Making sense of the markets: Looking at 2025 + MORE Jan 2nd

Kyle Prevost, creator of 4 Steps to a Worry-Free Retirement, Canada’s DIY retirement planning course, shares financial headlines and offers context for Canadian investors.

Can we make sense of the 2025 markets?

Stock market predictions rarely age well. (As you can read from our look at 2024.)

There are simply too many variables to accurately predict market outcomes. We can’t even agree on where interest rates will be a year from now, never mind esoteric concepts like how investor enthusiasm could translate into higher stock valuations.

As we attempt to make sense of what could come to the 2025 markets, it’s important to keep in mind that nothing below constitutes investing advice. Our predictions are for informational purposes only and for identifying trends and outcomes that could happen this year.

President Trump will employ tariffs

One of the biggest questions many Canadian business owners and investors have for 2025 is whether incoming president Donald Trump will carry out his threat of large tariffs on Canadian imports into the U…

If you’re approaching or planning for retirement, you may have questions about Old Age Security (OAS) benefits, like: Do I need to apply for OAS? How much will I receive in OAS? When do OAS payments go out? We cover these questions and more below. But first, here’s a quick overview of how OAS works.

About Old Age Security (OAS)

Old Age Security benefits are monthly payments made by the federal government to supplement the income of eligible Canadians age 65 and older. Along with the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and personal savings, OAS contributes to financial support for older Canadians. CPP and OAS payments are issued on the same dates.

OAS payment dates for 2025

January 29, 2025

February 26, 2025

March 27, 2025

April 28, 2025

May 28, 2025

June 26, 2025

July 29, 2025

August 27, 2025

September 25, 2025

October 29, 2025

November 26, 2025

December 22, 2025

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Find out your current tax-free savings account (TFSA) contribution limit for 2025 by using this calculator.

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What’s new for 2025 and TFSAs? You can contribute another $7,000 for this year. Once you figure out how much contribution room you have, keep reading on how to use this account effectively.

Tax-free savings account is a bit of a misnomer. While you can use it for straightforward savings, think of it more accurately as an investment holding account to store things like exchange-traded funds (ETFs), guaranteed investment certificates (GICs), bonds, stocks and, yes, plain old cash. While you do have to abide by the set amount of contribution room each year, any growth you earn on those investments will not affect your contribution room for the current year or years to come. Plus, the income earned is tax-free (more on that below). Any resident of Canada who is 18 or older and has a valid social insurance number can open a TFSA.

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Interest rate: 4…

There are a few changes in federal policies that could affect Canadians’ finances in the new year.

Brian Quinlan, a chartered professional accountant with Allay LLP, says many of the changes are routine. These include inflation-based adjustments to what tax bracket you fall into or what your TFSA contribution room looks like.

Other changes—such as the capital gains tax changes that will be in effect for their first full year in 2025—may need more planning. 

Here’s a list of changes to be aware of:

Changes to Canadian tax brackets in 2025

For 2025, income tax brackets are increasing by 2.7% in the new year to prevent higher prices from pushing Canadians into higher tax brackets. That comes after a 4.7% increase in 2024.

For 2025, federal tax is 15% for earnings up to $57,375; 20.5% between $57,375.01 and $114,750; and 26% between $114,750.01 and $177,882.

The tax rate is 29% for earnings between $177,882.01 and $253,414, while anything more than that is taxed at 33%…