2025: The Year in Money (But Mostly Not Having Money)

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This year, we’ve published incisive looks at some of the biggest brands in Canada. But it’s hard to ignore the growing tensions around money. Some of our top stories have circled around affordability concerns, coming to grips with mind-boggling housing prices, frustrations with corporate culture, and the fact that, when it comes to the labour market, the kids are not alright. Here’s a look at the systems shaping everything, from job interviews to the price of eggs:

 

Not Working, Not Studying, Not Happy: Meet the NEETs BY NATHAN ABRAHA Why are so many young people struggling to finish education or find a job?

No One Wants to Buy a Condo BY KATHY CHOW Canadians piled into real estate investment. Now their units are worth less than their mortgages

Tax Cuts Won’t Make Life More Affordable BY RENÉE SYLVESTRE-WILLIAMS Politicians like promising them to the middle class. But they often benefit the wealthy

The Death of Shopify’s Start-up Dream, One Layoff at a Time BY JOSH GREENBLATT

How the company chased scale, hit a wall, retrenched, and became the very thing it promised not to be

Eggs Are Still Affordable in Canada. Thank Supply Management BY SOLARINA HO Trump keeps clucking about it. Here’s how the system works

Indigenous Priorities Are Just a Checkbox When It Comes to Economic Development BY JANELLE LAPOINTE Corporations co-opt language from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to justify extraction

Companies Are Outsourcing Job Interviews to AI. What Could Go Wrong? BY MIHIKA AGARWAL Human resources is getting much less human

How “Buy Now, Pay Later” Seduced a Generation—and Trapped It in Debt BY VASS BEDNAR From burritos to Beyoncé tickets, micro-loans now bankroll our most routine needs

How Ssense Lost Its Cool BY LAUREN COCHRANE Mismanagement, retail upheaval, and a failed bet on Gen Z have left the luxury site on a lifeline

Canada Goose Built a Luxury Empire by Betting Big on China BY YVONNE LAU The parka maker dodged geopolitics, the pandemic, and local pushback

The Walrus Talks at Home: Tariffs BY THE WALRUS TALKS Discussing what the US trade war means for Canada, both now and in the future

Canada Held the Door Open for International Students. Then Slammed It in Their Face BY MARCELLO DI CINTIO They contributed more to the GDP than the entire auto industry. Now the country doesn’t want them anymore

How Poilievre Is Stealing the Working Class from the NDP BY COLIN HORGAN A political realignment the left can’t seem to reverse

Stephen Poloz: How We Can Adapt to a Riskier Future BY THE WALRUS LAB The former Governor of the Bank of Canada on the greatest economic challenges facing Canadians today

The Walrus Talks Reimagining Volunteerism BY THE WALRUS TALKS Seven speakers discussed the joys and benefits of service, as well as some of the barriers that keep us from giving more of our time The post 2025: The Year in Money (But Mostly Not Having Money) first appeared on The Walrus.