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5 Things to Know Today: Canada Enters Recession, Oil Slips on Iran Ceasefire Talk

Saturday, May 30, 2026 — Your quick-hit Canadian financial briefing for the day. 1.Canada Officially Meets the Definition of a Technical Recession Statistics Canada confirmed Friday that real GDP contracted 0.1% on an annualized basis in Q1 2026 — following a revised 1.0% drop in Q4 2025 . That's two straight quarters of negative growth, which meets the technical definition of a recession. The miss was a big one: economists had forecast growth of 1.5% . The main culprits were a surge in imports (up 2.9%, largely gold), declining business capital investment (down 0.7% — its fifth consecutive quarterly drop ), and weakness in resource extraction and construction. On a per-capita basis, GDP actually edged up 0.2% as Canada's population shrank for the second quarter in a row. Not everyone is ready to call it a full recession: some economists note that three of the four weak months were isolated, and early April data points to a sharp 0.4% rebound . Still, the numbers ...

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Protesting farmers block crossings on Dutch-Belgian border

 


Farmers have blocked key road crossings on the border between Belgium and the Netherlands in their latest protest against excessive red tape and competition from cheap imports. The protests began on Thursday night on the Belgian side, with some Dutch farmers joining later. The roadblocks have caused significant traffic congestion and disrupted freight transport from the major European ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam.

The latest protest comes less than a day after Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, met with farming groups in a bid to appease them. The farmers are protesting against the increasing regulatory burden and competition from cheap imports, which they say is making it difficult for them to make a living.

The protests have been peaceful so far, but there are concerns that they could escalate if the farmers’ demands are not met. The Belgian and Dutch authorities have urged the farmers to remove the roadblocks and engage in dialogue to resolve their grievances.


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