For the third straight quarter, Canada’s population has fallen. According to data released last week by Statistics Canada, the nation’s population dropped by 55,025 people between Jan. 1 and April 1 of this year. That followed a decline of more than 103,000 people in the final three months of 2025. As of April 1, Canada’s total population was estimated by StatCan to be 41,417,056, including citizens, permanent and temporary residents, which is approximately 200,000 fewer than a year ago.

How has this happened? StatCan points to three key factors. First, there was a “natural decrease” in the population, as 155 more people died during the first quarter than were born during that time frame. That reflects both a lower birth rate and aging population, and is a significant change from the first quarter of 2025, when there was a net “natural increase” of 983 people.

Second, the federal government’s lower immigration targets appear to be having an impact. The nation welcomed 83,149 permanent immigrants in the first quarter of 2026. That’s a 20.2 per cent lower than the same period last year, when the number of new permanent residents was pegged at 104,210.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the number of non-permanent residents (including foreign workers and students) plunged by 117,879 people in the first quarter of 2026, marking the third consecutive quarter in which the population of that group has declined. As of April 1, the total number of temporary residents in Canada was estimated to be 2.56 million people, or 6.1 per cent of the nation’s total population. That’s moving toward the new federal immigration targets, which include a goal of reducing the number of temporary residents to not more than five per cent of the total population.

The Brandon Chamber of Commerce, originally known as the Brandon Board of Trade, has existed since 1983. The Brandon Sun was a founding member then and, more than a century later, continues to be a member today.

Given that longstanding relationship, we welcome the appointment of IntriTech Digital Marketing CEO Emilio Brown as the chamber’s new president. He replaces outgoing president Jennifer Ludwig, who will remain as the president of Super Thrifty Drugs Canada.

Brown’s appointment is a positive reflection of the growing diversity and inclusiveness of Brandon’s business community, and of our city generally. He emigrated from Jamaica to Canada in 2014, founded his company in 2017 and serves as co-chair of the Westman Jamaican Community.

That background lends extra credibility to his commitment to foster an inclusive business community, which is reflected in his view that “When we bring more perspectives to the table, we make better decisions, we uncover opportunities that we may otherwise miss, we strengthen our collaboration, we build solutions that better reflect the realities that we are facing here in Brandon.”

Last January, in response to a speech delivered the previous day by Prime Minister Mark Carney to the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Switzerland, U.S. President Donald Trump said that “Canada gets a lot of freebies from us, by the way. They should be grateful, also, but they’re not … Canada lives because of the United States.”

The president’s remarks were widely perceived at the time as a veiled threat against Canada; that our nation’s continued existence is conditional on the goodwill and benevolence of the U.S.

And, given that Trump’s words were spoken while he was discussing his “Golden Dome” proposal that would defend both Canada and the U.S. from airborne attacks, the remarks were interpreted in a military context.

Trump was stating something that has been true since at least 1944, when the U.S. developed the first nuclear bomb. The U.S. has the power to wipe out any nation, including Canada, anytime it chooses to. That’s not news, but what if Trump was really speaking from an economic perspective? Does Canada “live” because of the economic power and good graces of the U.S.?

Many of the best horror movies depend on the fear of the unknown.

That strange shape, moving quickly through the trees outside the house. You catch a glimpse, but can’t quite…

Or the subtle changes that the main character finds when they get home — things that aren’t where they put them down. That they know have been moved — drawers left slightly ajar, curtains open when they left them closed, a hatchet that they use for making kindling mysteriously gone from the splitting block…

All of it, building a sense of foreboding.

Imagine approaching a curb in a wheelchair. The step is only a few inches, but for some of us, it might as well be a wall. Now imagine that wall turned into a slope. With that single design change, movement becomes possible again.

But more than that, others start to benefit, too — a parent pushing a stroller, a traveller rolling luggage, a worker with a handcart.

A simple but liberating modification, made to include those once excluded, ends up changing everyone’s experience for the better. In my field of inclusive design, this innovative magic became known as “the curb-cut effect.”

Curb-cut thinking has inspired countless inventive leaps, including the creation of the typewriter, emails, text-to-speech, voice recognition, captions and image recognition — to name just a few. All were initially motivated by the desire to address a barrier experienced by someone who was excluded by the existing design, resulting in advances that benefit many more.

What a difference a day makes.

Just yesterday on this page we were talking about how Canadian producers were unlikely to see much — if any — movement on the issue of Chinese tariffs on canola, peas, pork and seafood. Until now, China had been firm in stating that tariffs on these commodities would remain in place until Ottawa dropped its 100 per cent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles.

And in the week leading up to Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to China on Thursday and Friday, the federal Liberals were trying to curb expectations within the industry.

For the sake of local canola and pulse crop producers, we’re glad our expectations proved incorrect.

“I would like to make a deal, you know, the easy way. But if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way.”

— U.S. President Donald Trump, talking of making Greenland part of the United States

“It’s clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland.”

— Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen

When the federal Liberal government unveils its latest round of bail law changes next week, you can bet on two things.

First, the government will tout them as bold new measures to make communities safer. And second, before the ink is dry, there will be fresh outrage when another accused offender released on bail commits a violent crime. It’s pretty much a guarantee.

The outcry will come, as it always does, regardless of government’s tinkering around the edges.

Granted, the public is frustrated. But here’s the reality: these latest bail law reforms will do little, if anything, to reduce crime or prevent repeat offending.