In this edition:
- Reimagined Welcoming Streets Initiative launches in St. Catharines
- Meridian opens Ontario Votes for Small Business Big Imact awards
- Federal automotive strategy should reward Canadian manufacturing and production, new report says
- Canada builds at near-record pace, but Ontario remains a drag
- Despite ‘elbows up,’ Canada on track to be net lender to U.S. for ninth straight year
- Focus on Housing Solutions
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Featured content by Skycomp
Picture credit: St. Catharines downtown association
Reimagined Welcoming Streets Initiative launches in St. Catharines
Positive Living Niagara and REACH Niagara have announced the relaunch of the Welcoming Streets Initiative (WSI), a collaborative program designed to support safer, healthier, and more inclusive downtown spaces in St. Catharines. Street-level operations resumed on January 26 and now operate Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The initiative has been thoughtfully retooled with a renewed focus on meaningful, sustained engagement with downtown businesses.
Picture credit: Meridian Credit Union
Meridian opens Ontario Votes for Small Business Big Imact awards
Click here to read more.
Picture credit: dizfoto1973 / Adobe Stock
Federal automotive strategy should reward Canadian manufacturing and production, new report says
As the profile of Canada’s automotive sector shifts dramatically, a new report is pushing the federal government to reward automotive companies that are committed to the country.
The report from the Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing notes that the last decade has seen U.S. automakers significantly shrink their Canadian footprint, while Japanese companies have kept production and employment steady.
Photo credit: Francesco Scatena / Adobe Stock
Canada builds at near-record pace, but Ontario remains a drag
Residential home construction is moving at a brisk pace across Canada by historical standards but the results are uneven, with Ontario emerging as the clear laggard, according to a TD Economics report.
“On a historical basis, Canadian homebuilding is indeed running strong,” said Rishi Sondhi, an economist at TD Economics. Canada is building homes at an annualized pace of roughly 264,000 units, a level exceeded only a handful of times since the postwar era.
However, one province remains a drag. Housing starts are at or above long-run averages in every region except Ontario.
Picture credit: Lazy_Bear / Adobe Stock
Despite ‘elbows up,’ Canada on track to be net lender to U.S. for ninth straight year
Despite trade tensions and the rise of the “elbows up” movement, Canada remained a net lender to the United States for the ninth straight year in 2025, according to a report Monday from Toronto-Dominion (TD) Bank.
Focus on Housing Solutions
Ana Bailão vs. the Housing Crisis
Katie Underwood, Maclean’s
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.
