Skip to main content

Featured

Budget Day 2026: What a $63B+ Deficit Means for Your Wallet

  Canadian Money Brief • Thursday, November 5, 2026 Ottawa tables its second Carney-era budget today. Almost everyone expects big spending. Hardly anyone expects it to help their own bank account. Here is what the numbers say, and what to do about it. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne says today’s budget is about “changing Canada’s growth model”: less reliance on the U.S., more building at home. That is a big-picture pitch. Your household budget is a small-picture problem, and a new Abacus Data poll shows the gap between the two is wide. The poll in one line: only 10% of Canadians expect Budget 2026 to make their household better off. 30% expect to be worse off, and 48% expect little difference. (Abacus Data, 1,809 adults, Oct. 30 to Nov. 3.) The deficit, in plain numbers The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) is the government’s independent fiscal referee. Its latest outlook, which predates the budget and only counts measures already announced, sets the stage: PBO proj...
Post a Comment
Read more

article

Labels

High-Stakes Court Clash Over Ruby Liu’s Hudson’s Bay Lease Ambitions

 

                            Billionaire Ruby Liu tours a former Hudson's Bay-owned Saks Off 5th department store.


A tense legal battle is unfolding in Ontario Superior Court over B.C. billionaire Ruby Liu’s bid to acquire 25 former Hudson’s Bay store leases for $69.1 million. Liu, who already owns three Bay leases in malls she controls, plans to launch a new department store chain under her own name, backed by a proposed $400 million investment.

However, landlords — including major property owners like KingSett Capital, Cadillac Fairview, Oxford Properties, and Ivanhoé Cambridge — argue her plan is financially unrealistic and operationally flawed. KingSett’s lawyer, Matthew Gottlieb, told the court the $400 million Liu cites is “non-existent,” noting she has refused to personally guarantee the funds and that much of her capital is tied up in companies without binding commitments to support the venture.

Landlords also point to significant losses at Liu’s existing malls and claim her renovation budgets and timelines underestimate the work needed to revive the shuttered spaces. The court-appointed monitor, Alvarez & Marsal, has recommended rejecting the deal, citing concerns over the viability of her business plan.

Hudson’s Bay, which is under creditor protection, supports the sale, arguing Liu was the highest bidder in a court-supervised process and that the deal could return up to $50 million to senior creditors. The outcome could set a precedent for future lease transfers in insolvency cases.

The hearing continues, with both sides framing the decision as pivotal — either a bold retail revival or a costly misstep.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment