In This Economy?!

With the rise of A.I. and hybrid work, there were concerns that demand for office space would weaken. In reality, return to office policies and a growing corporate footprint for some of the country's biggest companies has led to increased demand for office space and a drop in office vacancy rates. New buildings, those with the best amenities, and good locations are in the highest demand. And the industrial vacancy rate (think logistics plants and warehousing) has tightened-- dropping in the GTA to just 2.2%, the lowest in the country. Both are positive signs for the economy. In today's edition of In This Economy?! host Mike Eppel talks the future of office space with Adam Jacobs, national head of research for Colliers Canada.

Artificial intelligence is working its way into our daily lives – and it’s probably turning up in places you hadn’t though of – like the local coffee shop. While there are many positive applications, the technology is also very expensive to run – and not just financially. And while it continues to proliferate into our workplaces, our homes, and the public, it remains something few people, even those politicians charged with regulating it, actually understand. Today on In This Economy?!, host Kris McCusker speaks to Richard Lachman, professor of Digital Media at Toronto Metropolitan University. He recently published a book called “Digital Wisdom: Searching for Agency in the Age of AI,” designed to help policy-makers, professionals, educators, and regular citizens understand all the impacts this groundbreaking technology could have.

The economy started off 2026 in what economists called a 'technical recession', but a huge bounce-back at the start of the second quarter has raised some eyebrows about the validity of the Statistics Canada numbers in the first place. Host Mike Eppel speaks to LJ Valencia, an economist at Desjardins and co-author of a study called 'Diagnosing the Data Quality Crisis'. They discuss the cutbacks at the government data agency, the implications of questionable information for policy makers, and just how much we could trust the data.

It’s now the biggest IPO in history – when Space X hit the US market this month, it made CEO Elon Musk a trillionaire on day one. But there are still many questions about the company and its plans for the future without any current stream of revenue. The stock also hit a few bumps recently, with the company losing $600 billion dollars in market cap over a 3-day losing streak. Host Kris McCusker speaks to Alison Kemper, Associate Professor in the Entrepreneurship and Strategy Department at Toronto Metropolitan University, to discuss why this was such a big deal, what might happen next and why you may want to rethink investing in the company.

Big players in the artificial intelligence space like OpenAI or Anthropic continue to take up tons of conversational space, whether it's about how much they're worth, how much they spend, and how much it takes to maintain their systems. Often left out of the conversations, though, are whether or not their investments could be a net benefit to the economy. Host Mike Eppel speaks to Raj Juneja, President of Cisco Systems Canada, about the company's leadership role in AI infrastructure, what he’s hearing from CEOs about the growth payback from investing in AI , and how building trust and data security is key to Canadian user adoption.

Kevin Warsh will officially take over as the head of the US central bank on Wednesday – but it’s not clear how his term will play out. The U-S President has been calling for interest rate cuts since he returned to office last year but several factors suggest that’s not likely in the cards. But will Warsh feel the pressure from Donald Trump to cut anyway? And how might his decisions impact Canada? In today's episode of In This Economy?!, host Kris McCusker speaks to Scott Anderson, Chief US Economist for BMO Capital Markets - based in San Francisco, California about how the Fed might look different under Warsh and what could be coming during the early part of his term.

Following a negative performance for economic growth in the first quarter of 2026, the Canadian economy fell into what's been described as a "technical recession". While the headline was pounced on for political debate, with such a small decline (just a 0.1% contraction) and some parts of the economy still doing quite well, economists are downplaying the significance of all this recession talk. Nevertheless, under the weight of the trade war with the U.S., there are a lot of questions around the recent signals by the Bank of Canada even talking about hiking interest rates and whether the central bank will be changing its message to the markets next week with it's policy announcement on June 10th. Today on In this economy?!, host Mike Eppel speaks with Royce Mendes, the managing director and head of macro strategy at Desjardins, about this so-called "recession", and what the consequences of reading too much into it might be.

A recent survey shows many Canadians are scaling back their spending on vacations this summer as life continues to get more expensive. And while it’s not surprising, experts say it presents a really unique opportunity to re-examine your finances overall to prioritize things like trips. This week on "In This Economy?!" Co-Host Kris McCusker speaks to Sumaiya Bhula, Senior Manager, Saving, and Investing Journey at TD Bank for tips and tricks to make the most of your paycheque – and score yourself a getaway.

You've likely heard a lot about crypto currencies. Now, there's something called "stablecoin". Think of it as the next wave of digital payment systems. But, how does it work? Who controls it? And is it something that consumers need to pay attention to for everyday banking? In today's episode of "In This Economy?!", co-host Mike Eppel is joined by Laure Fouin, an Associate General Counsel at Coinbase Canada for a tutorial on the future of digital money and why Fouin believes it's something Canada needs to grow the economy.

"The K-shaped economy." From housing, to productivity, to wages, it's a phrase you hear more and more often these days. But what exactly does it mean? And how is it effecting your wallet? In this episode of In This Economy?!, co-host Kris Kris McCusker is speaking to economist Jim Stanford, director of the Centre for Future Work, to find out.