In this edition:
- Ontario invests $94 million in water systems and irrigation in Niagara
- Welland takes lead for housing starts in June
- Burn bans issued across Niagara as hot, dry weather continues
- Ontario records low housing starts, even with new ways of counting them
- Canadian arrivals from U.S. increase by air, but drop for car traffic
- Planning to fly Air Canada? What you need to know about a potential strike
- Focus on Markets
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Picture credit: Town of Grimsby
Ontario invests $94 million in water systems and irrigation in Niagara
Niagara will receive approximately $94 million, the Government of Ontario announced today, which includes approximately $53 million for six water systems projects to help unlock up to 14,000 new homes through the Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program’s (MHIP) Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund (HEWSF) stream, and another $41 million for irrigation pipelines to help deliver water to hundreds of farms and agricultural businesses.
Photo credit: Harold Stiver / Adobe Stock
Welland takes lead for housing starts in June
Photo Credit: Firefighter Montreal / Adobe Stock
Burn bans issued across Niagara as hot, dry weather continues
Pelham, Niagara-on-the-Lake, West Lincoln, Lincoln, Port Colborne, Welland, Grimsby, and St. Catharines have announced burn bans with continued high heat and virtually no rain at all this month forecast. In Niagara, the fire risk has been elevated for most of the summer.
From a business perspective, the bans are a wise cautionary move to protect assets and infrastructure, reduce business interruption costs, and safeguard the tourism and agriculture industries.
Photo credit: reme80 / Adobe Stock
Ontario records low housing starts, even with new ways of counting them
Ontario’s final tally for housing starts in 2024 is well off what’s needed to achieve Premier Doug Ford’s goal of getting 1.5 million homes built, even with various new categories the government is adding such as university dorms.
The government recently updated its housing tracker for the first time in eight months, and it provides yet another glimpse into home building struggles.
Photo credit: belyaaa / Adobe Stock
Canadian arrivals from U.S. increase by air, but drop for car traffic
In July 2025, non-resident arrivals to Canada by air totalled 1.4 million, up 3.1% from July 2024. This total comprised 714,700 arrivals by US residents (+0.7%) and 729,800 arrivals by overseas residents (+5.6%).
At the same time, the number of US-resident trips to Canada by automobile (1.8 million) declined by 7.4% from the same month in 2024. This was the sixth consecutive month of year-over-year declines.
Photo credit: Lukas Wunderlich / Adobe Stock
Planning to fly Air Canada? What you need to know about a potential strike looming
A potential strike looms as contract talks carry on between Air Canada and the union representing 10,000 of its flight attendants.
The outcome of negotiations this week could be critical for summer travellers worried about their upcoming flights.
Focus on Markets
Bitcoin nears record as treasury investors boost crypto market
Suvashree Ghosh, Bloomberg
The original cryptocurrency advanced as much as 3.3% to top $122,000, not far shy of a previous record set in mid-July. A weekend rally saw Ether surge to above $4,300, its highest level since December 2021.
The gains come on the back of mounting interest in cryptocurrencies among large investors. So-called digital-asset treasury companies — listed vehicles that pivot into accumulating cryptocurrencies — have to date amassed a Bitcoin stockpile worth $113 billion, according to data compiled by Coingecko. Equivalent vehicles for Ether have stockpiled some $13 billion of the token so far, according to strategicethreserve.xyz data.
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.
