In the news: Report shows how much Canadians will spend on food in 2025

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed…

Canadians to spend $801 more on food in 2025 as climate, Trump affect prices: report

A new report says a Canadian family of four can expect to spend up to $801 more on food in 2025 than they did this year. The report by experts at four Canadian universities says food prices are likely to rise between three and five per cent next year. The report’s authors say there are some wild cards that could drive food prices higher next year, including climate change-related severe weather and the return of Donald Trump to the White House. The former president’s threat of tariffs has already had the effect of weakening the Canadian dollar, which is driving up prices for Canadian food importers.

Read More:

• Sask. government act would deliver on affordability election promises
• Sask. people share how affordability crisis affects them
• Monthly food bank use soars to new record, due to cost of groceries, housing

Canada Post strike hits three-week mark

As the Canada Post strike hits the three-week mark, the union representing more than 55,000 postal workers says it has sent new counter-proposals to the government-appointed mediator. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers said in a bulletin Wednesday evening that it’s ready to get back to federal mediation, which was put on pause last week. One of the key issues in negotiations has been a push to expand delivery to the weekend, but the two sides are at odds over how to staff the expansion. Canada Post has pitched the expansion as a way to boost revenue as it’s been struggling to compete with other delivery companies.

Here’s what else we’re watching…

Healing 35 years after the Montreal Massacre

Ahead of Friday’s events marking the 35th anniversary of the anti-feminist attack that claimed the lives of 14 women at Montreal’s Polytechnique engineering school, one survivor says it’s important to look at progress. Nathalie Provost says society is able to name and face the reality of what happened on December 6th, 1989, as anti-feminist. A number of commemorative events are planned to mark the 35th anniversary in Montreal on Friday, which is also the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

Frustration as Ontario IPV committee fast-tracked

Victims of intimate partner violence and their supporters are upset after early election speculation forced an Ontario legislative committee to cut short what was supposed to be an exhaustive study of the issue. A possible spring election has forced one of the committee’s leaders to expedite the study’s timeline with the goal of completing a report by February, while the other leader called the situation a — quote — “farce.” A key trip to Renfrew County was planned to meet with those involved in a seminal coroner’s inquest into the murders of three area women at the hands of a former partner. That trip has now been cancelled and discussions with survivors will occur either at Queen’s Park in Toronto or over video calls.

Christmas means return of iconic Winnipeg statues

For more than 50 years, statues of the Three Wise Men have signalled to Winnipeggers that it’s time to start preparing for the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. The more than four-metre-tall statues of the men riding camels are hoisted on top of the Canada Life building in November. The long-standing holiday tradition started in 1973. Brenda Uzelmann says the grand statues are an iconic Winnipeg Christmas tradition. Canada Life says it hears from people every year who say the Three Wise Men statues evoke fond childhood memories.

Swifties get creative over BC Place bracelet rules

When B.C. Place announced a ban on loose objects and large bags for Taylor Swift’s three upcoming shows in Vancouver, it forced some Swifties to figure out what to do with the hundreds of friendship bracelets they made to trade with other fans. Christina Bates says she can comfortably fit 40 bracelets on each arm — without losing her circulation — so that’s what she plans to do. Others say they’ll trade the bracelets before they even get into the show. Security is tight for the shows, with B-C Place installing barricades around the stadium and banning so-called “Taylgate” parties where ticketless fans gather outside arenas to listen for free.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2024.

The Canadian Press