In this edition:
- Ontario business confidence improving but remains fragile, report says
- Marineland applies to break its property up into 4 parcels
- Porter Airlines partners with Hamilton Airport as part of major expansion project
- Ontario leads growth in non-residential building investment
- Trump outlines reciprocal tariff plan in latest bid to reshape trade on his terms
- Nearly 1,500 Welland jobs rely on trade with the U.S.
- Ontario gas prices: When to fill up for Family Day weekend?
- Focus on Technology
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Picture credit: Freedomz / Adobe Stock
Ontario business confidence improving but remains fragile, report says
Ontario business confidence is improving but remains fragile, with trade uncertainty, rising costs, and ongoing productivity and labour challenges posing risks to sustained growth, according to new research from the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC).
The OCC’s 2025 Ontario Economic Report (OER) shows a significant rise in business confidence over the course of 2024, climbing from a historic low of 13 per cent to 26 per cent by year’s end. Despite this improvement, confidence remains historically low and fragile, with 48 per cent of businesses expressing a lack of confidence in the economy.
Photo credit: Marineland
Marineland applies to break its property up into 4 parcels
Marineland is moving ahead with plans to separate its sprawling Niagara Falls property into four parcels of land.
Its land severance proposals will go before the city’s committee of adjustment hearing next Tuesday.
Picture credit: Vantage Group
Porter Airlines partners with Hamilton Airport as part of major expansion project
TradePort International is bringing Canada’s third-largest airline, Porter, onboard as a John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport (HIA) partner.
TradePort, whose parent company Vantage Group, has managed HIA since 1996, signed a $400-million deal with the City of Hamilton last fall to upgrade and expand passenger and cargo transportation over the next 49 years.
Photo credit: reme80 / Adobe Stock
Ontario leads growth in non-residential building investment
Investment in non-residential construction increased 1.3% (+$84.1 million) to $6.7 billion in December. Monthly increases were recorded in eight provinces and one territory, with Ontario (+$54.3 million) leading the growth and marking its 10th straight monthly increase.
Picture credit: Executive Office of the President of the United States / Public Domain
Trump outlines reciprocal tariff plan in latest bid to reshape trade on his terms
U.S. President Donald Trump tasked his economics team on Thursday with devising a plan to impose reciprocal tariffs on every country that imposes duties on U.S. imports in a fresh salvo at American friends and foes ramping up prospects for a global trade war.
“On trade, I have decided for purposes of fairness, that I will charge a reciprocal tariff, meaning whatever countries charge the United States of America, we will charge them. No more, no less,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Photo credit: Harold Stiver / Adobe Stock
Nearly 1,500 Welland jobs rely on trade with the U.S.
What was meant to be a discussion on a buy-Canada-first procurement policy took a turn Tuesday as city councillors learned nearly 1,500 jobs and 47 Welland businesses rely on trade with the U.S.
Using his strong mayor powers last week, Mayor Frank Campion mandated the temporary policy in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods entering the states.
Photo credit: alexanderuhrin / Adobe Stock
Ontario gas prices: When to fill up for Family Day weekend?
If you’re planning to hit the road this Family Day long weekend in Ontario, you may be wondering if you’re better off filling up on gas beforehand or if it can wait until you’re ready to set out on your trip.
The good news is you’re likely fine to wait.
Focus on Technology
Why major countries can’t agree on how to regulate artificial intelligence
More than 60 nations gathered in Paris this week for an AI summit that was meant to bring world powers together to set a global agenda on the rapidly developing technology. Instead, it showed that some are diverging sharply.
Over the last several years, the European Union has pursued aggressive regulation of Big Tech, investigating major American companies like Google and Apple and passing several laws that facilitate closer oversight of their activities. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has made tech deregulation a central part of its agenda, promising to remove red tape that the industry says is stifling to innovation.
So when dozens of countries including Canada, China, Australia and France signed a document promising an accessible and inclusive approach to AI development, the U.S. opted not to — but so did the U.K., which raised eyebrows among attendees and in the media.
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.
