In this edition:
- Economy shrinks in February following modest increase in January
- Innovate Niagara CEO steps down after 17 years
- GNCC welcomes investment in STEM education, calls for long-term sustainability measures
- St. Catharines approves public space by-law targeting homeless encampments
- Niagara Stone Road widening to accommodate new winery
- Month of May is recognized as Leave a Legacy Month
- U.S. tariffs will cause Ontario economic growth to slow to 0.6% in 2025, says FAO
- Ontario invests $75.5M to prevent homelessness and support homeless people
- Canadian direct investment abroad increases significantly
- US economy shrinks in first quarter as tariffs unleash flood of imports
- Focus on Canada-U.S. Business
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Economy shrinks in February following modest increase in January
Real gross domestic product (GDP) was down 0.2% in February, partly offsetting January’s 0.4% increase, Statistics Canada reported today.
After driving growth in January, goods-producing industries (-0.6%) drove the decline in February, as mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction and construction contributed the most to the aggregate’s decline.
A single month of negative growth does not signal a recession, which requires negative growth for two successive quarters.
Picture credit: Innovate Niagara
Innovate Niagara CEO steps down after 17 years
After 17 years of leadership, the CEO of Innovate Niagara, Jeff Chesebrough, has announced that he is stepping down to pursue new ventures. Under his leadership, Innovate Niagara has evolved into a comprehensive resource for entrepreneurs in high-growth sectors, offering a network of business incubators and service providers. Innovate Niagara’s Director of Operations, N’ora Kalb, will serve as interim CEO.
Jeff was named a Senator by the Jaycee International organization, the highest honor bestowed by JCI. He was a recipient of the Brock University Alumni of Distinction Award and served on the boards of Meridian Credit Union and CAA Niagara.
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GNCC welcomes investment in STEM education, calls for long-term sustainability measures
The Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce (GNCC) has welcomed the Ontario government’s $750 million investment in expanding science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs at colleges and universities across the province.
However, the GNCC also underscores the importance of sustained and stable funding for post-secondary institutions, echoing the findings of the Ontario Blue Ribbon Panel on Postsecondary Education. Without increasing tuition fees, increasing direct funding, or both, it will be increasingly difficult for Ontario’s post-secondary institutions to train the workforce that we need for our future.
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St. Catharines approves public space by-law targeting homeless encampments
St. Catharines City council has approved a new public space by-law that states encampments cannot be located within 50 metres of a playground, 100 metres of a school, or 30 metres of a residential property.
Encampments will also need to be at least 30 metres from of a cemetery and 10 metres from a waterway.
Photo credit: maho / Adobe Stock
Niagara Stone Road widening to accommodate new winery
Niagara Stone Road is now being widened in Niagara-on-the-Lake to accommodate an expected increase in traffic produced by a soon-to-be opened winery
Town spokesperson Maria Minor said the road is being widened between Hunter and Niven roads “as part of the development of Stone Eagle Winery.” The roadwork is being paid for by the winery owners.
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Month of May is recognized as Leave a Legacy Month
May is recognized as Leave a Legacy Month, a national awareness campaign created by the Canadian Association of Gift Planners to highlight the importance and impact of charitable gifts in wills.
Flags will be raised to commemorate the month at all twelve municipalities in Niagara.
Picture credit: Rawf8 / Adobe Stock
U.S. tariffs will cause Ontario economic growth to slow to 0.6% in 2025, says FAO
The Financial Accountability Office of Ontario (FAO) has issued a new report which examines Ontario’s trade relationship with the United States and estimates the potential impacts of US tariffs on Ontario’s exports, imports, GDP, employment and inflation.
As US tariffs reduce demand for Ontario’s exports, the province’s economic growth will slow. In 2025, Ontario’s real GDP growth would slow to 0.6 per cent, less than half the 1.7 per cent growth expected in the absence of US tariffs. This implies that a modest recession would occur in 2025. For 2026, real GDP growth would be 1.2 per cent, compared to 1.9 per cent growth in the no tariff outlook.
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Ontario invests $75.5M to prevent homelessness and support people living in encampments
The Government of Ontario is investing $75.5 million to further support homelessness prevention and provide people living in encampments with access to reasonable alternative accommodation. This includes spending to create over 1,200 additional housing units, almost 1,000 additional shelter spaces, and a top-up to the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit (COHB) to immediately free-up emergency shelter spaces for people living in encampments by helping approximately 1,000 people living in shelters move into longer-term housing.
These investments are in addition to the province’s annual investment of nearly $700 million in homelessness prevention programs, as well as investing nearly $550 million to create 28 Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hubs, nine of which have already opened as of April 1, 2025.
Photo credit: Monster Ztudio / Adobe Stock
Canadian direct investment abroad increases significantly
The stock of Canadian direct investment abroad amounted to $2,473.5 billion at the end of 2024, an increase of 12.0% from 2023 and the largest percentage increase since 2019.
The three sectors that mainly contributed to the increase at the end of 2024 were finance and insurance, management of companies and enterprises and mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction.
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US economy shrinks in first quarter as tariffs unleash flood of imports
The U.S. economy contracted for the first time in three years in the first quarter, swamped by a flood of imports as businesses raced to avoid higher costs from tariffs and underscoring the disruptive nature of President Donald Trump’s often chaotic trade policy.
The Commerce Department’s advance gross domestic product (GDP) report on Wednesday, however, grossly exaggerated the economy’s fading prospects. Though consumer spending slowed considerably from the fourth quarter, the pace of growth remained healthy. Businesses also boosted investment in equipment, mostly information processing and transportation.
Nonetheless, both consumer and business spending likely reflected front-loading before the import duties kicked in. As such, the report reinforced Americans’ growing disapproval of Trump’s handling of the economy as he marks 100 days in office.
Focus on Canada-U.S. Business
Trump tariffs will cause ‘modest downturn’ in Canada but create ‘rare opportunity for change’: Deloitte
The “extremely uncertain economic operating environment” defined by U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policies will have broad fallout for Canadians, but it has also created momentum for positive change, the latest economic outlook from consulting firm Deloitte says.
“It’s actually a way that we see forward now, and because we’ve had this prod from all of the very aggressive language coming towards us, it does seem that now is a bit of a moment,” Deloitte chief economist Dawn Desjardins told Yahoo Finance Canada in an interview.
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.
