Good morning. Donald Trump’s erratic policies have been very good business for gold – more on that below, along with Canada’s potential social media ban for kids and cheaper electric cars. But first:

• Trump says he will drop the tariff threat on countries opposing his Greenland acquisition
• Canada’s civilian health care system is put to the test in a mass casualty war game
• A Canadian general serving with the U.S. Army would not be subject to a potential Minnesota deployment

Gold loves drama. Prices soared in 1979, when an oil crisis fuelled an inflationary shock that clobbered the world’s economy. They jumped again during the 2008 Great Recession, as investors realized that financial institutions weren’t too big to fail. Gold shot up in 2020, amid the economic turmoil of the global pandemic and rose two years later, after Russia invaded Ukraine.

So you can imagine what happened once Donald Trump returned to the White House. At his inauguration last January, the U.S. President said “the golden age of America begins right now,” and in terms of prices – along with, I guess, Oval Office decor – he’s been absolutely correct. A year ago, gold hovered around US$2,700 an ounce. After Liberation Day in April, it leapt to a record high of US$3,166 an ounce. It crossed US$3,500 two weeks after that.

Those records seem quaint now – gold keeps smashing them, with prices surging nearly 70 per cent in 2025, its best year since 1979. And as Trump ratchets up his antics in 2026, bullion keeps getting buzzier. It passed US$4,700 an ounce earlier this week, then hit US$4,800 an ounce yesterday.

All that glitters

For all its lustre, gold is pretty dull. Its value isn’t determined by the success of a company or a government’s grip on its public finances. It doesn’t provide a yield, so it isn’t hampered by interest rate cuts. Hundreds of billions of dollars of bullion is traded every day, keeping prices fairly stable when big investors cash in or out. Storage might be a bit of an issue, but gold can be transported and sold anywhere. Plus, unless NASA or Elon Musk manage to mine a bunch of asteroids, gold exists in scarce supply.

But that predictability is exactly what traders find so enticing during moments of great upheaval – you know, like when Trump runs up colossal government debt, or wholly transforms international trade, or threatens the independence of the U.S. Federal Reserve, or orders the predawn capture of Venezuela’s President, or demands that Denmark hand over Greenland, or insists that “Canada lives because of the United States.” (This is very much a partial list.)

Much of the Trump 2.0 agenda has pushed the U.S. dollar down, prompting investors worried about its future value to pile into alternative assets like crypto and especially gold. There’s even a new name for the trend on Wall Street: They call it the “debasement trade.”

Central banks are on a similar buying spree – especially in countries most exposed to geopolitical pressures and trying to lessen their dependence on the dollar. China has added to its gold holdings for the past 14 consecutive months. Poland, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are the world’s top purchasers right now. Russia added 40 million ounces of gold to its reserves between 2014, when it illegally annexed Crimea, and 2020, before prices began to rise. One more thing working in gold’s favour: It’s sanctions-proof.

Canada cashes in

This recent rush is also a pretty big deal for our country, which happens to be a gold-exporting powerhouse. We’re the world’s fourth-largest producer of the mineral, leapfrogging the U.S. in 2024, and as of September, gold vaulted past passenger vehicles to become Canada’s second-largest export after oil. Two-thirds of that gold went to Britain, where London serves as the biggest global market for precious metal trade.

Many analysts are feeling confident gold will soon hit US$5,000 an ounce. Its value did dip after Trump walked back his threats to seize Greenland yesterday, telling CNBC that he and NATO chief Mark Rutte had formed “a concept of a deal.” But Trump also once said he had “concepts of a plan” for U.S. health-care reform, and we’ve all seen how that worked out. I’m guessing the price of gold still has farther to climb.

Russian attacks have left Kyiv without electricity, heat or water, but Ukrainian women are still finding their way to a Pilates studio to practice in the freezing cold. Read more about their classes here.