In this edition:
- Gordie Howe International Bridge opens to traffic
- New U.S. tariffs place 10 per cent duties on Canadian goods
- CMHC reverses forecast as housing market weakens
- Market participants expect Bank of Canada to hold rate through 2026
- Canada and Ecuador sign free trade agreement
- Welland seeks input on downtown investment plan
- Niagara-on-the-Lake launches new customer-service platform
- Niagara Falls council contravened Municipal Act, ombudsman finds
- West Coast pipeline could deliver meaningful GDP boost, TD says
- Ottawa halts proposed expansion of Billy Bishop airport
- St. Catharines and Rotary add installations to Charles Ansell Park
- Focus on Climate
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Picture credit: WMrapids / CC0
Gordie Howe International Bridge opens to traffic
The $6.4-billion Gordie Howe International Bridge opened to trucks, cars and other vehicles Monday, creating a new six-lane link between Windsor and Detroit. The crossing offers an alternative to the privately owned Ambassador Bridge, which previously held a monopoly on major truck traffic in the corridor. Thousands of trucks use the Detroit-Windsor gateway daily, carrying billions of dollars in goods, particularly for the automotive industry. The bridge is expected to improve travel times and border capacity, although its opening comes amid renewed Canada-U.S. trade tensions. Pedestrians and cyclists will be able to cross free beginning August 5.
Picture credit: Valerii Evlakhov
New U.S. tariffs place 10 per cent duties on Canadian goods
The Trump administration has imposed new 10 per cent tariffs on goods from Canada and several other countries, arguing they have not done enough to combat forced labour. Other countries will face duties of 12.5 per cent. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced the measures shortly before a temporary tariff authority was due to expire. Critics say the forced-labour investigations were rushed and designed to justify rebuilding a broad U.S. tariff wall. Scott Lincicome of the Cato Institute called the remedy blunt and disproportionate. The new duties add another layer of uncertainty for Canadian manufacturers, exporters and supply chains.
Picture credit: Andrii Yalanskyi
CMHC reverses forecast as housing market weakens
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has downgraded its 2026 housing outlook, forecasting declines in home sales, average prices and housing starts. CMHC now expects 457,200 sales this year, down from 470,314 in 2025, while the average price is projected to slip from $679,543 to $675,200. Housing starts are forecast to fall from 259,028 to 241,400. The agency cited economic uncertainty, slower population growth, borrowing costs, elevated inventories and high construction expenses. Its February forecast had anticipated rising sales and prices, but trade uncertainty and geopolitical tensions are now weighing on investment, hiring and buyer confidence.
Picture credit: Julia / Adobe Stock
Market participants expect Bank of Canada to hold rate through 2026
Financial market participants expect Canadian GDP to grow 1.3 per cent by the end of 2026 and 1.9 per cent in 2027, according to the Bank of Canada’s latest survey. Ninety-six per cent identified rising trade tensions as a leading downside risk, while 92 per cent said easing those tensions could improve the outlook. Respondents placed the median probability of a recession within the next six months at 25 per cent. They also forecast inflation at 2.6 per cent by year-end and expect the Bank’s policy rate to remain at 2.25 per cent through December before rising during 2027.
Picture credit: sezerozger / Adobe Stock
Canada and Ecuador sign free trade agreement
Canada and Ecuador signed a free trade agreement in Ottawa following negotiations that concluded in early 2025. The proposed agreement would effectively eliminate Ecuadorian tariffs on all Canadian imports, potentially creating new opportunities for Canadian manufacturers, exporters and agricultural producers. Bilateral trade between the two countries reached nearly $2.2 billion in 2025, according to the federal government. International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu and Ecuadorian Production, Foreign Trade and Investment Minister Luis Alberto Jaramillo were expected to participate in the signing. Several Canadian civil society organizations have opposed the agreement, warning about potential environmental consequences and Ecuador’s continuing human-rights challenges.
Photo credit: Harold Stiver / Adobe Stock
Welland seeks input on downtown investment plan
Welland is inviting public feedback on a proposed Downtown and Connected Districts Community Improvement Plan intended to attract private investment, strengthen local businesses and revitalize the city’s core. The draft plan would review the existing improvement area, identify infrastructure needs and establish a new vision for places to live, work and visit. The city is also updating its brownfield community improvement plan, which offers five incentives supporting cleanup, redevelopment, housing and economic growth on underused properties. A two-hour open house will be held August 12 at 6 p.m. in the Community Room at Welland Civic Square, with no formal presentation scheduled.
Picture credit: Alexandre / Adobe Stock
Niagara-on-the-Lake launches new customer-service platform
Niagara-on-the-Lake has begun rolling out My.NOTL, a new customer relationship management platform intended to modernize municipal service delivery. Existing telephone, email and online request channels will remain available during the initial phase. Later this summer, a self-service portal will allow residents to submit requests, track their status and receive updates online. The system is also designed to route requests more efficiently inside the municipality, improve communications and produce better service data. The current platform will operate alongside My.NOTL during the transition, and the Town cautions that residents may notice minor adjustments as staff become familiar with the new technology.
Picture credit: JHVEphoto / Adobe Stock
Niagara Falls council contravened Municipal Act, ombudsman finds
Ontario’s acting ombudsman has found Niagara Falls council contravened the Municipal Act when councillors used secret ballots during a closed meeting to select members of a downtown advisory committee in October 2024. Barbara Finlay determined that reviewing applicants privately was permitted, but the ballot vote was neither procedural nor a direction to staff and therefore could not legally occur in closed session. She also found the secret-ballot method violated open-voting rules, even though council later approved the appointments publicly. The city accepted the findings and says staff will change the procedure. Finlay recommended stronger vigilance and compliance with closed-meeting and voting requirements.
Picture credit: Tomasz Wozniak / Adobe Stock
West Coast pipeline could deliver meaningful GDP boost, TD says
A new West Coast oil pipeline could provide a meaningful lift to Canadian and Alberta GDP, although TD Economics says government forecasts may be optimistic. Government analysis projects the million-barrel-a-day pipeline would raise national GDP by 0.6 per cent and Alberta’s by 3.5 per cent by the 2040s. TD used more conservative assumptions and concluded that the economic gains could be lower, but still significant. The report also cautions that long-term Asian oil demand could flatten as electric vehicles and clean energy adoption expand in China. Alberta filed its application for the Crown-owned Trans Mountain Corporation project earlier this month.
Picture credit: Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport
Ottawa halts proposed expansion of Billy Bishop airport
The federal government has halted Ontario’s proposed major expansion of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, choosing to focus on safety upgrades already underway. The plan would have extended the runway to accommodate jets, while supporters projected job creation, passenger growth and economic benefits. The Toronto Region Board of Trade called Ottawa’s decision disappointing and argued the airport requires staged modernization. Environmental and community advocates welcomed the move, citing potential effects on noise, congestion, pollution, housing and the waterfront. Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said more than 87,000 consultation responses informed the decision, although his wording left open the possibility that expansion could be reconsidered in future.
Picture credit: City of St. Catharines
St. Catharines and Rotary add installations to Charles Ansell Park
The City of St. Catharines and the Rotary Club of St. Catharines Lakeshore have unveiled a Peace Pole and water-bottle filling station at Charles Ansell Gateway Park. The city matched Rotary’s funding through the Parks Legacy Fund, which supports community-led improvements to municipal parks. The filling station gives Welland Canals Parkway Trail users access to drinking water while encouraging reusable bottles. The multilingual Peace Pole carries a message promoting peace in English, French, Japanese and Anishinaabemowin. Community groups, charities, businesses and informal organizations can apply to the Parks Legacy Fund for eligible projects that renew or upgrade city park assets.
Focus on Climate
The 2026 El Niño is on track to be the strongest on record
Fernanda Gonzalez, Wired
The world could face the strongest El Niño since recordkeeping began, increasing the likelihood of extreme weather events and significant, long-term economic impacts globally.
A new analysis by Berkeley Earth climate scientist Zeke Hausfather paints a worrying picture of the climate phenomenon developing in the Pacific Ocean. Models have consistently forecast that this year’s El Niño—characterized by hotter than normal waters in the eastern tropical Pacific—could be among the strongest on records. Hausfather’s analysis using the El Niño forecast based on 14 climate models through July indicates that “this year’s El Niño is not only very likely to be the strongest event since reliable records began—it may end up the strongest by a truly mind-blowing margin.”
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.
