By some measures, Canada’s economy is falling behind the U.S. Here’s what that means.

Driving the news: While our American neighbours watch their economy grow, Canada is continuing to grapple with challenges in maintaining its economic stability. Consumers are pulling back on their spending, a phenomenon that has been driven by a variety of factors:

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced yesterday that the province is planning to radically restructure its healthcare system. 

What happened: The plan is to split Alberta Health Services (AHS), the province’s central health authority, into four bodies focused on specific areas: Acute care, continuing care, mental health and addictions services, and primary care.

Whether you’re at a family get-together or surfing online, politics can be a dicey topic to explore. 

What happened: Meta will start requiring advertisers to disclose if they’ve used AI to create or alter political, social issue, or election-related ads on Facebook and Instagram, its latest step to curb the role of AI-generated deepfakes in the spread of election misinformation.

Rarely can one event kill off an entire industry, but that’s exactly what happened to airship travel when the LZ 129 Hindenburg burst into flames above New Jersey in 1937.  

Seventy-six years later, a new line of blimp-trepreneurs are hoping the stigma has worn off.   

What happened: Pathfinder 1 — a prototype electric airship from the Sergey Brin-backed startup LTA Research — began flight testing yesterday. Clocking in at 407 feet long, it’s the largest aircraft in the world and the biggest one to take to the skies since the 1930s. 

To any wine moms or vino snobs who may be reading, make sure you’re sitting down with a chilled pinto grigio before looking at this next story. You might find it too upsetting. 

Driving the news: Global wine production is set to fall to its lowest level in over 60 years, according to a new estimate by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV). 

Not all heroes wear capes: Canada’s telecom regulator is trying to make your phone bill a little less daunting. 

What happened: The CRTC is forcing Canada’s biggest telecom companies to give smaller, independent competitors in Ontario and Québec access to their fibre networks — it’s the first move in the regulator's push to increase competition in the highly concentrated sector.

Raise your on-tap kombuchas for a toast to WeWork, which burned far too bright and way too fast. 

What happened: WeWork, the co-working company that once pledged to “elevate the world’s consciousness,” filed for bankruptcy in a U.S. district court, with plans to have the bankruptcy recognized in Canada. For now, its operations will continue mostly unchanged.

Social media platforms are bracing for a potentially rough quarter, but they do have one hope: those “tap here to buy now” ads.

Driving the news: Pinterest said it hit its first quarterly profit of the year because its ads are more relevant than ever. That was a much more optimistic tone than its competitors.

Just like you with your ex, the general public has fallen out of love with dating apps.  

What happened: Bumble co-founder Whitney Wolfe Herd is stepping down as CEO of the dating app company and will be replaced by current Slack head Lidiane Jones next year. 

The maker of Fortnite is hoping to score a victory royale against one of the titans of tech. 

What happened: A long-awaited antitrust trial between Google and Epic Games kicked off yesterday. Epic argues that Google makes it too difficult for both developers and Android users to upload, download, or make purchases through anything other than its app store, allowing Google to control an illegal monopoly and enrich itself through its exorbitant fees.

Want your late-night Big Mac order to arrive at least a little bit warm? Better tip your delivery driver ahead of time. 

Driving the news: DoorDash is testing a change to its service that will ask customers to add a tip at checkout and warn them that failing to do so could mean their delivery will take longer.

Out of all the jobs under threat from AI, we certainly didn’t have Instagram influencers at the top of our list. 

Driving the news: Major global brands, including Prada, Calvin Klein, Samsung, and BMW, are turning to AI-generated influencers to promote their products on social media, opting for a cost-effective alternative to high-profile social media personalities.

Our picks for what to eat, read, watch, and listen to this weekend.

When new economic data from Canada, the US, and the EU all tell a similar story… we’d call that a trend worth noting.

What happened: A flurry of new jobs data is showing a sharp slowdown in hiring across Western economies.

Pakistan kicked off an unprecedented crackdown on undocumented immigrants that could send over a million people into the arms of an authoritarian regime. 

What happened: Pakistan commenced the mass arrest and deportation of undocumented immigrants after a deadline to voluntarily leave the country passed this week. While the directive includes all undocumented migrants, it clearly targets recent Afghan migrants.

Want to feel old? The median age in Africa is just shy of 19. 

Driving the news: In most of the world, anxieties about how countries will care and pay for their fast-ageing populations are growing. Africa is the exception: The continent is seeing a baby boom that is fuelling one of the youngest and fastest-growing populations on Earth.

Pros of Canadian currency compared to US currency: Comes in several fun colours, and features the majestic loon. 

Cons of Canadian currency compared to US currency: It’s less valuable, and dropping lower. 

Driving the news: The Canadian dollar was trading at around six-month lows at market close yesterday and runs the risk of falling as low as US$0.71 per Monex Canada analysis. 

Canadians are turning away from economic surveys, a development that’s hurting far more than just the feelings of the Stats Canada surveyors knocking on their doors. 

Driving the news: Stats Canada is struggling to get businesses and households to respond to its Labour Force Survey, a trend that could distort key economic data, per The Globe and Mail. The most recent response rate has fallen from 87% in 2019 to 70% in September.

Celebrity memoirs aren’t just a source of gossip-worthy headlines… they’ve also been giving the publishing industry a needed shot in the arm.

Driving the news: The Woman in Me by pop legend Britney Spears debuted at the top of The New York Times best seller list for non-fiction this past week, the latest in a steady stream of celebrity memoirs that have been hitting (and flying off of) shelves this year.

The golden era of cash ETFs could be coming to a close, thanks to some new house rules courtesy of Bay Street’s watchdog.  

Driving the news: Canada’s banking watchdog is imposing new rules on one of Canada’s most popular retail investments, cash exchange-traded funds (ETFs), a move that will lower the big returns investors have been getting from the funds, per The Globe and Mail.