Three Things We’re Watching This Week

Updated April 29, 2025

As expected, it was a nail-biter of an election day, with the Liberals forming the next government again. While Mark Carney certainly has a lot of work ahead of him to combat tariffs and the many other social and economic issues Canadians face, many no doubt want to know what the longtime banker has in store for their investments. This is just one of the three things we’re watching this week.

1. Election insights for investors
The Liberals didn’t promise anything that’ll impact investors hugely – their only personal finance-related promise being to cut income taxes by one percentage point for the lowest tax bracket.¹ Because of how our tax system works, most everyone will benefit from this change. For 2025, the first $57,375 of a person’s income is taxed at 15% federally – if Carney keeps his word, that percentage will fall to 14%. The Liberals estimate this’ll save the average two-income family about $825 a year.

What we’re watching out for: The new government's real test will be whether it can spur economic growth during a trade war. If it does create an environment where businesses can expand while also addressing affordability, growth could come, which in turn could help the shares of publicly traded Canadian companies. The yet-to-be-announced budget could offer investors more to chew on.

2. Selling stock? You may be able to claim a tax loss

Given all of the market volatility these days, you may be considering selling some underperforming stocks, and may want to realize gains from overperforming ones. If you’re buying and selling in a non-registered account, you’ll want to keep the potential tax benefits of tax-loss selling in mind.

Often talked about at the end of the year, tax-loss selling is a strategy that allows you to use capital losses to offset any capital gains incurred in that tax year. (You can also apply losses against gains from the three prior tax years or carry them forward indefinitely to counter gains in future years.) Find out more about tax-loss selling here.

What to watch out for: Just because most people engage in this strategy at the end of the year, when it’s natural to realize gains and losses, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be thinking about it now. While you don’t want to sell a stock simply because of the tax implications, you shouldn’t ignore them either. You should consult with a tax specialist before planning or enacting a tax-loss selling strategy.

3. Gold reaching record highs
Gold has been, well, golden, recently hitting fresh highs in April amid unusually high market volatility. Typically, investors flock to assets like gold during times of market uncertainty because gold is considered by many as a safe-haven asset and has historically acted as a hedge against economic volatility and inflation.

However, gold isn't the only metal that could benefit from these periods. Silver and platinum – two other precious metals – can also experience gains during tumultuous times. Between January 1 of this year and April 25, all three metals have climbed, with gold up 25 per cent, silver 14.7 per cent and platinum 6.25 per cent. It’s important to know, though, that different factors could influence demand for each of these precious metals – silver is used in electronics, solar and medicines, for instance, while platinum is often used in catalytic converters, jewelry and medical devices.

What to watch out for: While gold has some practical uses, too – mostly as jewelry – its price is typically more linked to movements in the US dollar, real interest rate levels, Central Bank purchases and investor sentiment. The yellow metal’s value is around US$3,300 per ounce as of April 25, not far from its all-time high of US$3,500 per ounce, but if investors think the economy is turning around, gold could quickly give back some of its recent gains. Find out more about gold and other metals here.

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^1. _{Liberal Party of Canada, "Build", 2025}