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The news: Lowe鈥檚 is acquiring Foundation Building Materials (FBM) for approximately $8.8 billion. The North American distributor of interior building products generated roughly $6.5 billion in revenues in 2024 on a pro forma basis and operates more than 370 locations across the US and Canada, serving 40,000 Pro customers. Its business spans both new construction and repair/remodel applications. Our take: Lowe鈥檚 is playing the long game. By doubling down on Pro customers, the retailer is building a buffer against consumer caution and the frozen housing market. FBM鈥檚 scale positions Lowe鈥檚 to capture long-term share as construction rebounds, and the raised sales guidance signals confidence that its Pro-focused playbook is already delivering results. That stands in contrast to Home Depot, which recently fell short of both revenue and earnings expectations for the first time in a decade. While Home Depot has leaned into its Pro business as well, tariffs, elevated housing costs, and labor pressures are weighing on its results. Lowe鈥檚 acquisitions and investments could give it an edge in weathering near-term headwinds and winning share from contractors and builders who will be critical growth drivers over the next decade.

The news: Consumers in Canada under 40 switched financial institutions at twice the rate of older consumers over the past four years, per a J.D. Power survey. Meanwhile, the number who use digital-only banks jumped from 11% to 21% between 2022 and 2025, according to a study by Oliver Wyman LLC. Our take: We have covered how more than half of consumers in Canada would leave their current bank over poor experiences. All of these findings together show that no bank is safe in assuming customers will stay with them if they aren鈥檛 getting the best experience, the lowest fees, the best rates, etc. To stem this outflow and retain younger generations, Canada's Big Six banks must invest in competitive, digitally forward offerings that eliminate punitive fees, provide better rates, and deliver personalized financial guidance beyond traditional services.

Digital users in Quebec鈥攎ost of whom speak French as their first language鈥攈ave unique habits that are different from the rest of Canada. These include heavier consumption of TV and lighter usage of digital services and online shopping.

The news: The trade war between the US and the rest of the world is heating up again, thanks to President Donald Trump鈥檚 latest threats to boost universal tariffs and impose stiffer duties on Canada and Brazil. Our take: The newly announced duties鈥攕hould they come to pass鈥攚ill push the US into the heavy tariff scenario outlined in our tariff report. Based on our forecast, that would mean a 1% decline in retail sales this year, the first contraction since 2009, as rising prices force consumers to prioritize essentials.

The news: When asked where they鈥檙e seeing the most return on their AI investments, 68% of Canadian banks cited a back-office implementation, while just 32% cited a customer-facing capability, per GFT鈥檚 2025 Banking Disruption Index Report. Our take: Prevention is an obvious area for AI investment, given the rising costs of cybersecurity and fraud incidents. But it鈥檚 a good sign that banks are also investing in enhanced customer-facing capabilities that could help them attract and retain customers. They should prioritize these investments going forward, particularly with agentic AI on the rise. Customer-experience improvements are essential even if their value isn鈥檛 immediately quantifiable: Over half of Canadian banking customers say they would leave their bank due to a poor customer experience.

The news: Novo Nordisk missed an important patent filing deadline in Canada for its weight loss and diabetes drug semaglutide, opening the door to generics as soon as next year. Our take: If Sandoz and other generic makers start selling semaglutide GLP-1 drugs in Canada next year, FDA approval for states may not matter. If drugmakers do start selling generic GLP-1s in Canada, Novo will see Ozempic brand sales drop, but the GLP-1 market could see a generics鈥� explosion.

The news: Gander Social is an upcoming Canadian social platform built on the decentralized AT Protocol, similar to Bluesky. Gander rejects algorithmic feeds, ad surveillance, and dark UX patterns, per Metricool. As an alternative to networks like X, Meta鈥檚 Threads, and Bluesky, it offers user-controlled content, privacy by design, and community-first tools鈥攈osted entirely within Canada. It will be available as a closed beta in August. Our take: As algorithmic fatigue and platform distrust grow, demand is rising for community-driven, ad-light spaces. Marketers should watch Gander as a testbed for the next wave of privacy-first, hyper-local platforms.

National Bank is distinguishing itself as the first major Canadian bank to implement a secure data feed (API) for its retail customers to share financial information with approved fintech applications, putting it ahead of Canada's potential 2026 open banking rollout. This innovative approach significantly reduces security risks by redirecting customers to National Bank's own website for identity verification, eliminating the need for customers to share online banking passwords with third-party aggregators (known as "screen scraping"). By taking an 80% stake in Flinks, a financial data aggregator that now accredits fintechs, National Bank transforms a potential threat to customer loyalty into an opportunity to deepen relationships, ensuring it remains the central hub for customers' financial lives even as they use other apps.

The news: Block鈥檚 Square will be Live Nation Canada鈥檚 exclusive provider of payments. Our take: Partnering with Live Nation Canada offers Square a space to test out its newest tech on large crowds in a confined space expecting fast turnaround times.

Canadian banks have heavily invested in digital development, yet their mobile apps remain uniform and lack standout features, according to J.D. Power. While mobile apps perform reliably, satisfaction gains are seen mainly in credit card and website platforms. AI integrations like virtual assistants have failed to personalize experiences. Key missing features include clear transaction data, stored debit cards, and Gen Z鈥檚 most demanded functions like electronic direct deposits and subscription controls. To differentiate, banks must enhance mobile app experiences by adding unique, customer-desired features and improving personalization and security.

Ralph Lauren and Canada Goose defied luxury slowdown in Q1: But tariffs and uncertainty could reverse that momentum.

Our latest forecasts for CTV and digital video viewers in Canada show that audiences are now a match for linear TV and exceed it in some age groups.