fbpx
Tuesday, August 5, 2025

38% of Canadians to buy second hand Christmas gifts

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

Some Canadians are turning to thrifting this Christmas season in order to buy second-hand Christmas gifts for loved ones, the online social e-commerce platform Poshmark reports. 

The company’s 2022 Canada Holiday Trend Report found that 38% of Canadian shoppers indicated that they “intend to purchase a gift second hand” this year. 

Others are on the hunt to buy goods for the lowest prices possible. A total of 69% of people told the retailer that they were seeking deals on holiday gifts. 

“Shoppers are poised to make more budget-friendly buying choices this holiday season, with an eye toward the best deals and the lowest prices driven by ongoing concerns about the economy and rising costs,” writes Poshmark. 

Poshmark’s findings corroborate an earlier survey this fall by the e-commerce company Rakuten.

When polling Canadian consumers the company discovered that 38% of people polled said they would consider purchasing a second hand gift while 44% indicated they would be giving out homemade gifts. 

Canadians also reported economic concerns being at the top of mind this holiday season. A vast majority (82%) said economic concerns had an effect on their Christmas shopping. 

Inflation came out on top with 61% citing stresses about pricing while 53% blamed the high cost of groceries and 32% cited the cost of gasoline. 

“To navigate financial strains like inflation, Canadians are becoming more mindful when shopping – especially during the holiday season,” said Rakuten vice president of marketing Claire Sweeney. 

“We’re also seeing retailers adapt to changing pressures and expect retailers to be more strategic with discounting. As shoppers become more intentional with purchases, it’s not surprising to see that Canadian’s are leaning into sales and loyalty programs.”

Before the House of Commons went on its winter recess last week, the Conservatives blasted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh for overseeing Canada’s economic downturn. 

“No matter which leader the costly coalition chooses to sit in that chair—or at the cottage—the results will be the same: billions of dollars in inflationary spending on the backs of Canadians, who have never had to pay so much for their Christmas dinner, the worst inflation in 40 years, and food banks that cannot keep up with demand,” said Conservative MP Luc Berthold. 

Ratio’d | How is this video real?

By
Harrison Faulkner
-

Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released a strange selfie-style video asking Canadians to send him questions. Given that the prime minister has shown a lack of interest in answering questions from the opposition benches, many were confused about the request but nonetheless let him have their 2 cents.

Canadians responded with over 30,000 questions – many of them highly critical of him — including his handling of the Freedom Convoy protest, internet censorship, firearms legislation and assisted suicide legislation.

Why do high-profile cabinet ministers and the prime minister continue to post ridiculous Twitter videos in some attempt to reach out and appear relatable to Canadians? They don’t look relatable, they look ridiculous.

Tune in to the latest episode of Ratio’d with Harrison Faulkner!

Majority of Canadians say inflation impacting Christmas gift buying

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

More Canadians than ever are struggling to afford holiday spending due to the rising cost of living. 

BMO’s Real Financial Progress Index found that 77% of those surveyed said their Christmas shopping has been impacted by growing inflation. 

Canadians are also less confident in their financial situation, according to the report. A total of 69% of people surveyed reported being confident in their finances – a 6% drop when compared to last year. 

In order to save some money 37% of Canadians are buying less expensive presents, 33% are cutting back on purchases and 28% plan on giving out fewer gifts. 

“Given the highest inflation in four decades and the fastest interest rate increases in three decades, it’s not surprising that Canadian families, especially younger ones, are feeling substantial strain on their finances and well-being,” said senior economist Sal Guatieri.

“The relatively good news is that policy rates are expected to stabilize in 2023 as inflation slows, setting the stage for potentially lower borrowing costs in 2024.”

Almost two thirds – 63% – of Canadians are also putting off making major purchases like a new vehicle or buying a house. 

Anxiety over finances is also high with 51% of people fretting about their credit card debt. 

On top of inflation, Canadians have to deal with incoming tax hikes. 

The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses reported last week that increases to Canada Pension Plan and Employment Insurance premiums will see Canadians take home $305 less in pay beginning next year. 

“The maximum additional amount that an employee will pay in EI and CPP contributions is $304.71. It may not seem like a lot, but $300 can cost one family a trip to the grocery store or pay for their transportation or utility bills. Payroll tax increases will hit Canadians at a time when most are already seeing their cost of living quickly increase,” said CFIB president Dan Kelly. 

“The hikes will also affect small businesses. With rising input costs, staggering labour shortages and a potential recession, the economy is already in a bad shape. At minimum, the government should be pressing pause until inflation is under control.”

FUREY: Is Canada broken? The evidence suggests yes

By
Anthony Furey
-

Last month, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre threw down the gauntlet in declaring “most everything in Canada is broken and Justin Trudeau carries a good deal of the blame.” He was speaking at a press conference in British Columbia, where he pointed to how drug overdoses in that province have soared in recent years. Poilievre also named inflation, higher gas prices, unaffordable housing and violence and crime as phenomena worsened by the Liberal government.

The Prime Minister has now come out swinging in response though, declaring at the Liberal holiday party the other day that Poilievre was flat-out wrong.

“Mr. Poilievre might choose to undermine our democracy by amplifying conspiracy theories. He might decide to run away from journalists when they ask him tough questions. That’s how he brands himself. That’s his choice. But, when he says that Canada is broken, where’s where we draw the line,” Trudeau said.

The main evidence he pointed to that Canada was faring well is that the federal government helped the East Coast rebuild after hurricane Fiona and how his national child care plan is bringing more women into the workforce.

It’s nice spin, to try and flip it back to become an attack on Poilievre, and it’ll no doubt serve well to rally the Liberal troops, but there’s no denying the advantage in this conversation goes to Poilievre.

It’s not like the Conservative leader is crafting some sort of argument out of thin air.  He’s just pointing out what’s going on around us. And, in so many ways, Canada does feel broken. While defenders of the status quo can point to various international rankings and stats to argue that Canada is still chugging along just fine, the question then becomes whether you believe the “experts” or your own lying eyes about the state of the nation.

If you’ve needed to renew your passport this calendar year, you’ve likely experienced the systems failure that’s been going on at these offices. While we pay plenty of senior bureaucrats to effectively manage these offices, they somehow just can’t get the basics right.

Then there’s the outrageous closure of hospitals throughout Ontario in recent months, where some locations shut their ERs on evenings and weekends because management just couldn’t figure out how to staff the shifts. 

If a hospital CEO can’t keep the hospital open because of a logistics issue, that means they can’t fulfill their most basic job obligations. Heads should have rolled as a result of that. Instead, this was deemed business as usual and perhaps even a sign of things to come.

The issue that hit home the most for many parents was the shocking shortage in children’s cold and flu medicines. This past fall, drug store shelves were bare for weeks on end and the problem still hasn’t fully resolved. 

I went out multiple times to secure medicine for my sick children, only to come home empty-handed after stopping at half a dozen stores in a single evening. I was only properly stocked when a neighbour returning from the United States brought us back a couple of bottles. It was a surreal experience, to have someone bring you a basic supply across the border like you’re on the wrong side of the Berlin Wall.

When it comes to crime, people in urban areas feel that things are unspooling. Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside is worse than ever; people are now randomly attacked on the Toronto subway system; violence in schools is on the rise.

Meanwhile, traffic is so nuts – at least in Toronto – that people are running red lights more than ever. The little things are adding up – which was the idea behind the “broken windows” theory in the 1980s: small acts of lawlessness become commonplace, which erodes society’s standards in general.

When it comes to the soaring price of goods and scarcity issues, that there are larger macroeconomic and supply chain issues at play doesn’t change the fact that these are problems people feel in their daily lives, all of which contributes to a sense of brokenness.

We can debate who is to blame and we can debate the appropriate solutions, but as to whether or not Canada is at a breaking point, the evidence suggests we’re in big trouble.

The Daily Brief | Is Musk stepping down as head of Twitter?

By
Anthony Furey
-

Over the weekend, Twitter owner Elon Musk tweeted, “Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll” out to his 122 million followers. Out of 17.5 million votes, 57.5% of respondents said yes. However, as of Monday morning, Musk hasn’t commented yet on the results.

Plus, as Alberta pushes back against the Trudeau government’s gun-grab scheme, Liberal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino claims the federal right to confiscate and regulate firearms was “well-settled” by the Supreme Court.

And Canadians are resorting to desperate measures as the price of food continues to rise across the country.

Tune into The Daily Brief with Anthony Furey and Jasmine Moulton!

SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY BRIEF

BONOKOSKI: Canada works as a constitutional democracy – don’t fix what’s not broken

By
Mark Bonokoski
-

Last week marked the 91st anniversary of the Statute of Westminster, a British law that was Canada’s all-but-final achievement of independence from the United Kingdom.

It was enacted in 1931 on recommendations from the Balfour Report of 1926, which had declared that Britain and its Dominions—Canada et al—were constitutionally “equal in status.” 

However, Britain still had the ability to amend the Canadian constitution, and Canada took time to cut its legal ties to England. Meanwhile, it adopted its own national symbols, like the Canadian flag, featuring the red maple leaf, which debuted in 1965.

So, the anniversary is hardly unimportant, especially now that Charles III is the new king, replacing the late and lamented Queen Elizabeth II, and a growing yet still quiet movement is underway to break entirely away from the monarchy and form the Republic of Canada.

It would be no easy task, beginning with the fact that all 10 provinces and territories must agree with the breakaway.

Barbados became a republic in 2021, replacing the British monarch as its head of state and severing its last remaining colonial bonds nearly 400 years after the first English ships arrived at the Caribbean island.

The new republic was born to the cheers of hundreds of people lining Chamberlain Bridge in the capital, Bridgetown, at the stroke of midnight. A 21-gun salute fired as the national anthem of Barbados was played over a crowded Heroes Square.

Sandra Mason, lawyer, politician and diplomat, was sworn in as Barbados’s first president in the shadow of Barbados’s parliament. She was previously the eighth and final governor-general from 2018 to 2021, the second woman to hold the office.

In other words, she was Barbados’ Mary Simon. 

Me? I am okay with the status quo. I look south to the United States and see a divided republic now steeped in a boiling hatred that scarily showed its ugly head in the recent mid-term elections, and the violent storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6.

During both, politicians were screaming libels at one another.

Christian Walker, a conservative influencer and estranged son of Herschel Walker, posted a string of harsh tweets after his Republican father was defeated in Georgia’s majority-deciding Senate race. He slammed both his father and the Republican Party, accusing them of engaging in identity politics and betraying the party.

Christian, who quickly became one of the senatorial candidate’s fiercest critics during the election, described his dad a “backstabber,” claiming that “everyone with a brain begged” him not to run for office when former President Donald Trump called him “for months demanding that he run.”

“We got the middle finger,” Walker wrote. “He ran.”

Located as we are north of the United States, we have no choice but to bear witness to the socially dysfunctional presidential republic to our south—still caught up in centuries old black-white racism, weekly killings because of its persistent devotion to the right to bear arms, and a dangerous form of overly and overtly partisan politics.

To me, it’s a mess.

Even the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with its wanton spending of billions and disregard for the country’s massive debt and deficit do not dampen the love of country.

There are disappointments but no serious rifts, even as Alberta toys with ignoring certain federal decisions or mandates.

Remember the efforts of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney sweating over the political Rubik’s cube of Canada in his frustrating attempt at the Charlottetown and the Meech Lake Accords, and one could imagine the trials—and the costs—of Canada becoming a republic.

It works now as a constitutional democracy.

Don’t fix what’s not yet even close to being broken.

FUREY: Should we ban TikTok in Canada?

By
Anthony Furey
-

In the US, there is a bi-partisan effort to ban China’s popular social media app TikTok over fears that the app could be used to spy on users and that it could pose a serious threat to national security. It appears the Biden Administration has taken the ball from where President Trump left off in terms of decoupling from China.

In Canada, the Trudeau government indicated that they are monitoring the Chinese app for security threats. What do you think? Is it time to ban TikTok in Canada?

Anthony Furey discusses.

OP-ED: Think of the ways the ArriveCAN budget could have been better spent elsewhere

By
Dr. Jennifer Grant
-

Dr. Jennifer Grant is an infectious diseases physician and a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Medicine.

The federal government spent $54 million on its ArriveCAN phone app. Put aside the “how did we get to such a ridiculous number for functionality that a 15-year-old could cobble up,” question – which has been addressed elsewhere – and let’s get to the meat of the issue. 

The putative reason for ArriveCan was to improve public health during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the Liberal government claims that “tens of thousands of lives were saved,” supportive data – specifically data showing that the app would outperform paper documents – are notably absent. 

In fact, there is no evidence that a single life was saved, or even modestly improved. Proof of vaccination does not require an electronic record: As a technology, paper has challenges, but we have been using it effectively since the time of Babylon.

Is there a role for an app that makes life easier? Well, probably, but only if it actually does. Instead, the Canada Border Services Agency confirmed that agents spent hours to help those who wanted to travel, but lacked IT skills to handle the app – worsening border delays.

The major issue with the ArriveCAN app, however, is not its superfluousness or its inconvenience, but rather its opportunity cost. What could $54 million have done for public health instead to truly impact the wellbeing of Canadians? 

Data on public health interventions with the greatest return on investment do not include cell-phone apps. Instead, specific policies and prevention programmes could have resulted in longer and better lives. How so? Here are some ideas.

The first obvious option would have been to just not spend $54 million, thereby reducing the debt, now reaching $1.4 trillion. Our children will pay for our profligacy. But let’s put that aside. 

Assuming we wanted to spend money on health, with $54 million dollars we could have paid the salaries of 760 front-line nurses, or bring 675 new nurses through a 4-year degree programme. This would have alleviated the pressure on acute care where our sickest patients were. 

Alternatively, we could have paid for the education of 3,600 new licenced practical nurses to reduce the risk of transmission in long term care (LTC). Since LTC was the place of most mortality (representing 80% early in the pandemic), even a modest reduction of transmission could have substantially reduced the death rate.

Had we used money on that scale for vaccination teams, we could have found culturally appropriate personnel to go door-to-door in high-risk neighbourhoods to offer vaccine, in the language spoken at home, to vulnerable elders who had been unable to get to vaccine clinics.

With $54 million we could have deployed 450 two member teams for a year. If they were able to vaccinate only 10 people a day on average, in a year, we would have managed around a million more vaccines, saving an estimated 200,000 lives.  

During school closures, those of the lowest socio-economic status suffered massive learning losses. The reasons for this are myriad, but include lack of infrastructure and home supports. Since educational attainment is a powerful predictor of future health outcomes, providing internet for those without and educational support for children at risk during the pandemic would have been money much better spent. 

Vaccine uptake for routine childhood vaccines dropped substantially during the pandemic period. Vaccines are amongst the most cost-effective programmes after clean water and sewage management. Using even some of the money spent on ArriveCAN for follow-up of new mothers to support vaccine appointments could have made a huge difference in protecting our children from easily preventable childhood illness. 

Around 1.4 million Canadian children live in food-insecure households. During the pandemic early childhood nutrition programmes were severely impacted by school closures, resulting in a double whammy: households with children were amongst the more likely to have increased food insecurity during the pandemic and closing schools made help harder to get. 

If instead of ArriveCAN we had provided expanded food services, we could have improved the lives of our most vulnerable citizens, paying dividends for years. In fact, school nutrition programmes are a great “bang-for-your-buck” intervention at remarkably modest costs, with a return on investment of $3 to $10 per dollar spent. 

Outside of COVID, money directed to smoking cessation, community exercise programmes, early childhood education, sexual health, safe injection, to name just a few, would have done more for Canadians than ArriveCAN. 

Instead, we have another government IT white elephant. It should be relegated to the heap like the Phoenix pay system.

The Rupa Subramanya Show | The Woke Capture of the Legacy Media (Ft. Tara Henley)

By
Rupa Subramanya
-

Tara Henley quit the CBC after almost a decade at the state-broadcaster working as a journalist and a radio producer. As she explained in her Substack post back in January, “to work at the CBC in the current climate is to embrace cognitive dissonance and to abandon journalistic integrity.” Following in the recent path of many journalists, Henley abandoned the legacy media to work independently using Substack as her platform of choice.

Tara writes the Lean Out Substack and is the host of the Lean Out podcast.

On the latest episode of The Rupa Subramanya Show, Rupa and Tara discuss the ideological capture of legacy media by woke leftist ideology and the decline in the quality of Canadian journalism. Why did the legacy media fail to cover the Freedom Convoy accurately? Why is trust in media at all-time lows? Where does Canadian journalism go from here?

Rupa and Tara answer those questions and more on the latest episode of the Rupa Subramanya Show.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE RUPA SUBRAMANYA SHOW

BONOKOSKI: The latest barrage against Ukraine

By
Mark Bonokoski
-

In 2016, there were an estimated 1,359,655 persons of Ukrainian origin residing in Canada, mainly in the West, with the majority of them being Canadian-born citizens.

Today that population is pushing well beyond 1.5 million.

This makes them Canada’s 11th largest ethnic group, giving Canada the world’s third-largest Ukrainian population behind Ukraine itself and Russia.

Naturally, it will not be the best of Christmases. 

Russia launched a new barrage of missiles at Ukraine on Friday as air defence systems went into operation across the country.

Oleksiy Kuleba, the governor of the Kyiv region, said Russia was “massively attacking” the country.

At least three people were killed and nine power-generating facilities were damaged in the strikes — leaving more than half the country with compromised power as the cold of winter truly sets in.

No electricity, no gas, no running water, no heating is now the reality for upwards of 12 million across the country.

Ukraine’s air defences took out 60 out of 76 of Friday’s incoming missiles fired at critical infrastructure, including 37 out of 40 missiles fired at the capital Kyiv, Ukraine’s top general told Euronews.

Considering this is already the ninth wave of missile strikes on energy facilities, the restoration of the power supply may take longer than before as emergency power shutdowns have been introduced across the country to enable repairs.

In Kryvyi Rih, a residential building was hit, leading to fears that people could be trapped in the rubble.

“The stairwell was destroyed. Two people were killed,” regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko wrote on Facebook.

“At least five were wounded, including two children,” he added. “All are in hospital.”

A third person died in the southern Kherson region after an apartment block was hit by Russian shelling that caused a fire, regional authorities said.

The West’s response was to hit Russia oligarchs with more sanctions.

The Kremlin said on Friday it would study the latest package of European Union sanctions against Russia and then formulate its response.

The measures target a further 200 Russian individuals and entities, freezing assets and imposing travel bans. These include government ministers, lawmakers, regional governors, political parties and entities including the armed forces.

A total of 1,241 individuals and 118 entities have already been blacklisted by the EU following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

The ninth sanctions package also targeted the Russian defence industry, more Russian banks, and the mining sectors, as well as export controls on products that could be used by the armed forces.

The war in Ukraine — the largest in Europe since the Second World War — has posed significant challenges for the bloc.

European defence spending topped €200 billion for the first time in 2021, rising 6% from the previous year.

The EU’s defence agency has warned that member states should buy arms jointly to replenish stocks after supplying Ukraine.

“The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine demonstrates our capability shortfalls,” said Jiri Sedivy, chief executive of the European Defence Agency.

According to a 2020 report by the European Parliament, the EU would struggle to defend itself without intelligence, reconnaissance aircraft and medium-range missile defences from the United States.

Meanwhile, former Ukrainian ambassador to Canada Andriy Shevchenko and former Canadian ambassador to Ukraine Roman Waschuk warned on the CBC of the potential for a major Russian ground offensive in the new year and question whether Ukraine is receiving enough support as its power grid continues to come under attack.

As for Russian president Vladimir Putin, he is carrying on as usual, and is heading to Belarus on Monday basically just to say hello.

1...673674675...1,460Page 674 of 1,460

Related stories

© 2025 True North | Privacy Policy