend with his 18th win at the Nathan’s July 4 Hot Dog Eating Contest. Chestnut threw back 66 hot dogs in just 10 minutes, 15 more glizzy’s than the runner-up. 

So far in his competitive career, he has eaten 1284.5 hot dogs (over 345,000 calories). Our thoughts are with him and his digestive system this week. 

Today’s reading time is 5½ minutes.

Earnings to watch: Vancouver-based retailer Aritzia will headline an otherwise quiet week on the earnings calendar with its results on Thursday. The apparel brand, which has seen its stock climb ~33% this year, has been cashing in on a successful U.S. expansion.

A new generation of Canadians is discovering what their parents used to do for fun before smartphones existed. 

Driving the news: A recent report from non-profit BookNet Canada found that half of Canadians read or listened to a book at least once a week in 2025, with 79% of respondents reading at least one book in the past year. 

Why it’s happening: More people are turning to reading as a screen-time antidote. Gen Zs in particular have embraced books as a digital detox to the point where they have suddenly become — dare we say it — trendy. 

Why it matters: Books may not fully detach us from our devices, but reading for fun has made a meaningful return to our lives. The BookNet report found that, on a weekly basis, Canadians now spend more time reading than playing video games or listening to podcasts.

Our take: With people’s attention spans shrinking to the point where a 20-minute episode of TV seems like a serious commitment, maybe books can help retrain our brains to not need a new source of stimulation every few minutes.—LA

U.S. ambassador to Canada says the Gordie Howe Bridge delay is not political. Pete Hoekstra denied that the bridge’s delayed opening was the result of pressure from Ambassador Bridge owner Mathew Moroun, who donated US$1 million to Donald Trump’s super PAC. Moroun reportedly met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hours before Trump posted out of the blue that he would block the bridge’s opening unless the U.S. was “compensated.” It’s still not clear when the bridge will open. (Global News)

Canadians are parking more of their money in ETFs. As of May, Canadian-listed ETFs held a record high of nearly $1 trillion in net assets, a 22% jump from last year and a 280% increase from 2020. With investor interest growing quickly, ETFs in Canada are being launched at the fastest pace on record. Over 235 new ETF products began trading in Canada in 2025, with another 103 hitting the market this year. (The Logic)

Air Canada is cutting down on its U.S. flights. With fewer Canadians travelling to the States, the airline is cancelling or delaying eight routes to the U.S., including to popular destinations like New York City and Florida. Canadian air travel to the U.S. fell 2.1% in May — the 16th consecutive month of year-over-year decline. (SimpleFlying)

What else is on our radar: 

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🇹🇷 Carney travels to Turkey for NATO summit. Mark Carney will visit Turkey this week for a meeting of NATO leaders. The main purpose of the trip will be to manage Donald Trump, who is expected to use the gathering as an opportunity to berate NATO nations for staying out of the U.S. war in Iran. Also on the agenda will be the war in Ukraine, which is now in its fourth year, with no clear end in sight. Carney may also use the visit — the first by a Canadian prime minister to the country since 2015 — to deepen trade ties with Turkey and pitch Canadian energy and arms exports.

⚓ Submarine contract winners to be announced. The winner of the contract to build 12 new submarines for the Canadian military will be announced today, The Globe & Mail reported. Germany’s TKMS and South Korea’s Hanwha have been campaigning aggressively to win the lucrative deal, promising tens of thousands of new jobs and billions of dollars in economic benefits. 

📊 New employment data. Friday’s Labour Force Survey isn’t likely to match May’s gain of 88,000 jobs, but economists are predicting a more modest gain that keeps the unemployment rate flat around 6.6%. Even as the economy continues to suffer from U.S. tariffs, tighter immigration policy has shrunk the workforce, keeping the labour market fairly balanced.

Canada’s World Cup hosting duties conclude tomorrow, and the early data shows that — like any good party host — Toronto and Vancouver are probably not coming out ahead financially.

What happened: Debit and credit card spending at restaurants and bars rose by just 3% in Toronto during the first two weeks of the World Cup compared to the same period last year, according to data from payment processing company Moneris. To put that in perspective, bar and restaurant spending rose by 12% in Toronto during Taylor Swift’s 2024 Eras Tour performances. 

Why it matters: Canada likely spent just over $1 billion to co-host the World Cup (around $82 million per game), according to an estimate by the Parliamentary Budget Officer. Tournament boosters justified that cost, in part, by pointing to forecasts (some sponsored by FIFA) of supercharged economic activity that now seem overly optimistic. 

Zoom out: Large international sporting events like the World Cup and the Olympics are almost always pitched as paying for themselves, but that almost never turns out to be the case.

Our take: You don’t host the World Cup to make money—you do it for the vibes, and maybe to give your city’s brand a bit more juice. Whether that’s a worthwhile way to spend $1 billion is a question, dear reader, we leave up to you.—TS

💰 ~1 million. New millionaires that were minted last year, according to the UBS Global Wealth Report. Personal wealth rose 10.8% globally — the fastest pace in years — but median wealth fell in most countries, meaning the vast majority of people got poorer last year.

Let’s get this week rolling with today’s mini-crossword, the daily sudoku, Codebreaker, and last but not least, Who’s Who.