In this edition:
- St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Welland receive $6.8M from Province
- Ontario makes $13M investment in Skills Development Fund for Niagara
- Niagara College receives funding to expand support for beverage businesses
- Transit master plan designed to get Niagara moving
- West Lincoln eyes creating new employment lands in Fulton
- The last drop: Fairview Mall Starbucks location to close
- Canadian population growth stalls in Q1 2025
- Environment minister says EV rebates will return
- Construction sector ramping up tech investments to address labour gap
- Focus on Technology
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The Honourable Rob Flack, Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, speaks at a GNCC event on June 18, 2025 | Picture credit: Brad Demers / Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce
St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Welland receive $6.8M from Province
The Ontario government is awarding a combined total of nearly $6.8 million to the cities of St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Welland through the second round of the Building Faster Fund, which provides funding to municipalities that achieve at least 80 per cent of their provincially designated housing targets. St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Welland broke ground on nearly 2,000 new homes in 2024.
“Our government’s latest legislation is a key step forward in our plan to reduce delays, streamline approvals and build more homes — faster — in partnership with municipalities across Ontario,” said Rob Flack, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
Photo credit: sidekick / Adobe Stock
Ontario makes $13M investment in Skills Development Fund for Niagara
The Ontario government is investing more than $13 million through the Skills Development Fund (SDF) Training Stream to help over 9,000 workers and jobseekers in the Niagara Region prepare for in-demand jobs in the construction, manufacturing and food and beverage processing sectors. This investment is part of the government’s $1 billion expansion of the SDF, for a total of $2.5 billion.
Brad Barta (Pilot Plant Production Specialist, Food and Beverage Innovation Centre, Niagara College) and Anthony Akoh (Research Associate, FBIC) adjust CO₂ levels in the pilot plant carbonation tanks, ensuring beverage products meet sensory standards, food safety regulations, and maintain consistent shelf life. | Picture credit: Niagara College / supplied
Niagara College receives funding to expand support for beverage businesses
More than 20 beverage businesses will get a boost in launching new products in competitive markets thanks to a recent investment in Niagara College (NC)’s Canadian Beverage Innovation Program.
The Canadian Beverage Innovation Program, delivered through NC’s Food & Beverage Innovation Centre (FBIC) and Business & Commercialization Innovation Centre (BCIC), is being supported by funding of up to $172,000 through the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP).
Picture credit: Niagara Transit
Transit master plan designed to get Niagara moving
Niagara’s transit commission unveiled an ambitious 10-year master plan to improve service levels throughout the region at its meeting Tuesday.
“More Niagara residents will have access to better, more frequent services with direct travel options over longer periods of the day and with even more convenient and consistent connections,” said Yuval Grinspun, the CEO of Toronto-based Left Turn Right Turn Ltd., which conducted the research and produced the report.
Picture credit: Township of West Lincoln
West Lincoln eyes creating new employment lands in Fulton
Small- and medium-sized businesses might start popping up on 36 hectares (89 acres) of land in the hamlet of Fulton, between Smithville and Hamilton, in the coming years.
The Township of West Lincoln is looking to make the land north of Highway 20, between south Grimsby Roads 18 and 19, a rural employment area and has hired consultant WSP Canada to conduct a land use plan study.
Photo credit: ManuPadilla / Adobe Stock
The last drop: Fairview Mall Starbucks location to close
The longtime Starbucks store at the Fairview Mall in St. Catharines will be closing in mid-July.
Julia St. Louis, account director for Starbucks, confirmed in an email Starbucks Canada was closing the store, located at 285 Geneva St. beside the Chapters store on July 17.
Picture credit: Dmytro / Adobe Stock
Canadian population growth stalls in Q1 2025
From January 1 to April 1, 2025, the population of Canada increased by 20,107 people, a change of less than 0.1%, to reach 41,548,787 people. This was the smallest quarterly growth since the third quarter of 2020, when the population decreased by 1,232 people in the wake of border restrictions to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo credit: NVB Stocker / Adobe Stock
Environment minister says EV rebates will return
The federal government intends to bring back consumer rebates for electric vehicles but doesn’t know yet what they’ll look like, Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin said on Jun. 17.
The federal government launched its rebate program — the Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles program or iZEV, — in 2019, but it ran out of funding earlier this year, leading Ottawa to pause the program.
Photo credit: suwichan / Adobe Stock
Construction sector ramping up tech investments to address labour gap
A new survey says most Canadian construction companies are still coping with a shortage of skilled labour, however their productivity and efficiency has improved in recent years as a result of investments in technology.
KPMG in Canada’s third biennial survey on digital maturity and tech adoption in the construction industry found a shift is underway. Nearly eight in 10 respondents indicated that procurement processes are changing to encourage innovation and digital adoption.
Photo credit: 安琦 王 / Adobe Stock
3/4 of Canadian manufacturers experiencing “moderate to severe harm” from U.S. tariffs
As Prime Minister Carney and President Trump commit to finalizing a new economic and security agreement within 30 days, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) is warning that Canada’s industrial base continues to suffer escalating damage.
New survey data from CME reveals that three in four Canadian manufacturers are experiencing moderate to very severe harm from ongoing U.S. tariffs, undermining investment, employment, and broader economic stability.
Focus on Technology
Fresh frontiers: How biotechnology is reshaping the produce aisle
Biotech is bringing a fresh wave of innovation to the produce aisle. Unlike earlier developments that focused primarily on agricultural benefits, today’s gene editing and genetic modification tools are increasingly centred around consumer-friendly traits. This is helping change the conversation
“Trying to explain to the average consumer why weed management traits are really great is a hard sell, even though it has multiple benefits to the environment and to farm management,” says Ian Affleck, vice-president, plant biotechnology at CropLife Canada, a trade association focused on plant-science innovation. “But, if you can explain to someone that this [gene-edited] blackberry has all the flavour and no seeds—making it great for smoothies—they want to know more about the science behind it. And then you see public acceptance follow in line.”
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.
