In this edition:
- Shaw Festival finds second home on Toronto’s waterfront
- St. Catharines church partners with Region to offer emergency overnight shelter
- Niagara parks open to the public over the holidays
- Pelham gives province’s conservation authorities overhaul thumbs-down
- Mastercard introduces Merchant Cloud for the evolving digital commerce landscape
- Manufacturing sector drives October economic contraction
- Canadian hotels are thriving, investors are taking notice
- Holiday retail spending set to rise 4.4% in Canada from last year, Visa says
- Focus on Climate
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Picture credit: Shaw Festival
Shaw Festival finds second home on Toronto’s waterfront
Shaw Festival is launching a new era of storytelling on the shores of Lake Ontario after establishing a three-year artistic residency at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre.
The three-year partnership will bring acclaimed Shaw productions — including the holiday staple “A Christmas Carol” — to Toronto audiences, transforming the city’s lakeside into a permanent home for Shaw’s dramatic arts through 2029.
Picture credit: Balcer ~commonswiki / CC BY 2.5
St. Catharines church partners with Region to offer emergency overnight shelter
A St. Catharines church and Niagara Region have partnered to increase the emergency overnight shelter response in the city.
St. Georges Anglican Church will provide respite to unhoused people when temperatures dip below -15 C.
Picture credit: Niagara Parks
Niagara parks open to the public over the holidays
In addition to Canada’s largest, free outdoor light festival, guests visiting Niagara Parks can enjoy a number of attractions and amenities open to the public during Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Whether visiting for a holiday or simply to witness the wintery views of Niagara Falls, there is plenty to do along the Niagara River corridor.
Photo credit: Town of Pelham
Pelham gives province’s conservation authorities overhaul thumbs-down
Picture credit: Prathankarnpap / Adobe Stock
Mastercard introduces Merchant Cloud for the evolving digital commerce landscape
As digital commerce accelerates across the Canadian economy, many businesses continue to navigate an increasingly complex web of payment technologies, security protocols and multi-market expansion requirements. Designed to address this complexity, Mastercard has introduced Merchant Cloud: a next-generation platform that combines the company’s global network intelligence with a unified suite of services.
Photo credit: Roman / Adobe Stock
Manufacturing sector drives October economic contraction
The manufacturing sector fell 1.5% in October, largely offsetting September’s expansion, as contractions in durable-goods and non-durable goods manufacturing industries weighed on growth.
Real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased 0.3% in October, offsetting a 0.2% increase in September, driven by contractions in goods-producing and services-producing industries.
Picture credit: Maurizio De Mattei / Adobe Stock
Canadian hotels are thriving, investors are taking notice
Strong and consistent operating fundamentals, resilient revenue streams, inflation-hedging capability and value-add opportunities are bringing the hotel asset class out of the alternative grouping and into the investment mainstream.
Colliers managing director of hotels Robin McLuskie led four panellists in discussing the performance of the sector and why it’s growing in appeal during the recent Real Estate Forum conference at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Photo credit: Andrey Popov / Adobe Stock
Holiday retail spending set to rise 4.4% in Canada from last year, Visa says
Canadians appear to be spending more this holiday season.
Preliminary data from digital payments company Visa Canada shows holiday retail spending was up 4.4 per cent year-over-year across all payment types, including cash and cheque.
Focus on Climate
A look at Environment Canada’s top 10 weather events for 2025
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.
