Start your day off right with five things you need to know this morning.
Five things you need to know
Taiwan's stock market has overtaken Canada's, becoming the world's sixth largest. It comes amid strong demand for AI-related shares in the likes of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., considered the world's most advanced chip manufacturer.
Taiwan’s equity market has overtaken Canada’s to become the world’s sixth largest, driven by strong demand for AI-linked shares and the rapid rise of chip giant TSMC. https://t.co/VTaheUMRps
— Bloomberg (@business) April 29, 2026
📷️: An Rong Xu/Bloomberg pic.twitter.com/vUBMRqUcw3
Some positive news to offset the negative: Canada's manufacturing sector grew 1.8 per cent in February, the largest growth for the sector since January 2023, according to Statistics Canada. Overall, Canada's GDP grew 0.2 per cent in February, with StatCan projecting a yearly growth rate of 1.7 per cent in 2026.
#UPDATE: Statistics Canada says real gross domestic product rose 0.2 per cent in February, but there were early signs the economy might have stalled to close out the first quarter of the year. https://t.co/FeQkaburg3
— CityNews Calgary (@citynewscalgary) April 30, 2026
Now back to the negative: the "surge" in joblessness among Canadian youth (those aged 15 to 24) has been "extraordinary," according to a new report by the Fraser Institute think tank. The research found that "the speed of the increase and the level of youth unemployment reached are unprecedented for an economy not in recession," adding: "Youths who were unemployed remained jobless for the longest period ever on record." At 13.8 per cent in Canada, youth unemployment compared unfavourably with the US, where the rate is 10 per cent.
The success rate for would-be military recruits in Canada has fallen to 77 per cent, according to a leaked document first reported by Juno News and now being covered by the Globe and Mail. That contrasts with a historical average of 85 per cent. The document highlights "mental-health challenges" among basic training candidates in 2025, with its author, Lt-Col Marc Kieley, explaining that since the military made "public announcement that applicants who [suffer] from anxiety can join the CAF, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of candidates presenting significant mental-health concerns.” He added that "the local suicide crisis centre is typically filled to full capacity with [Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School] candidates.” The officer suggested that the Canadian Forces "minimize language in recruiting and selection communications stating that those suffering from mental-health issues can freely join the CAF.” The document also complains that some candidates had been in Canada "as little as three months" and were "not yet acclimatized to Canadian society, let alone Canadian military culture.” In one platoon, people from Cameroon were accused of racism "against those from Côte d’Ivoire.” The note went on: “For some, it is also the first time they have been expected to treat women as their peers.”
Success rate for basic training in Canadian military drops, report says https://t.co/JyHPIbDxmP
— Globe Politics (@globepolitics) April 30, 2026
Canadians, meanwhile, are more confident than ever that Mark Carney will get a good deal from the US in trade negotiations as the deadline to review the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement looms. The Angus Reid Institute's latest poll found that 51 per cent of respondents said they were "confident" or "very confident" in Carney and his team "despite a lack of progress towards a trade deal." Another 42 per cent said they were either "not that confident" or "not confident at all."
