Welcome to CB’s personal-finance advice column, Make It Make Sense, where each month experts answer reader questions on complex investment and personal-finance topics and break them down in terms we can all understand. This month, Scheherazade Hasan, a senior advisor at money-management platform Wealthsimple, tackles staying on budget during the summer. Have a question about your finances? Send it to editor@canadianbusiness.com. Q: Is there a way to budget that allows me to save while also enjoying my summer? Spring is here, which means spring cleaning. Between cl ..read more

After 20 years in business, the New York City-founded restaurant Shake Shack finally opened up shop in Canada this week. Located at the corner of Yonge and Dundas in Toronto, the new flagship location marks Shake Shack Canada’s first foray into the country, and is serving up exclusive menu items made in partnership with many Ontario-based businesses. Here, a look at some of these special options as well as the local partnerships that helped make them happen. Brodflour Located in Toronto’s Liberty Village, Brodflour mill and bakery provides the butter tarts used in Shake Shack Canada’s I Heart ..read more

Welcome to CB’s work-advice column featuring Emily Durham, a Toronto-based senior recruiter at Intuit, public speaker and content creator known for her funny and relatable TikToks about all things work. Each month, Durham answers reader questions on topics that affect our ability to thrive in our jobs, and offers her real-world insights on how to handle even the most rock-and-a-hard-place conundrums. Have a work-related question? Send it to editor@canadianbusiness.com. Q: I’m currently dealing with a manager who likes to make snide remarks and “jokes” about me bei ..read more

In Canada’s craft beer scene, Miski Brewing stands out for more than just its unique brews. Founded in 2019 in Barrie, Ontario, Ricardo and Mariella Irivarren, a dynamic duo with a shared love for beer and a passion for Peruvian culture have revolutionized the industry. Their innovative organic, gluten-free and kosher beers made from quinoa are capturing the attention of beer enthusiasts and health-conscious consumers alike.  The inspiration behind Miski Brewing  Ricardo and Mariella envisioned a beer that was not only flavourful but also catered to those with dietary restrictions.&n ..read more

Oxford University researchers recently surveyed nearly 50,000 employees about corporate-provided mindfulness seminars, online coaching and other wellness initiatives. The results? People who participated in these programs were no better off compared to those who didn’t. Meanwhile, employee burnout is a growing issue, with approximately two-thirds of workers reporting symptoms and businesses noticing consequent effects on productivity and talent retention. What can a forward-thinking leader do beyond subsidizing subscriptions to yet another meditation app? Here, Ruth Goudie, president of PR age ..read more

In early 2016, I was finishing my bachelor’s degree in kinesiology at the University of Toronto. I was also working part-time as a research assistant and coaching gymnastics, and I’d been accepted into master’s programs. Life was busy, and I pretty much lived on smoothies I made for myself. That spring, I decided to take up a new hobby: making my own healthy ice pops. I’d found that grocery stores lacked snack options that were low in sugar and additives, so I gave it a go. I got access to a tiny commercial space near my home in Toronto that belonged to a family member and got to work. For my ..read more

During the pandemic, golf saw an upswing when new players took up the game as a safe socially distanced activity. Since then, interest has continued to increase—and attract a whole new demo. Once the domain of the middle-aged white man, golf courses are now seeing unprecedented activity from juniors, people of colour and women. With global golf-tourism projected to grow to a market value of nearly US$6 billion in the next two years, savvy opportunists are opening golf resorts to meet the demand. But they aren’t just your traditional links: The new hot spots go big on luxe amenities, chic accom ..read more

Fast-food restaurants have a single-use waste problem. Three million tonnes of plastic end up in Canada’s landfills each year, and half of that is packaging, according to Statistics Canada. In fact, Canadians use 1.5 billion disposable cups alone each year. A&W Canada thinks that’s far too many. (Illustration: Soña Lee) Over the past few years, many fast-food companies have tried to crack the cup problem. In 2021, some Toronto-area Burger King and Tim Hortons restaurants tested out reusable cups through TerraCycle’s Loop pilot program, which collects, cleans and redistributes reusable pack ..read more

On International Women’s Day, professional services firm Grant Thornton released its 20th annual report on the state of women in senior-ranking positions at mid-market companies around the world. It surveyed 5,000 executives at companies with valuations between US$100 million and US$4 billion. Findings revealed that progress in the promoting of women to leadership roles over the past two decades has been slow at best—and when it comes to the C-suite, frankly, pretty dire. In the past year, the global percentage of CEOs who are women dropped from 28 per cent to 19 per cent. Following a trend no ..read more

About three years ago, the Burlington Performing Arts Centre (BPAC) realized there was a discrepancy between who was engaging with and participating in art and what the community of Burlington, Ont., actually looked like. To remedy this, BPAC started hiring external organizations to conduct annual diversity, equity and inclusion workshops with the goal of helping the centre learn how to better reflect the city’s diverse community. But the workshops weren’t as inspiring as they’d hoped they would be. The presentations lacked the emotional hook needed to spark real, lasting change, leaving the c ..read more