Heated Loon-acy: Is a $356 jacket fan gouging? Or sustainable fashion?

1 - Heated Loon-acy: Is a $356 jacket fan gouging? Or sustainable fashion?

The Canadian wolf birds have been summoned.

The long-awaited Heated Rivalry fleece, from the smash TV show of the same name, was released for pre-order this week - but the price tag has fans (also known as Loons) brawling in the penalty box, aka the Instagram comment section.

First worn in the show by beloved queer hockey player character Shane Hollander when representing Canada at the Sochi Olympics – and later sported by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in a meet-and-greet with Hollander actor Hudson Williams – the cream fleece, which is adorned with red maple leaf embroidery and CANADA varsity-style stitching, became more than just coveted fan merch. It has evolved into an icon of Canadian Pride.

For months, fans posted their own DIY versions, while lobbying everyone from Etsy creators to Team Canada to make an official garment. Then in January, home-grown sustainable fashion label Province of Canada stepped onto centre ice, announcing they would recreate the garment in official partnership with Heated Rivalry’s costume designer Hanna Puley. Ten per cent of the jacket sale profits are to be donated to You Can Play, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing LGBTQ+ inclusion and safety in sports.

The big moment came at 11:59 AM EST on June 3, when the pre-order announcement dropped into the inboxes of wait-listed shoppers – and revealed a whopping price tag of $356. While the cost did little to deter demand – the fleece sold out in under 10 minutes – it has created a divide among fans, and plenty of discourse on fan gouging, pressure sales tactics, and the true price of sustainable fashion.

Many social media commenters have cried foul on the fact that the price of the fleece was withheld until June 3rd, while the high-pressure nature of the pre-release forced shoppers to rapidly accept it – or miss out. Some have accused Province of Canada for engaging in queer- and fan-baiting capitalism tactics – and during Pride Month, no less.

Others have defended the jacket’s high price point, saying that it reflects the true cost of high-quality materials, manufacturing in Canada, and ethical labour conditions.

Whether or not you’d shell out for the jacket – which is indeed made up of 71% recycled polyester and 29% New Zealand wool – the resulting conversation on capitalism, predatory sales tactics, and what people are actually willing to pay, is one worth paying attention to.

via GIPHY

2 - Toronto may get a spring housing market, after all

After months of stagnant conditions, it appears homebuyers are shaking off the trepidation that’s kept them on the sidelines, and stepping back into Toronto’s real estate market. The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) reports that overall market conditions tightened up in May, with sales rising compared to last year, finally putting a dent in built-up supply.

A total of 6,583 properties sold over the course of the month, up 6.3% compared to last year, and 10% from April. Meanwhile, the number of new listings coming to market totalled 17,698 – down 18.9% year over year.

“As standing inventory has been absorbed, competition between buyers has likely increased in some neighbourhoods,” states TRREB’s May data press release. “This should see the price trend flatten and ultimately trend upwards in the months ahead.” 

Another boon for buyers is that the average home price in Toronto has yet to catch up to heating demand; it came in at $1,069,700, down 4.6% from the same time period in 2025. The MLS Home Price Index, which reflects the most typical type of home transaction in the city, is still lagging 6.7% year over year. Translation: prices are relatively low (for Toronto, anyway), perhaps giving buyers a temporary window to snap up a property for less.

That potentially sets the stage for a more sustained market recovery in the latter half of the year, says TRREB President Daniel Steinfeld – assuming there aren’t fresh economic surprises to scare of buyers.

“Spring sales have been stronger than last year, reflecting improved affordability stemming from lower selling prices and borrowing costs,”he states in TRREB’s release. “Sales are forecast to improve further as we move through the second half of this year. Recovery would be further bolstered by positive news on the trade front along with an easing of geopolitical tensions and related uncertainty.” 

3 - May was a surprisingly strong month for jobs

Despite Canada’s economy being in a newly-minted “technical recession”, the job market just posted some surprisingly strong results. The latest May data released by Statistics Canada reveals the labour market added 88,000 jobs, which helped counter the big dip in employment – a total of 112,000 lost jobs – we’ve seen trending since the start of the year. As a result, the unemployment rate fell to 6.6% from 6.9%.

This is the first major uptick in jobs since November 2025, and upends economists’ initial prediction that gains would come in at 10,000, with no change to the unemployment rate.

Even better is that much of the growth was within full-time employment, and was felt in a number of industries. Construction, however, experienced the biggest boom with an addition of 27,000 jobs. The information, culture and recreation sector and the transportation and warehousing industry sectors also saw an increase; even the hard-hit manufacturing sector – which has been battered by tariffs – posted an increase.

It’s a shred of rare good news – and the final data release – for the Bank of Canada to ponder before releasing its next interest rate announcement next Wednesday. Economists will be keeping a close eye on the Bank’s language, to see what’s more prevalent; the need to hold amid softer GDP, or a strengthening case for higher rates, amid evidence the economy is firming up.

Also read:

• Your bottom line edition #2: Canada is now in a technical recession
• Your Bottom Line #1: What the latest inflation data, FIFA drop, and AI chatbots have in common