This episode highlights:
• Eglinton Cross Town LRT Reaches Substantial Completion: After more than a decade of work beginning in 2011, and following years of detours and delays, Ontario's Eglinton Cross Town LRT has finally reached substantial completion. Control of the line is now transferring from Metrolinx to the TTC, which will handle operations, staff training, and setting an opening date, currently estimated for early 2026. The project, which was originally promised to open in 2020, ran approximately $8 billion over budget and is considered by some to be a cautionary example of how P3 projects can go wrong.
• Microsoft's $7.5 Billion Digital Sovereignty Investment: Microsoft has announced a significant digital sovereignty play in Canada, pledging $7.5 billion over the next two years to expand its Azure data centers in Toronto and Quebec City. This investment is part of a broader $19 billion commitment spanning from 2023 to 2027. Microsoft has also promised to keep Canadian government cloud services running even if foreign governments exert pressure to shut things off, addressing a major vulnerability identified by the Canadian government.
• Cross-Border Betrayal Over Potash Export Terminal: Federal officials, including Transport Minister Steven McKinnon, are urgently meeting with the Saskatchewan-based fertilizer company Nutrien to persuade them to build a proposed $1 billion potash export terminal in Canada. Nutrien has instead chosen the US port of Longview in Washington state, just across the border from BC. BC Premier David Eby expressed serious frustration, stating that losing the deal "pissed me off" because he believes it was "entirely avoidable". This high-profile effort by Canadian officials may be a form of public pressure intended to keep the investment within Canada.
• Ottawa Looks to Modify Tax Code to Lure Real Estate Investment: The federal government is reportedly examining tax tweaks to attract more foreign capital into Canadian real estate projects, focusing particularly on new rental construction due to the essentially frozen current development pipeline. Potential changes include adjustments to withholding tax rules for non-US investors and offering targeted tax incentives for purpose-built rentals. This comes after large international lenders walked away from deals because the existing withholding tax rules made the projects uneconomic. Developers have pushed back against policies like foreign buyer bans, arguing that foreign investment is crucial for financing condo and multi-family projects.
• Bonus Story: Historical Fragments Uncovered in Halifax: Dredging work near Pier 6 in Halifax, conducted as part of the expansion of Irving Ship Building's yard, uncovered more than 100 fragments of the Mont Blanc. The Mont Blanc was the munitions-laden ship whose explosion in 1917 killed nearly 2,000 people, injured about 9,000 more, and leveled most of the north end of Halifax. At the time, this blast was the largest humanmade explosion in the pre-atomic age. The recovered car-sized chunk of history is set to go on display at the Naval Museum of Halifax.
