In this edition:
- Ontario signs agreements with Saskatchewan, P.E.I. and Alberta to reduce trade barriers
- Trump says he plans to double steel, aluminum tariffs to 50 per cent by Wednesday
- The final toast: St. Catharines Club gives proceeds from sale of its building to nine charities
- Niagara Transit opts instead to go diesel with bus replacement purchase
- Niagara-on-the-Lake affirms wine country as core to its identity
- Why the Bank of Canada faces ‘risky’ June rate decision
- Focus on Home Building
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Picture credit: Abubakar / Adobe Stock
Ontario signs agreements with Saskatchewan, P.E.I. and Alberta to reduce trade barriers
Amid economic uncertainty in Canada due in part to U.S. tariffs, the Ontario government has reached agreements with Saskatchewan, Alberta and Prince Edward Island, with the aim of taking steps to reduce trade barriers among the provinces.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford signed separate memorandums of understanding (MOU) with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and P.E.I. Premier Rob Lantz in Saskatoon on Sunday ahead of a first ministers’ meeting there.
Ontario signed an MOU with Manitoba in May and with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in April.
Picture credit: Office of the President of the United States
Trump says he plans to double steel, aluminum tariffs to 50 per cent by Wednesday
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he planned to increase tariffs on imported steel and aluminum to 50 percent from 25 per cent, ratcheting up pressure on global steel producers and deepening his trade war.
On Saturday, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Ottawa had “taken note” of Trump’s remarks. “In the face of economic threats posed by the United States, Canada remains resolute in defending our workers and our communities,” he wrote on X. “We can give ourselves far more than the United States can take from us.”
LeBlanc said strengthening the domestic economy to reduce its reliance on the United States would be part of Carney’s discussions with the 13 premiers today. Canada is the largest steel supplier to the United States, accounting for nearly 25 per cent of all imports in 2023. About a quarter of all steel used in America is imported.
Picture credit: St. Catharines Club
St. Catharines Club gives proceeds from sale of its building to nine charities
Barry Katzman didn’t want members of the 147-year-old The St. Catharines Club to be sad and lament its closure. The club’s final act last week was to give away almost a half-million dollars from the sale of its downtown building to nine community charities – something Katzman, a board member, said it should take great pride in.
The event saw the not-for-profit corporation present $50,000 cheques to representatives from Community Care of St. Catharines and Thorold, Gillian’s Place, Hospice Niagara, May Court Club, Wise Guys Charity Fund, the St. Catharines Fallen Firefighters Memorial, Niagara Children’s Centre, RAFT and Niagara Peninsula Foundation for Children.
Photo credit: Niagara Transit
Niagara Transit opts instead to go diesel with bus replacement purchase
As a result of last-minute changes, Niagara Transit is adding eight badly needed new buses to its fleet, one more than an original purchase order.
General manager Carla Stout said Niagara Transit adjusted a purchasing agreement from 2023 with Saint-Eustache, Que.-based Nova Bus Inc. to provide eight diesel buses instead of seven hybrid vehicles.
“There just isn’t a market in the transit industry for hybrid buses right now,” Stout said. “You are either purchasing a diesel bus – or one that is battery electric, hydrogen or CNG (compressed natural gas).”
Photo credit: Pixel-Shot / Adobe Stock
Niagara-on-the-Lake affirms wine country as core to its identity
With the recent approval of the Town’s Tourism Strategy, a destination management framework designed to guide tourism development, Niagara-on-the-Lake is taking a more inclusive and strategic approach to how it presents and promotes the full range of experiences our community offers.
While the use of the term “wine country” has been adjusted from the initial Tourism Committee recommendation, this change was an intentional shift in language, not in values. Wine remains an essential and celebrated part of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s DNA, and it will continue to play a key role in the tourism story. The Town is encouraging a more deliberate and contextual use of “wine country” in marketing and communications, ensuring it complements broader messaging that reflects the town’s full tourism offering.
Photo credit: Elena Berd – stock.adobe.com
Why the Bank of Canada faces ‘risky’ June rate decision
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem’s mission is to chart a path for interest rates that keeps Canada’s economy afloat at a precarious moment without straying from its inflation-taming mandate.
“It really is mission impossible,” said Andrew DiCapua, principal economist at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. The latest data show price pressures could be building up again in Canada at the same time some economists warn of a tariff-induced slowdown on the horizon, pulling monetary policy in opposite directions.
“The bank really is in a difficult position here, but they really should be resuming rate cuts to get their interest rates lower to somewhere around two per cent, again, to cushion the Canadian economy for what’s to come,” DiCapua argued.
The Bank of Canada’s policy rate stands at 2.75 per cent following a pause at the central bank’s last decision in April, snapping a streak of seven consecutive cuts. Most economists expect the central bank will hold rates again on Wednesday.
Focus on Housing Solutions
Provinces ‘hold the key’ to unlocking homebuilding, new report argues
While the federal government and cities across Canada are making strides on expanding the housing supply, the provinces still need to get serious about building quality homes, a new report argues. No province earned a grade higher than C+ in the report assembled by the Task Force for Housing and Climate. The task force’s “report card” evaluated governments based on their policies for building homes quickly and sustainably.
Mike Moffatt, the report’s author and founding director of the Missing Middle Initiative at the University of Ottawa, suggested the provinces have thus far avoided “scrutiny” for their role in perpetuating the housing crisis, while Ottawa and the cities have taken the heat for red tape and high costs. He noted that the report card was based only on implemented policies and did not capture the impact of proposed legislation such as Ontario’s Bill 17, which is meant to speed up permits and approvals, simplify development charges and fast-track infrastructure projects.
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.
