5 things you need to know this morning: April 22, 2025

Start your day off right with five things you need to know this morning.

Five things you need to know

1. IMF downgrades global growth predictions, reckons Canada will struggle in 2025 and 2026

The International Monetary Fund has released its latest projections for GDP growth around the world over the next two years. With tariffs implemented by the US dominating the organization's predictions, Canada is expected to see growth of 1.4 per cent in 2025 and 1.6 per cent in 2025 – a downgrade on January's estimate of two per cent in each year.

IMF Growth Projections: 2025 🇺🇸 US: 1.8% 🇩🇪 Germany: 0.0% 🇫🇷 France: 0.6% 🇮🇹 Italy: 0.4% 🇪🇸 Spain: 2.5% 🇬🇧 UK: 1.1% 🇯🇵 Japan: 0.6% 🇨🇦 Canada: 1.4% 🇨🇳 China: 4.0% 🇮🇳 India: 6.2% 🇷🇺 Russia: 1.5% 🇲🇽 Mexico: -0.3% 🇸🇦 KSA: 3.0% 🇳🇬 Nigeria: 3.0% 🇿🇦 RSA: 1.0%

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— Daniel Fuentes Castro (@dfuentescastro.bsky.social) April 22, 2025 at 9:13 AM

2. Poilievre claims Liberals will tax home equity

Tory Leader Pierre Poilievre has pledged to "never" introduce a tax on home equity – i.e., a levy on the cash put into a person's home. He claimed the Liberals are "going to go after your house" when they realize that Canada is "out of money," but a spokesman for the Grits said that suggestion is "entirely false."

Poilievre vows not to impose a home equity tax as Liberals, NDP talk health care

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— Squamish Chief (@squamishchief.bsky.social) April 21, 2025 at 4:53 PM

3. Snowbirds ditching US for good as Trump's trade war rages on

There's been a surge in the number of snowbirds planning to sell their vacation homes in the US, according to a new report. Realtors are reportedly seeing more and more Canadians abandoning the likes of Florida, Hawaii and Arizona.

Many Canadian ‘snowbirds’ in U.S. looking to pack up and fly north - for goodhttps://t.co/Rt0h32TP5I

— CTV News Toronto (@CTVToronto) April 22, 2025

4. Some Christian leaders want next pope to focus on LGBT concerns

The Canadian Press has chosen to seek out a selection of church leaders across the country who are calling on the College of Cardinals to prioritize LGBT concerns when they elect a new pope. One of the interviewees, Rev. Deana Dudley from the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto (which is not Catholic), said: "I was very, very pleased to see the way that he wanted to open up the doors of the Roman Catholic Church to more people, and particularly his inclusion of 2SLGBTQ+ folks."

‘Keep the doors open’: Ministers call on next pope to do more for LGBTQ+ people https://t.co/eEa5HQeM4Z

— insauga (@insauga) April 22, 2025

5. Young men smashing their bones with hammers to look more attractive in 'looksmaxxing' phenomenon

CBC, meanwhile, has written a feature on the strange new phenomenon of "looksmaxxing," in which young men attempt to maximize their physical attractiveness by almost any means, including striking themselves with a hammer in a technique known as "bonesmashing." One professor said of the development: "It is really caustic to the self-esteem of men and boys."

'Your face looks grotesque': How looksmaxxing can harm young men and boys
New study says members of online community encourage surgeries, suicidehttps://t.co/d0MmaXfc2S

— ONTSpecialNeeds (@ONTSpecialNeeds) April 22, 2025