In this edition:
- Ford says he’ll trigger an election and wants ‘largest mandate in Ontario’s history’
- E-Bill campaign raises over $43,000 for Niagara SPCA and Humane Society
- Welland will be home to a new seniors centre
- Town of Grimsby successfully advocates for municipal priorities at ROMA 2025
- ‘Major’ grocery store will anchor former Bowl-O-Rama site in Welland
- Government of Ontario invests $228M in post-secondary institutions
- Focus on Retail
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Picture credit: Joey Coleman / CC BY 2.0
Ford says he’ll trigger an election and wants ‘largest mandate in Ontario’s history’
“The choice that people are going to have for the next 30 days will affect every aspect of their lives, and their kids’ lives, and their grandchildrens’ lives for the next 20 to 30 years,” Ford said,
“We need the largest mandate in Ontario’s history to move this province forward.”

Picture credit: Niagara Peninsula Energy Inc. / supplied
E-Bill campaign raises over $43,000 for Niagara SPCA and Humane Society
Niagara Peninsula Energy Inc. (NPEI) is thrilled to announce that its recent eBill campaign has raised $43,870 for the Niagara SCPA and Humane Society. This initiative highlights NPEI’s ongoing commitment to support our communities and to promote sustainable practices.
The campaign encouraged customers to switch to paperless billing, with NPEI pledging to donate $10 to the Niagara SPCA and Humane Society for every customer who made the switch.

(Left to Right): Bill Steele, Mayor, City of Port Colborne; France Vaillancourt, Executive Director, Centre de santé communautaire Hamilton/Niagara; Frank Campion, Mayor, City of Welland; Sam Oosterhoff, MPP Niagara West. | Picture credit: Sam Oosterhoff, MPP
Welland will be home to a new seniors centre
Welland will be home to a new Seniors Active Living Centre, Niagara West Conservative MPP Sam Oosterhoff announced today, saying it will help improve seniors’ quality of life and build community engagement.

(Left to Right): Ian Morrison (Head Brewer), Jon Downing (Brewmaster Professor), Adam Marshall (Assistant Brewer) and Steve Gill (General Manager, NC Learning Enterprises). | Picture credit: Niagara College / supplied
Niagara College shines at Ontario Brewing Awards
NC’s Beer 101 Strong earned silver (Strong British Ale category) while Beer 101 Bitter picked up bronze (British Bitter category) at the competition’s recent award ceremony, which celebrated excellence in Ontario craft beer.

Picture credit: Town of Grimsby
Town of Grimsby successfully advocates for municipal priorities at 2025 ROMA conference
Mayor Jeff Jordan, councillors and town staff recently attended the 2025 Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) Conference as delegates for the Town of Grimsby. Critical topics included the timing of environmental assessment for the Provincial GO Station Project, addressing the rising WSIB costs for lower-tier municipalities and establishing a Workforce Development Alliance Group for the Manufacturing Workforce.

Photo credit: Plaza Retail REIT
‘Major’ grocery store will anchor former Bowl-O-Rama site in Welland
A shopping centre developer with properties across Canada has confirmed a “major” grocery store will anchor a plaza now under construction in Welland.
However, Plaza Retail REIT wouldn’t identify the tenant who will occupy between 30,000 and 40,000 square feet of a project totalling about 100,000 square feet at the northeast corner of Niagara Street and Quaker Road in Welland.

Photo credit: UA-Visions.com / Adobe Stock
Government of Ontario invests $228M in post-secondary institutions
The Ontario government is investing $228 million in postsecondary institutions to modernize their infrastructure. The funding will allow publicly assisted colleges and universities to upgrade buildings and acquire the latest learning tools. This combined investment stream requires postsecondary institutions to contribute matching funds.
Did you know?
While federal election periods can vary from 37 to 51 days, elections in Ontario must last for 28.
Focus on Retail
Could Ottawa’s investigation of Interac lead to lower transaction fees?
If you’ve ever used online banking to send money as a gift, pay a friend back for dinner or send rent to your landlord, there’s a good chance you used Interac e-Transfer to do it. The service allows people to request, send and receive money directly through Canadian personal and business bank accounts. Interac Corp. says 88 per cent of Canadians have used e-Transfer, and the company processed nearly 1.2 billion transactions in 2023.
But now, the government is questioning whether Interac’s e-Transfer service is anti-competitive — and politicians have asked the Competition Bureau to step in and investigate. Here’s what you need to know about the most ubiquitous payments exchange provider in Canada, and how it came to be in the crosshairs of government watchdogs.
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.