In this edition:
- Welland Hospital to undergo $55M renovation
- Niagara rents remain below national average, but monthly declines continue
- St. Catharines breaks ground on development corporation’s first affordable housing project
- Niagara College joins Ontario Corps emergency preparedness network
- Talent Opportunities Program accepting applications for summer and fall terms
- NPCA establishes Twelve Mile Creek Watershed Committee
- Grimsby transportation plan opens for public review
- NOTL seeks feedback on future public engagement
- RBC Insurance poll shows employee wellbeing hits new low as financial pressures weigh on Canadians
- Restaurant industry leads Canada in youth job growth through first half of 2026
- PM Carney replaces controversial New York envoy with oil executive
- Canada Post management given $30.8 million in performance pay despite record losses
- Focus on Housing Solutions
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Picture credit: Niagara Health
Welland Hospital to undergo $55M renovation
Renovations at Welland Hospital are now in the planning stage, following project approval last fall from the provincial government.
The changes include upgrades to accommodate more than 60 complex care beds to Welland and a 35-bed residential addictions treatment program. The project is in preparation for the 2028 opening of the new South Niagara Hospital and a transition to a three-site hospital system model that aims to streamline patient care and reduce wait times.
Picture credit: Andrii Yalanskyi
Niagara rents remain below national average, but monthly declines continue
Average asking rents in Niagara’s three listed markets remained below the national average in June, according to Rentals.ca and Urbanation data. Niagara Falls ranked 43rd among Canadian markets with an average rent of $1,861, including $1,607 for a one-bedroom and $1,976 for a two-bedroom, while St. Catharines ranked 44th at $1,827 and Welland ranked 46th at $1,762. All three saw month-over-month and year-over-year declines, with Niagara Falls posting the largest annual drop among the three at 5.4% overall and 5.7% for two-bedroom units.
Picture credit: City of St. Catharines
St. Catharines breaks ground on development corporation’s first affordable housing project
The St. Catharines Municipal Development Corporation (MDC) has reached a major milestone with construction set to begin on its first housing development, helping deliver more attainable and affordable housing in the city.
The MDC has partnered with Axe Living to build a 30-unit prefabricated rental apartment building on surplus City-owned land at 8 Academy St. Once complete, the development will provide 30 affordable housing units using an eco-friendly, energy-efficient modular construction system that will significantly reduce construction timelines compared to traditional building methods.
Photo credit: Niagara College
Niagara College joins Ontario Corps emergency preparedness network
Niagara College has joined Ontario Corps, the province’s emergency preparedness and response network of partners and volunteers. Through the partnership, the college will encourage students, staff, and faculty to volunteer, take part in information sessions and community engagement initiatives, and share expertise in emergency preparedness and community resilience. The Ontario Corps network is designed to mobilize within 24 to 72 hours during emergencies, deploying personnel, supplies, flood barriers, debris removal tools, drones, and other resources where needed.
Picture credit: zinkevych / Adobe Stock
Talent Opportunities Program accepting applications for summer and fall terms
The Ontario Chamber of Commerce is accepting applications for the Talent Opportunities Program, which offers eligible employers wage subsidies of up to 50% of wages, to a maximum of $5,000, for hiring post-secondary students in paid work-integrated learning placements such as co-ops and internships. Applications are open for the Summer 2026 term, running May 1 to August 31, and the Fall 2026 term, running September 1 to December 31. Funding is limited, and employers are encouraged to apply soon.
Picture credit: NPCA
NPCA establishes Twelve Mile Creek Watershed Committee
The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority has established a Twelve Mile Creek Watershed Committee to help guide an updated, integrated watershed management approach for one of Niagara’s most ecologically significant waterways. Twelve Mile Creek is Niagara’s only remaining cold-water stream, supporting native Brook Trout and surrounding wetlands, forests, and meadows that help filter water, prevent erosion, and build climate resilience. The 12-member committee includes representatives from local watershed municipalities, Indigenous partners, residents, agriculture, industry, and scientific researchers.
Picture credit: whitcomberd / Adobe Stock
Grimsby transportation plan opens for public review
Grimsby has completed its Transportation Master Plan, a long-term strategy to guide how the town plans, designs, delivers, and maintains transportation infrastructure over the next 20 years. Developed with CIMA+, the plan sets out improvements for walking, cycling, transit, and roads, with a focus on managing growth while improving safety, accessibility, and connectivity for residents, businesses, and visitors. The plan is available for a 30-day public review, with feedback due by August 10.
Picture credit: Andrey Popov / Adobe Stock
NOTL seeks feedback on future public engagement
Niagara-on-the-Lake is inviting residents to share feedback on how the town informs, consults, and engages the public as it develops a refreshed Community Engagement Framework. The survey is open until August 4, with in-person pop-up sessions scheduled for July 22 and 23 and a public information centre on July 23. The review will look at what is working, barriers to participation, preferred ways to receive information and provide input, and opportunities to make engagement more accessible and meaningful.
Picture credit: Ruan Jordaan/peopleimages.com / Adobe Stock
RBC Insurance poll shows employee wellbeing hits new low as financial pressures weigh on Canadians
Employee wellbeing in Canada has declined across every metric over the past year, according to poll results from RBC Insurance. The study shows that Canadians’ overall level of wellbeing rated as excellent or good has reportedly dropped by 9 percentage points to 56% in 2026 from 65% in 2025. This downward trend is consistent across all dimensions of RBC Insurance’s metrics of wellbeing.
Picture credit: Creative Clicks / Adobe Stock
Restaurant industry leads Canada in youth job growth through first half of 2026
The Carney government is replacing former broadcast journalist Tom Clark as consul general to New York City with an oil executive, and naming a former cabinet minister as Canada’s envoy in Los Angeles.
Picture credit: Halifax International Security Forum / CC BY-SA 2.0
PM Carney replaces controversial New York envoy with oil executive
The Carney government is replacing former broadcast journalist Tom Clark as consul general to New York City with an oil executive, and naming a former cabinet minister as Canada’s envoy in Los Angeles.
Photo credit: Julia / Adobe Stock
Canada Post management given $30.8 million in performance pay despite record losses
Despite record losses and a massive government bailout, Canada Post handed its executives and managers $30.8 million in performance-based payments in 2025.
Canada Post reported an unprecedented $1.57 billion in losses before tax in 2025 – the most it has ever recorded. As the federal crown corporation continues to hemorrhage money, Ottawa recently approved a bailout of up to $673 million to keep the postal service afloat.
Focus on Housing Solutions
Housing projects are piling up across Canada as the pipes underneath can’t keep up
Andrew Rankin, Financial Post
Construction executives, municipal engineers and developers say aging water and wastewater systems are emerging as one of the country’s biggest constraints on housing construction, leaving approved projects to possibly sit idle for years while improvements are made. As a result, new homes do not reach the market and developers face added carrying and financing costs that may ultimately be reflected in consumer housing prices.
Canada has about $555-billion worth of wastewater, drinking water and solid waste infrastructure, according to Statistics Canada estimates. As of 2022, roughly $65.6 billion — about 12 per cent — was in poor or very poor condition.
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.
