In this edition:
- GM Canada confirms next-generation engine production at St. Catharines Propulsion with C$691 million investment
- Government of Canada released 2026 Spring Economic Update: Canada Strong For All
- Bank of Canada maintains policy rate at 2¼%
- Grimsby among recipients of provincial festival funding
- Vineland Library Celebration marks launch of public fundraising campaign
- Foreign direct investment outpaces Canadian investment for first time since 2022
- Ontario job growth slows as labour market cools in 2025, FAO reports
- Focus on Tourism
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Picture credit: GM Canada
GM Canada confirms next-generation engine production at St. Catharines Propulsion with C$691 million investment
General Motors Canada is investing C$691 million in its St. Catharines Propulsion Plant to support production of the sixth generation of General Motors’ V-8 engine, which will power GM’s high-demand full-size trucks and SUVs.
Equipment for the project has already begun arriving onsite, and the plant will continue to produce the fifth generation V-8 engine while preparing for the next generation start of production.
Photo credit: Wangkun Jia / Adobe Stock
Government of Canada released 2026 Spring Economic Update: Canada Strong For All
The Government of Canada released its 2026 Spring Economic Update yesterday, outlining new measures aimed at strengthening Canada’s economy, easing affordability pressures, and accelerating major infrastructure and housing projects. The update highlights a new Canada Strong Fund, described as Canada’s first national sovereign wealth fund, to invest in strategic Canadian projects and companies, including a retail investment product intended to let Canadians share in financial returns.
It also introduces Team Canada Strong, a national effort to recruit, train, and hire 80,000 to 100,000 new skilled trades workers by 2030-31, alongside commitments to safer communities, Indigenous infrastructure, small craft harbours, housing, and fiscal discipline. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the update combines “strategic investments with sustained fiscal discipline” as Canada navigates global uncertainty.
Picture credit: primestockphotograpy / Adobe Stock
Bank of Canada maintains policy rate at 2¼%
The Bank of Canada today held its target for the overnight rate at 2.25%, with the Bank Rate at 2.5% and the deposit rate at 2.20%.
The evolving conflict in the Middle East is causing heightened volatility and US trade policy continues to reshape global trade patterns. Both are ongoing sources of uncertainty. The Bank’s April outlook assumes tariffs remain unchanged and the global benchmark price of oil declines to US$75 per barrel by mid 2027.
Picture credit: Drazen / Adobe Stock
Grimsby among recipients of provincial festival funding
The Ontario government is protecting Canadian culture and identity by investing over $20 million to support nearly 400 festivals and events across the province this year. The funding, made through Experience Ontario 2026, will help boost tourism, create jobs and celebrate the best of the province’s local communities.
Specifically mentioned in the announcement was Grimsby Lights & Après Winter Nights, a winter event featuring festive light displays, live entertainment and activities in downtown Grimsby.
Picture credit: Town of Lincoln
Vineland Library Celebration marks launch of public fundraising campaign
On April 28, 2026, the Lincoln Pelham Public Library (LPPL) hosted the Vineland Library Celebration to kick off The Next Chapter, a $1.5 million public fundraising campaign. In addition, the Government of Canada is contributing $2 million through the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program to support the expansion of the Vineland Branch of the Lincoln Pelham Public Library.
Picture credit: standret / Adobe Stock
Foreign direct investment outpaces Canadian investment for first time since 2022
Statistics Canada says foreign direct investment in Canada rose by $103.0 billion in 2025, up 6.9% to $1.6 trillion by year-end, outpacing growth in Canadian direct investment abroad for the first time since 2022. The increase was led by merger and acquisition activity and reinvested earnings, with services-producing industries rising 7.2% to $1.13 trillion and goods-producing industries up 6.0% to $470.8 billion, driven in part by manufacturing and mining, oil and gas.
Picture credit: davit85 / Adobe Stock
Ontario job growth slows as labour market cools in 2025, FAO reports
Ontario’s labour market continued to cool in 2025, according to a new report from the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario (FAO), with employment rising by 80,900 jobs, or 1.0 per cent — the slowest pace of job creation since 2015, excluding the pandemic. The unemployment rate increased to 7.7 per cent, up from 7.0 per cent in 2024, as job creation failed to keep pace with the number of people looking for work.
Focus on Tourism
Travel agencies navigate new AI landscape
Jamie Biesiada, Travel Weekly
Through the Daily Updates, the GNCC aims to deliver important business news in a timely manner. We disseminate all news and information we feel will be important to businesses. Inclusion in the Daily Update is not an endorsement by the GNCC.
