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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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Congress in Crisis: Scrambling to Avert Government Shutdown



In a dramatic turn of events, the U.S. Congress is racing against the clock to prevent a partial government shutdown. This urgency follows the rejection of a demand by President-elect Donald Trump to lift the nation's debt ceiling. The House of Representatives, led by Speaker Mike Johnson, is attempting to navigate a narrow path that can satisfy both the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic-majority Senate as the midnight Friday funding deadline looms.

Conservative Republicans recently dismissed Trump's call for a five-year suspension of the U.S. debt ceiling, which could have added trillions more to the government's $36 trillion debt. This rejection has left Congress without a clear plan to avoid the shutdown. The situation is further complicated by Trump's insistence on extending the debt ceiling to 2029, a demand that has not gained traction among lawmakers.

The failure of a hastily revised alternative bill, which aimed to keep the federal budget running at its current level through March and provide $100 billion in disaster relief, has added to the uncertainty. This bill was rejected by a vote of 174-235, highlighting the deep divisions within the Republican Party and the broader Congress.

As the deadline approaches, the pressure is mounting on Congress to find a solution that can avert the shutdown and ensure the continued functioning of the federal government. The stakes are high, with potential disruptions to government services and paychecks for federal workers hanging in the balance.

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