In this edition:
- Walker to release draft environmental assessment report for South Landfill Continuation Project
- Port Colborne invites input on proposed Municipal Services Corporation
- With deadline looming, NOTL seeks more time to finish heritage designation
- International visitors keep Canadian tourism growing
- Retail theft reforms become law
- Payroll employment edges up as retail vacancies rise
- Cadence consortium launches process for high-speed rail procurement opportunities
- 40 mayors worldwide endorse pact to shape data centre development
- Focus on Canada-U.S. Business
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Picture credit: Walker Industries
Walker to release draft environmental assessment report for South Landfill Continuation Project
Walker Industries (Walker) has announced the release date of its Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for the proposed future development of its South Landfill located in Niagara Falls. The South Landfill, a key component of Walker’s fully integrated Resource Management Campus, supports the responsible management of materials that cannot be reused, recycled or recovered. The proposed continuation would allow the Campus to continue providing safe, reliable and affordable waste disposal services to Niagara and surrounding communities, support over 500 jobs in the region, and provide renewable energy.
Beginning July 8, 2026, members of the public, government agencies, Indigenous communities and other interested persons may review the draft Environmental Assessment online and in person during normal business hours.
Picture credit: City of Port Colborne
Port Colborne invites input on proposed Municipal Services Corporation
The City of Port Colborne is inviting residents, businesses, and other community members to learn more about a proposed City-owned Municipal Services Corporation and provide feedback through a series of public engagement opportunities taking place between today and July 8.
The engagement follows Council’s receipt of a draft business case examining the potential creation of a City-owned Municipal Services Corporation focused on water, wastewater, and stormwater services.
Picture credit: Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake
With deadline looming, NOTL seeks more time to finish heritage designation
The pressure is on for Niagara-on-the-Lake and dozens of communities across Ontario, as they are half a year away from a deadline that will see a swath of historical properties get dropped from their municipal heritage lists — clearing the way for them to be redeveloped or demolished.
Now, the Town of NOTL is asking the Ontario government to give it three more years to finish designating as many heritage properties as it can before it is too late.
Picture credit: Maksym Yemelyanov / Adobe Stock
International visitors keep Canadian tourism growing
Canada’s tourism economy continued to expand in the first quarter of 2026, with real tourism GDP up 0.5% while economy-wide real GDP by industry rose just 0.1%. Tourism spending edged up 0.1% as international visitor spending grew 0.9%, offsetting a 0.2% dip in domestic tourism spending by Canadians. Tourism jobs also increased 0.4%, and early frontier counts suggest non-resident travel to Canada continued rising in April and May, pointing to continued momentum heading into the busier travel season.
Picture credit: Krakenimages.com / Adobe Stock
Retail theft reforms become law
New federal bail and sentencing reforms have become law, with a sharper focus on repeat retail theft, organized crime, and violence connected to commercial crime. The legislation creates a new aggravating factor for retail theft and makes bail harder to obtain in certain repeat or violent offending cases — measures backed by retail and downtown business advocates who warn that theft, vandalism, and safety concerns are placing a growing burden on stores and commercial districts. The Retail Council of Canada has estimated retail crime as a $9-billion economic burden.
Picture credit: Tamara Sales / Adobe Stock
Payroll employment edges up as retail vacancies rise
Payroll employment in Canada edged up by 22,000 in April, while average weekly earnings rose 3.8% year over year to $1,345.79. Gains in health care, public administration, and administrative services were partly offset by losses in professional, scientific and technical services, manufacturing, and construction. Job vacancies were little changed overall at 490,500, but retail trade stood out with a 6,000-position increase in April and a 15.1% rise from a year earlier, suggesting hiring demand in the sector remains elevated even as vacancies fall in construction and professional services.
Picture credit: ALTO
Cadence consortium launches process for high-speed rail procurement opportunities
Crown corporation Alto’s partner, Cadence, has launched a market engagement process for Canada’s high-speed rail network as a way to present proposed early procurement activities, anticipated work packages, and timelines for the first phase of construction between Ottawa and Montreal.
Cadence is inviting local and international companies to learn more about the procurement process for the project.
Picture credit: 安琦 王 / Adobe Stock
40 mayors worldwide endorse pact to shape data centre development
Forty mayors from around the world have signed on to a pact announced June 25 to try to shape how urban data centres are built and operated.
It’s their vision for how urban data centre development can be done sustainably — and not at the expense of their cities’ natural resources, energy prices or climate targets. C40 Cities, an alliance of nearly 100 cities seeking to impact climate change, launched the pact during London Climate Action Week.
Focus on Canada-U.S. Business
Pivot or Peril: Are Canadian cities diversifying or doubling down on America?
Patrick Gill and Jasleen Trehan, Canadian Chamber of Commerce Business Data Lab
Over the past year, Canadian exports have begun to shift away from the United States toward global markets. At the national level, this looks like progress — a long-discussed move toward diversification finally taking hold.
But the story is more complicated.
This shift toward diversification is not broad-based, driven by new exporters, or evenly distributed across the country. It is concentrated in a handful of firms, sectors and cities — leaving many parts of the economy still highly exposed to U.S. trade policy risk.
Last year, the Business Data Lab (BDL) showed that U.S. tariffs and trade risks would not affect Canada evenly. Some cities, particularly those deeply integrated into U.S. supply chains, were far more exposed than others.
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.
