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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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Trump Suggests NATO Could Expel Spain Over Defense Spending Dispute

Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez said previously that he would not commit to the 5% target, calling it ‘incompatible with our welfare state and our world vision’.

U.S. President Donald Trump has reignited tensions within the NATO alliance by suggesting that Spain could be removed from the 32-member defense pact over its refusal to meet a new military spending target.

Speaking at the White House alongside Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Trump criticized Spain for rejecting NATO’s recently adopted goal of allocating 5% of national GDP to defense. While most allies agreed to the sharp increase, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez argued the demand was “incompatible with our welfare state and our world vision.”

“Spain has no excuse not to do this,” Trump said. “Maybe you should throw them out of NATO, frankly”.

Spain, which joined NATO in 1982, reaffirmed its commitment to the alliance and insisted it continues to meet capability targets. Officials in Madrid pushed back on Trump’s remarks, stressing that the country remains a “full member of NATO in its own right.”

The comments highlight ongoing friction between Washington and European allies over defense contributions, a debate that has intensified since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. While NATO has no formal mechanism to expel members, Trump’s remarks underscore his determination to pressure allies into higher spending.

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