Richard Hughes

Private wealth manager.

[Richard Hughes @richardhughes]

@SimmonsBart 100% agree. Do not give them an inch.

[Jason Kenney 🇨🇦🇺🇦🇮🇱 @jkenney]

And yet Canada has an entire industry of activists and academics telling us that incarceration does not protect society from crime.

[Kim G C Moody @KimGCMoody]

My latest @financialpost article discusses Canada’s AI “strategy” that it released earlier this month. It’s a painful read. It’s obvious the government has ZERO idea what it’s doing in this space.

From the article:

“My essay writing assignments in grade school were sometimes handed back with poor grades. “You missed the core ideas, Kim. You need to explore the topic from all important angles. Try again.” My teachers were right when I was honest with myself.

Reading Canada's new artificial intelligence strategy brought back those memories. My teachers’ voices were loud and clear.

Merriam-Webster defines strategy as “a careful plan or method for achieving a particular goal usually over a long period of time.” Canada absolutely needs a strategy to win the AI race. Investment in AI can create jobs, drive efficiency and productivity, spawn new technologies and assist overall economic growth.

The downsides — labour market disruption, safety concerns, over-reliance by youth — are real, too. A genuine strategy would seriously grapple with both sides.

Unfortunately, all we got was 50 pages of fluff. Instead of focusing on important economic matters such as taxes, the document is devoted to protecting Canadians from AI, Indigenous data governance (whatever that is), diversity, equity and inclusion in AI development and online safety for children.
Some of these may be worthy concerns, but a government that leads with control rather than competitiveness has already revealed its priorities.

Glaringly missing is how the founders, engineers and investors who will build Canada’s AI future will be encouraged to take the necessary steps and risks.

Tax policy is one of the most powerful levers any government uses to shape economic behaviour. It drives investment decisions, determines where talent chooses to live and build and signals to everyone whether a country is serious about competing…

The sole tax gesture in the strategy document is that by “Budget 2026, the Department of Finance will work with experts to explore mechanisms that encourage Canadians to reinvest gains earned from successful tech companies into new Canadian AI startups.”

Who will those experts be? Why only Canadian AI startups? AI impacts all businesses, not just startups.

Look at what Canada’s competitors are doing. The United States in July 2025 permanently restored full expensing of domestic R&D, reinstated 100 per cent bonus depreciation on qualifying capital investment including AI infrastructure and expanded the qualified small business stock exclusion to US$15 million. The effective tax cost of AI investment dramatically dropped.

The United Kingdom applies a 10 per cent corporate tax rate on profits from patented intellectual property through its Patent Box regime, compared to a standard rate of 25 per cent. Thirteen European Union members have similar regimes...

Instead, Canada’s competitive position on tax is poor...

The overall tax tools Canada needs to assist in achieving the AI race include a lower general corporate rate, which could make the patent box idea moot if it were a meaningful reduction, significant reductions in top personal rates, capital gains deferral opportunities, an LCGE expanded to at least $5 million, ideally matching the US$15-million exemption in the U.S., and overall comprehensive tax review and reform.

Canada’s AI strategy is long on words, safety frameworks and consultation, and so obviously designed to achieve political objectives rather than economic ones.

My grade school teachers had a simple standard: did you explore the topic from all important angles and produce logical comments, alternatives and solutions to the issue at hand? If I had submitted this AI strategy for grading, my teachers would have told me to go back to the definition of strategy and try again rather than produce a political brochure.

They also would have given me a glowing grade of D minus.”

https://t.co/eX5HUNpkpw

[Alice Smith @TheAliceSmith]

They don’t want Elon Musk to give his trillion to the poor.

They want Elon Musk to give his trillion to them so they can take their cut, split it with their comrades and causes, then look virtuous by throwing to the poor whatever scraps remain.

[Arthur MacWaters @ArthurMacwaters]

The fix everything button is literally just to arrest criminals and keep them in jail

Bukele was able to do this in a matter of months

When you see the crime and rot in western cities and feel unsafe letting your wife walk around, know that it is a choice.

[Richard Hughes @richardhughes]

@CoachDanGo Where are you getting Topo Chico in BC?!

[Richard Hughes @richardhughes]

@LFCVik2 Kind of sad. I’ve never even been. Maybe it’s because I call it soccer?

[Jason Pereira @jasonpereira]

I'm holding a free webinar on June 3rd, courtesy of the Financial Planning Association of Canada, on Financial Planning in the AI Era

Registration is below

Don't miss it

#AI
https://t.co/CZKlNK2YQK

[tobi lutke @tobi]

The word `expert` in media has come to mean pundit with davos-liberal talking points

[Mark Cecchini, CFP® @markcecchini]

Here’s what people miss about the high-touch advisory world

Ignore all the value from nonstop consulting, tax alpha on the investment side, time savings, spousal relationship improvement, tax planning, financial planning, etc

Signing up is essentially buying unfettered access to 1 or more professionals' time and energy + taking up a slot on a client roster that is finite, with demand to get on it

You're buying their 3rd party network, the collective consciousness and experiences of their client base, their past experiences, past mentors, professional study groups, the ability to get on a call at a moment's notice, etc

And that ~should be~ wildly expensive

[Richard Hughes @richardhughes]

@jasonfried Thank for doing this; love it. It’s like a digital version of https://t.co/DI1SKUR4vb

[Richard Hughes @richardhughes]

@The_DrewFeldman SWIW is the goat. Just be ready to defend the 100% equity portfolio to your compliance department when your clients inevitably demand it.

[Javier Milei @JMilei]

Mis condolencias a la familia de Charlie Kirk y a todos los jóvenes en el mundo que lo admiraban y lo escuchaban. Un formidable divulgador de las ideas de la libertad y acérrimo defensor de Occidente.

Fue víctima de un asesinato atroz en medio de una ola de violencia política de izquierda en toda la región. La izquierda es siempre en todo momento y lugar un fenómeno violento lleno de odio. El mundo entero perdió a un ser humano increíble.

Adiós.

[Daniel Foch @danielfoch]

Average Canadian family spent 42.3% of income on taxes last year —more than on housing, food and clothing combined

[Eric Matheny 🎙️ @ericmmatheny]

This performance feels so different now. Like he was saying goodbye to the world.

RIP Ozzy.

[Richard Hughes @richardhughes]

@markcecchini @zachary_ashburn Another blocked and reported here too.

[Richard Hughes @richardhughes]

@AaronHectorCFP Absolutely! That was probably the first thing I did after my Independence Day.

[Richard Hughes @richardhughes]

@philbak1 The horse will be out of the barn before retail or the political class even know what’s happening. Great for investors. Not so great for the federal budget.

[HonestMath.com @honest_math]

I've waited for a market upswing to post this to avoid seeming reactive.

A lot of you follow this account because I once performed arithmetic for an insurance salesman. As valuable as many of you found that to be, I think content like this is significantly more meaningful.

[Richard Hughes @richardhughes]

@AravindSitham