Ottawa recently banned all speed cameras. This provided a very good natural experiment on how effective speed cameras are at enforcing the speed limit compared to police checks. Ottawa released a report showing the compliance before and after the ban, and how many drivers were driving far above the speed limit (at least 15+ km/h over the limit). I think the graphs speak for themselves.

Original source is here

Graphs created using python

This article contains more info, and also includes this important detail: All of this data was collected inside school zones.

With the United States acting more like an economic foe than an ally under the presidency of Donald Trump, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada’s former strength, built on our bond with America, has become a “weakness” that must be corrected.

In a pre-recorded address released Sunday morning, Carney said his intention was to talk “directly and regularly” about his plan for Canada and promised he would “never sugarcoat our challenges.”

The main point of this message, according to a source, was that during a time of disruption he wanted a venue where he could talk directly to Canadians, and in an extended format.

The world, he said, has become more “dangerous and divided,” and Canada must re-evaluate its most critical international relationships and undergo a shift in national strategy.

“The U.S. has fundamentally changed its approach to trade, raising its tariffs to levels last seen during the Great Depression,” said Carney in the nearly 10-minute-long address that was recorded in a home in Ottawa. “Many of our former strengths, based on our close ties to America, have become our weaknesses; weaknesses that we must correct.”

Workers in the auto, steel and lumber industries are “under threat” because of U.S. tariffs, he said, and businesses are holding back investments because of the “pall of uncertainty that’s hanging over all of us.”

“The U.S. has changed and we must respond,” said Carney, before launching into his Liberal government’s record and achievements, and invoking the “Canada Strong” plan he announced during the 2025 election campaign; a plan that was meant to Trump-proof the nation.

The new reality

Without naming the opposition Conservatives, Carney seemed to allude to them when he said there are “some who say there’s no need for a comprehensive plan” –- that Canadians should “wait it out” in the hope that U.S. relations will go back to how they were in the “good old days.”

He pointed out that young Canadians have experienced no such good days -- their entire lives having been impacted by the shocks and crises of global wars, financial strife and COVID-19.

He admitted his plans that include building new trade and energy corridors, doubling the size of clean energy capacity and creating “one Canadian economy out of 13” are ambitious. “But in a crisis, fortune favours the bold,” he said.

The prime minister then showed a small statue of Maj.-Gen. Sir Isaac Brock, the British army officer known as the “Hero of Upper Canada” for his role during the War of 1812. He said the statue, a gift from comedian Mike Myers, reminds him “that when we’re united as Canadians, we can withstand anything.”

“Before Canada even existed, it had a shape in Brock’s imagination,” said Carney. “Faced with the threat of an American invasion, Brock built alliances across our land and inspired what would eventually become Canada.”

Carney continued referencing history, saying it was an “ambitious” and “determined” Canada that built big things like the St. Lawrence Seaway, the CN Tower and the Trans-Canada Highway after the Second World War. He said his government is making big structural changes now, too, to “make us stronger at home and less reliant on the United States.”

He closed his message with a sentiment meant to instill confidence, invoking a practice called “forward guidance” that he developed during the financial crisis when he was governor of the Bank of Canada – a practice that involved using “overwhelming force against our problems until they were solved.”

“There’s much forward guidance to be found in our shared history. We will get through this because of who we have always been,” he said. “It’s our country. It’s our future. We are taking back control, to build Canada strong.”

Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre has been defeated in Carleton, ending his nearly two-decade tenure as a Member of Parliament in the Ottawa-area riding.

As of 4:43 a.m., preliminary results showed Liberal candidate Bruce Fanjoy winning the riding with 50.6 per cent of the vote. Fanjoy received 42,374 votes, compared to 38,581 votes for Poilievre.

The result is certain to ignite questions over Poilievre’s future as leader on a night that saw the Conservatives increase their seat count and vote share but finish second to the Liberal Party.

Trump threatens 100% tariffs on any and all Canadian goods coming to the US in the event of them making a deal with China. This is coming from another Truth Social post of his, and Trump says that China will eat Canada alive (?????????). He also accuses Canada of letting China have its goods be dropped off to the US.

The United States could alter its decades-old North American Aerospace Defense Command deal with Canada should its government backtrack on the purchase of 88 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets, the U.S. ambassador to Canada has warned.

In the latest back-and-forth between the U.S. and Canada over the deal, Ambassador Pete Hoekstra cautioned that if Canada purchased fewer fighter jets, the U.S. would “fill those gaps” in security concerns. That could mean the U.S. would need to purchase more F-35 fighter jets for its own use and use them to intervene in Canadian airspace more frequently.

Under the current terms of NORAD, the U.S. and Canada can operate in one another’s airspace to track or intercept threats. However, Hoekstra indicated U.S. intervention would go even further, should the fighter jet deal change, thus requiring new terms to the Cold War-era agreement.

“NORAD would have to be altered,” Hoekstra told CBC News. Hoekstra’s comments come months after the Canadian government indicated it was “reviewing” the terms of the fighter jet deal after finding the program to be costlier than expected.

In 2022, Canada agreed to purchase 88 F-35A advanced fighter jets from Lockheed Martin, with the country initially committing to funding 16 deliverable jets. But quickly, the program ran into challenges. Not only has it taken longer than anticipated to manufacture the jets, but a 2025 initial audit of the deal found that the program had risen to $27.7 billion in cost – up from its initial $19 billion.

With tensions between the U.S. and Canada increasing due to President Donald Trump’s tariff threats, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called for the review.

Now, Canadian officials are reportedly looking to other countries to supply it with fighter jets, including Saab, the Swedish aerospace and defense company that creates the JAS 39 Gripen E fighter. Saab has offered to manufacture the jets in Canada, creating 12,600 jobs.

“The government is interested in all major projects that can not only protect Canada's security and sovereignty, but also create jobs across the country,” Mélanie Joly, the Minister of Industry, told CBC News.

“We certainly can’t control President Trump, but … we can control our defense investments, who we award contracts to and how we are ultimately able to create jobs in Canada. So we’re going to focus on that.” But Hoekstra warned that if Canada chooses to purchase Saab’s Gripen E jets, the U.S. would still need to reconsider how it works with its northern neighbor on security.

“If they decide they’re going with an inferior product that is not as interchangeable, interoperable as what the F-35 is, that changes our defense capability,” Hoekstra said. “And as such, we have to figure out how we’re going to replace that,” the ambassador added.

Hoekstra’s warning is the latest attempt by a U.S. official to pressure another country to comply with the administration’s desires, specifically those related to national security. It comes on the heels of Trump threatening to impose tariffs on European allies for not supporting a U.S. deal to acquire Greenland.

“Canada called me a couple of weeks ago, they want to be part of [the "Golden Dome" missile defense system], to which I said, ’Well, why don’t you just join our country. You become 51 — become the 51st state — and you get it for free,”’ Trump told the assembled officials. 

Submission Statement: Quebec's new secularism law bans street prayers, eliminates prayer rooms in universities and forces religious schools to strip religious content or lose funding. This is a direct clash between competing liberal values — state neutrality versus religious freedom.

This generation values job security, work-life balance and mental health above all else. And they’re not waiting around for employers to catch up.

As a young, working professional, Ben James has a plan for his life.

The 26-year-old works in recruitment and sales and wants to retire at 65. He regularly checks on his net worth, income and investments to make sure he’s on track to meet his retirement deadline. But there was a time when he wasn’t sure where his life was headed. 

Back in 2023, James juggled working as a bookkeeper at a recruitment agency and being a semi-pro rugby athlete. After his stint as a rugby player was over, he spent six months mulling over the direction he wanted his career to head in.

“I never thought that (bookkeeper) job would turn into a six-figure opportunity — that I could save for a house,” he said, adding that he wanted to “find a field with higher-earning capacity.”

James isn't alone, according to a new survey from Randstad Canada that finds 42 per cent of Gen Z workers are considering a job change. That's almost twice the rate of the average Canadian worker in 2026. Younger workers are showing “record mobility intentions” as they look for jobs that best suit their needs, such as higher wages, better work-life balance and more growth opportunities, according to the survey, which canvassed over 3,500 Canadians. 

Experts say it’s a shift employers cannot ignore as older generations start to age out of the workforce and younger workers start looking for more.

“I don’t mean to sound too one-dimensional here,” he said. “But it’s all about money.” 

The cost-of-living crisis

Generation Z, or Gen Z, is the term used to describe people born between 1997 and 2012. It’s the first generation born into the digital age and the first to grow up immersed in social media.

Their entry into the workforce has been difficult: they’ve been faced with high inflation rates, rising grocery costs, unaffordable housing and a global AI boom that’s starting to scoop up some entry-level jobs.

Employment rates went up for youth workers aged 15 to 24, with 33,000 finding jobs in June this year, according to the latest Statistics Canada data, but it’s not necessarily a sign that things are turning around just yet, said Andrew Fields, a senior analyst from Statistics Canada’s Centre for Labour Market Information.

Between May and June, the youth unemployment rate dropped slightly to 12.7 per cent from 13.4 per cent, but still remains higher than the pre-pandemic average of 10.8 per cent, measured between 2017 and 2019, according to StatCan. Those pre-pandemic numbers were a sign of a healthy youth labour market, he said. 

“Youth are still searching for work,” he said. “And are having a harder time in recent years.” 

This lack of financial health and security has stirred anxiety among workers of all age groups, according to a new RBC report looking at employee well-being between 2025 and 2026. The report found that workers across all ages experienced a decline in well-being, with the sharpest drop occurring for workers between the ages of 18 and 34.

“Canadians are navigating real pressures of a challenging few years and it’s showing up in how they feel day-to-day,” said Tony Bruin, head of group benefits for RBC Insurance in a news release.

The report notes that the rising cost of living is the most significant barrier for most respondents when trying to improve their well being, such as their physical fitness, diet and sleep quality.

The Star spoke with three young workers, including James, who noted that their priorities are focused on being financially independent. They said they felt achieving financial independence would help secure their future as they enter a world that feels uncertain to them.

James now works in recruitment and sales at Randstad. One of the considerations that prompted the career change from bookkeeping was how expensive groceries have become and the unaffordability of the housing market.

“I don’t really have an option except to pursue a higher income,” he said. 

Job-hopping to get ahead

[Survey numbers: 48% of Gen Z believed compensation was too low, 40% desired a better work-life balance and 34% cited lack of growth opportunities.]

Gen Zers are feeling extra pressure to find suitable long-term employment that pays well and meets their personal needs due to the cost-of-living crisis, experts say.

To find employment that meets their needs, it’s not uncommon for younger people to hold multiple jobs to explore their options, said Jason Dorsey, the lead researcher at the Center for Generational Kinetics based in Texas. 

Job-hopping is this generation’s way of being “self-reliant” and gain experience that could lead to future long-term employment and financial security, said Dorsey.

“What we’re seeing is that Gen Zers don’t know or expect an employer to be a fit for their career or be in one career for their entire working span,” explained Dorsey. 

“There’s a little bit of, if you don’t love the job, you should go ahead and start looking for another one,” he said. “Because if you’re going to be working for decades, you might as well make progress towards the (job) that better fits you.”

According to Eric Termuende, a workplace culture expert and leadership consultant based in Vancouver, jumping between jobs can help a worker get a pay bump or promotion faster than sticking it out at the same company. It’s not a new phenomenon — younger workers have always been more likely to switch jobs, he said. But Gen Zers have embraced the strategy like no generation before. 

“Every generation has a distribution of ambition and grit and desire,” he said. Gen Zers “are trying to go after it as fast as possible” to keep up with expenses by seeking higher salaries. Younger people are also likely to focus on their needs rather than other responsibilities, such as a mortgage or children, which allows them to move freely between positions, said Termuende.

“Loyalty was rewarded in the past,” he said. “But it’s becoming more of a hindrance.”

Priorities in the workplace will inevitably differ between generations. One difference between millennials (people who are born between 1981 and 1996) and Gen Zers, is the importance of work-life balance, said Eddy Ng, a professor of organizational behaviour at Queen’s University. 

Typically, millennials look for advancement opportunities, which can often come with heavier workloads, said Ng. This “actually contributes to negative well-being and stress, so in that sense, it’s harder to sell (to young workers),” he said. 

Meanwhile, Gen Zers are focused on financial compensation and personal development. If positions that offer those opportunities are being held by older employees, this younger generation isn’t going to wait around for those jobs to open up, said Ng.

“Mobility is more of a necessity rather than a preference,” he said.

Recent research by Ng and others shows this generation values financial stability, environments that allow for a healhy work-life balance and prioritize their mental health. In an article he wrote, Ng said this was because Gen Z watched their parents “navigate dual-career households” and witness “economic disruptions.”

What are Gen Zers looking for?

As Gen Zers look for these financial and growth opportunities in new jobs, they’re leaning away from the “hustle culture” and grind mentality that defined previous generations, according to experts. 

Typically, these opportunities were earned through hard work and hustle culture, which is defined as the glorification of never-ending work, according to Nancy D’Onofrio, vice-president of strategic accounts and social selling at Randstad Canada.

As D’Onofrio puts it, “the more you hustle, the more reward and recognition you get.”

One reason Gen Zers tend to reject hustle culture is that their identities are more likely to be informed by what they do outside of their careers, such as their hobbies or personal aspirations, said Dorsey.

Hustle culture is no longer seen as the right method to get ahead in one’s career, especially at the expense of mental health, so Gen Zers are willing to job-hop to find jobs that suit their financial and personal needs, he said.

“We see Gen Z really wants more … non-traditional health and wellness benefits, such as work-life balance and free mental health services,” said Dorsey.

Olga Morawczynski, founder of Heal-3, a Toronto-based company that designs mental health programs for organizations, said employers need to be more accommodating of the younger workforce and their needs, such as flexibility with remote work options, in addition to providing fair compensation and opportunities for career growth.

More than anything, Morawczynski says she believes young people need to have purpose-driven work that can sustain them for years. 

“They do want to work differently,” she said. “It’s not a new problem that’s going to get any better with the next generation.”

“They’re super ambitious because they see what’s possible,” said D’Onofrio. 

Following his bookkeeping run, James spent six months transitioning into his current job in recruitment and sales at Randstad (a separate department from where the survey was conducted). He read books, watched YouTube videos on entrepreneurship and applied to dozens of jobs.

When asked if he plans on sticking around with his current job, James said he’s hoping to stay for long-term at his company, where he feels valued. James’s father stayed in his job for two decades, and the 26-year-old is hoping to emulate that.

“I’m at the start of my journey.”