Verified brief — 29 October 2026

The Bank of Canada raises rates for the first time since 2023, EPA proposes rolling back parts of the 2024 methane rule, and Alberta tables a bill ending DEI hiring preferences at public bodies. Federal judge denies DOJ’s California ballot TRO; Washington refuses the same request. Clocks: Alberta official results today; Section 338 and EVS-TAP 30 Oct; U.S. vote 3 Nov; Budget 5 Nov; BoC 9 Dec.

Published Oct 29, 2026, 7:05 a.m. EDT

Item 1
Bank of Canada: the overnight rate rises a quarter point to 2.5%, the first increase since July 2023. The Bank expects inflation of about 3½% by year-end and 3% on average in 2027, driven by oil, and says it may need to go higher. Variable-rate borrowers feel it first. Next decision 9 December.
Read the article →Bank of Canada release, 28 Oct
Item 2
Methane: EPA proposes scrapping the third-party ‘Super Emitter’ leak alerts, easing 2024 rules for marginal or conventional wells, and letting associated gas be flared rather than sent to a sales line. EPA puts compliance savings at $2.3–2.8 billion a year. Hearing 13 November; comments due 16 December.
Read the article →91 FR 68234
Item 3
Alberta: Bill 33 would bar provincial bodies, including school boards and municipalities, from using diversity-preference programs in hiring or promotion and ban mandatory DEI training, with cabinet deciding scope and exemptions. It also creates a provincial offence for intimate deepfakes (up to $10,000 or two years).
Read the article →Government of Alberta, Bill 33
Item 4
Rural housing: from 28 December, USDA-guaranteed home loans can cover houses with rentable accessory units or home-business features. Expected rent still cannot count toward qualifying.
Read the article →FR Doc. 2026-22038
Item 5
U.S. v. California: Judge Carter denied DOJ’s bid to set aside about 20,000 mail ballots. He called the claimed emergency self-inflicted and DOJ’s list method unproven, and pointed DOJ to Section 611 prosecutions instead.
Read the article →C.D. Cal. Dkt. 149
Item 6
Washington: Secretary of State Hobbs refused DOJ’s request to hold ballots from 400-plus listed voters, saying the list includes citizens, lacks identifiers and is unreliable. No federal suit found as of this morning.
Read the article →WA SOS letter, 28 Oct
Item 7
Alberta referendum: Elections Alberta’s official results are due today, 29 October.
Read the article →Elections Alberta
Item 8
Section 338: the reshuffled 50% U.S. duty list on Canadian goods takes effect at 12:01 a.m. ET Friday 30 October.
Read the article →Proclamation and Annex I
Item 9
DHS’s suspension of visa-free travel to the Northern Mariana Islands for Chinese nationals takes effect at 2 p.m. EDT on Friday 30 October.
Read the article →91 FR 67595
Item 10
ACA subsidies: comments on CMS’s proposal to withhold advance premium tax credits until citizenship and income checks clear are due 27 November.
Read the article →CMS-9873-P
Item 11
EU: the Commission’s Frontex recast, with 30,000 officers by 2041 and an online monitoring centre that could flag posts under the DSA, now goes to Parliament and Council.
Read the article →COM(2026) 1030
Item 12
The federal Budget is tabled 5 November at 4 p.m. ET; the PBO’s October outlook is the latest independent baseline.
Read the article →PBO EFO; Order Paper