CTV National News for Friday, Feb. 27, 2026: Canada's economy contracts 0.6 per cent in Q4, capping a turbulent 2025

·23 min·1 clip

Canadian Pediatric Society now recommends cholesterol screening for all children ages 2 to 10.

1. CTV National News focuses on Canada's economy contracting 0.6 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025, while also covering cholesterol screening for children ages 2 to 10. 2. Heather Butts anchors with reporting from Mirella Fernandez, and CTV reporters Rachel Aiello, Annie Bergeron-Oliver, Abigail Beeman, Adrian Gobriel, John Vennevale-Rao, Joy Malbitt, Alex Scarpa, and Maria Saru file the major stories. 3. The episode asks how Canadians are responding to health guidance, trade pressure, foreign-policy instability, and a year-end economic slowdown. 4. Rachel Aiello reports that the Canadian Pediatric Society recommends cholesterol screening for all children between ages 2 and 10. 5. Edmonton father Mike Heathcote says learning he passed a genetic disorder to Haley and Ryan was “bittersweet,” because early intervention could keep them from following his path. 6. A lead cardiologist says plaque buildup starts in childhood and that universal screening would help find genetic cholesterol disorders earlier. 7. The report says high cholesterol is relatively easy to treat with lifestyle changes and sometimes medication, but the hard part is finding it. 8. Annie Bergeron-Oliver reports that Statistics Canada says GDP contracted 0.6 per cent in the fourth quarter after a 2.4 per cent jump in the previous quarter. 9. The full-year growth figure for 2025 came in at 1.7 per cent, the slowest annual pace since 2020. 10. Ottawa roofing company Ideal Roofing says U.S. business has dropped about five per cent since tariffs came in and that high-tariff coils and sheet metal are being left in inventory. 11. Economists cited in the report point to trade-policy uncertainty as a drag on business investment, while household spending and total capital investment rose. 12. The story says China is suspending its 100 per cent tariff on Canadian canola meal and peas and clawing back the 25 per cent markup on lobster and crab. 13. Abigail Beeman reports that Mark Carney landed in Mumbai for the first stop of a 10-day tour and met with the head of Tata Group. 14. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says Saskatchewan's biggest export to India is dissolving pulp, and he says India is Saskatchewan's third biggest market. 15. New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt says a broad Canada-India trade deal could be possible within a year if the conditions keep improving. 16. The same segment notes pushback from members of Canada's Sikh community and from some in government and the intelligence community over a claim that India is no longer involved in foreign interference. 17. The tone moves quickly from policy and trade into a series of hard-news updates, with short stand-ups and file-driven reporting. 18. The final minutes shift into a softer human-interest piece about Tommy Darrah practicing with a myoelectric prosthetic arm and his family getting support through the War Amps CHAMP program. 19. Listeners tracking Canadian trade, health policy, and national news. 20. Skip if you want one topic instead of a multi-story roundup.

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