Skip to main content

Featured

The Loonie Just Hit a 14-Month Low — Here's What It's Costing You

   Saturday, July 25, 2026 The Canadian dollar has slid to its weakest level since April 2025, and speculators are betting it has further to fall. Here's why it's happening and what it actually means for your wallet. If you've bought anything in U.S. dollars lately — a flight, an Amazon.com order, a hotel for a Florida trip — you may have noticed the exchange rate isn't doing you any favours. The Canadian dollar touched 1.4248 per U.S. dollar (about 70.2 U.S. cents ) last week, its weakest level in 14 months, before steadying closer to 1.41 . It's not just a bad week. Currency speculators have piled into bets against the loonie so aggressively that the Canadian dollar has overtaken the Japanese yen as the most heavily shorted major currency in the world, according to data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Net short positions against the CAD hit roughly US$12.5 billion — the largest bearish bet on the loonie since December 2024. Why the loonie is ...

article

Federal government unveils new dental insurance plan for low- and middle-income Canadians

 

The federal government has announced the details of its new dental insurance plan, which will offer dental benefits to low- and middle-income Canadians who do not have private insurance.

The plan, which was a condition of the Liberals’ supply-and-confidence deal with the NDP, will be phased in gradually over 2024, starting with seniors over the age of 87, then children under 18 and people with disabilities, and finally all eligible Canadians in 2025.

The program will cover preventive teeth cleanings, treatments and removable dentures, and will be administered by Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada. The government expects the plan to benefit about 9 million people and cost $13 billion over the first five years.

To qualify, applicants must be Canadian residents with a household income under $90,000 and no private insurance. The government will check the criteria against tax filings and require employers to report on dental coverage. People who do not file their income taxes will not have access to the program.

The government said the plan will complement existing federal and provincial dental health benefits, but it is still negotiating with individual provinces on which program will be the primary payer.

The Liberals said the plan is part of their commitment to build a more inclusive and fair society, and to address the oral health needs of millions of Canadians who cannot afford dental care.

Comments