In this edition:
- Brent oil crosses US$100 as Red Sea attacks threaten shipping
- Ottawa backs $6.1M smart-grid upgrade for Niagara electricity system
- Trump’s new tariffs put Canadian electronics, plastics and other exports at risk
- New U.S. tariffs could disproportionately affect smaller Canadian exporters
- NOTL council delays decision on expanded Randwood proposal
- Royal George Theatre redevelopment cleared to proceed
- St. Catharines businesses to offer two hours of free downtown parking
- US visits to Canada rise 13% in May
- Canadian retail sales rise across all subsectors
- Ontario works toward national construction safety credentials
- Canada seeks input on AI transparency rules
- Canal Days draws record sponsorship and more than 65,000 visitors
- Focus on Housing Solutions
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Photo credit: Pawinee / Adobe Stock
Brent oil crosses US$100 as Red Sea attacks threaten shipping
Brent oil climbed above US$100 a barrel after attacks on two Saudi tankers raised fears that disruption could spread from the Strait of Hormuz to the Red Sea. The Red Sea has become an important alternative route for oil moved across Saudi Arabia by pipeline while traffic through Hormuz remains constrained. Crossings through Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait have already fallen sharply. Gasoline and diesel prices are rising even faster than crude as refinery margins increase, creating more immediate risks for transportation, tourism, agriculture and other fuel-intensive industries. Analysts continue to expect a limited diplomatic agreement, but warn that prolonged disruption could push oil toward US$150 a barrel by September.
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Photo credit: digidreamgrafix / Adobe Stock
Ottawa backs $6.1M smart-grid upgrade for Niagara electricity system
Niagara Peninsula Energy Inc. will invest $6.1 million in smart-grid equipment intended to improve reliability for approximately 59,000 residential and commercial customers across Niagara Falls, Lincoln, Pelham and West Lincoln. The federal government is contributing $2.7 million, with NPEI providing $3.4 million. The project will install automated reclosers and introduce software capable of locating faults, isolating damaged sections and restoring service more quickly. Officials said the upgrades will help reduce outages, strengthen the distribution network and prepare Niagara for rising electricity demand. Reliable and affordable power is also increasingly important to businesses considering where to expand or invest.
Picture credit: Molly Riley / Office of the President of the United States
Trump’s new tariffs put Canadian electronics, plastics and other exports at risk
Canadian electronics, plastics, forestry products and consumer goods are among the sectors most exposed to new 50% U.S. tariffs scheduled to take effect August 19. More than US$4 billion in electronics exports and approximately US$3 billion in plastics could be affected, along with beverages, machinery and industrial equipment. British Columbia faces the greatest proportional exposure, with targeted goods representing more than 13% of its U.S. exports, followed by Quebec at approximately 10%. The duties would apply even to products that comply with CUSMA. Although the targeted goods represent a relatively small share of total U.S. imports, research suggests much of the resulting cost would ultimately be passed to American businesses and consumers.
Picture credit: chernikovatv / Adobe Stock
New U.S. tariffs could disproportionately affect smaller Canadian exporters
The United States’ threatened 50% tariffs would apply to approximately $28 billion in Canadian exports, including chemicals, plastics, electronics, industrial equipment, forestry products, wine and food. Energy, potash and goods already covered by certain sectoral tariffs are excluded. The White House says the measures respond to Canadian policies affecting automobiles, alcohol and dairy, although several of those policies were introduced in response to earlier U.S. trade actions. Economists expect the national economic effect to be manageable but warn that individual exporters, particularly small and medium-sized businesses, could face severe disruption, job losses and reduced investment. The tariffs are scheduled for August 19 as Canada and the United States intensify negotiations over trade and CUSMA.
Image credit: Solmar Development Corp.
NOTL council delays decision on expanded Randwood proposal
Niagara-on-the-Lake council has asked staff to gather more information before considering heritage recommendations for the proposed Randwood Estate redevelopment. The revised Solmar application includes a five-storey, 111-room Ritz-Carlton hotel, a spa in an existing building, five residential buildings containing up to 270 units and 514 parking spaces. An earlier proposal had been limited to 129 residential units following an Ontario Land Tribunal hearing. Staff said more information is needed to assess the property’s buildings, cultural landscape, mature trees and other heritage attributes. The application remains complete and will return to council through a future planning report following further review.
Picture credit: Unity Design Studio
Royal George Theatre redevelopment cleared to proceed
The redevelopment of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Royal George Theatre can proceed after council approved the project on the condition that construction remain substantially consistent with its heritage permit application. Debate continued over the proposed building’s height, scale and massing, although planning staff said its elevations had not changed since January and had been reviewed repeatedly by the Municipal Heritage Committee. The theatre, built in 1915 and acquired by the Shaw Festival in 1981, was demolished on May 28, with exterior cladding retained around the site. Six councillors supported the approval, while three voted against it.
Picture credit: City of St. Catharines
St. Catharines businesses to offer two hours of free downtown parking
Downtown St. Catharines customers can receive up to two hours of free municipal parking throughout August under a new merchant validation pilot. Visitors must obtain a QR code from a participating business, scan it and enter their licence plate number. No app, account, email address or payment information is required. The offer applies to paid municipal surface lots, on-street spaces and the Ontario Street Parking Garage, but excludes the Garden Park/Carlisle Street garage. Each licence plate is eligible for one validation per day. The initiative, delivered with the St. Catharines Downtown Association, is intended to attract visitors, support merchants and test whether parking validation can strengthen the downtown core.
Picture credit: photobyphotoboy/ Adobe Stock
US visits to Canada rise 13% in May
Travel to Canada continued to strengthen in May, with visits by U.S. residents rising 13% from one year earlier to 2.2 million. Automobile arrivals increased 13.6%, while air travel rose 6% and cruise arrivals climbed 24.5%. Visits from overseas residents also increased 6.2%, driven largely by travellers from Europe and the Americas outside the United States. On a seasonally adjusted basis, total non-resident arrivals increased 6.3% from April. Canadian travel abroad also rose, including a 9.9% increase in return trips from the United States. The growth in inbound travel provides encouraging momentum for tourism operators entering the summer season.
Picture credit: freechoice / Adobe Stock
Canadian retail sales rise across all subsectors
Canadian retail sales rose 1% to $73.7 billion in May, with all nine retail subsectors recording increases. Gasoline stations and fuel vendors led the growth with a 3.1% increase in dollar sales, although volumes fell 2.7%, indicating that higher prices drove the gain. Core retail sales, excluding gasoline and motor vehicle dealers, increased 0.9%. General merchandise, sporting goods and grocery retailers also posted higher sales. Ontario retail sales rose 0.5%, supported by gasoline and fuel purchases. E-commerce sales declined 1.5% to $5 billion and represented 6.8% of total retail trade. Statistics Canada’s preliminary estimate suggests retail sales increased another 0.4% in June.
Picture credit: 安琦 王 / Adobe Stock
Ontario works toward national construction safety credentials
Ontario is participating in efforts to harmonize construction health and safety training across Canada, with the goal of improving worker mobility and reducing duplicated employer costs. Labour ministers have identified differing provincial certification requirements as an obstacle to moving workers between jurisdictions and delivering major projects. Ontario estimates that retraining 1,500 out-of-province workers in Working at Heights requirements could cost approximately $270,000 and consume 10,500 working hours. Governments are developing common entry-level worker and supervisor standards and aim to introduce digitally verifiable credentials by spring 2027. Ontario officials say harmonization should adopt strong existing standards rather than weakening training requirements.
Picture credit: SYEDARASHEKA / Adobe Stock
Canada seeks input on AI transparency rules
The federal government is seeking public and business input on how Canada should improve transparency around artificial intelligence systems and AI-generated content. The consultation will examine ways to identify synthetic content, inform people when they are interacting with AI, provide clearer information about systems’ capabilities and limitations, track serious incidents and monitor the activities of AI agents. Ottawa says greater transparency could build trust while supporting responsible adoption and innovation. Businesses, researchers, civil society organizations, Indigenous groups and individual residents are invited to participate. The consultation opened July 23 and will run until September 23, with the findings informing the government’s next steps on AI policy.
Picture credit: City of Port Colborne
Canal Days draws record sponsorship and more than 65,000 visitors
Port Colborne is preparing for Canal Days with its largest sponsorship roster to date and extensive participation from businesses, volunteers and community organizations. The July 31-to-August 3 festival will involve nearly 200 volunteers, approximately 150 vendors, 15 community organizations and more than 80 sponsors. Presenting sponsor GIO Rail is contributing $75,000 annually through a four-year partnership. The free marine heritage festival now attracts more than 65,000 visitors from Niagara, elsewhere in Canada and Western New York, creating one of the busiest weekends of the year for local businesses. Canal Days began as a small museum celebration in 1979 and has since grown into Port Colborne’s signature summer festival.
Focus on Human Resources
How AI can answer the call for faster permitting
John Bleasby, Daily Commercial News
Building organizations continue to call on governments to speed up homebuilding across the country, starting at the top of the governmental chain.
“The Government of Canada must strengthen its ability to address the housing crisis and speed up innovation in residential construction. Too many Canadians are having a hard time finding housing that they can afford,” Bienvenu-Olivier Ntumba, the Liberal MP for Mont-Saint-Bruno—L’Acadie, PQ told Parliament on June 6, 2025.
Delays often start with the building permit process. For example, in Québec, it is reported processing time increased by 135 per cent between 2017 and 2024 in Laval, Québec City and Montréal.
The approval process is a national problem. The World Bank ranks Canada’s building permit process 64th in the world among 187 countries. In terms of site plan approvals, Canada sits in the bottom 20th percentile.
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.
