In this edition:
- Trump administration proposes new 10 per cent tariff on Canada and other countries
- Improving understanding of the Four Mile Creek watershed
- Reduced tire recycling targets have caused massive backlogs
- Key economic trends across the province
- Auto sales down for eighth consecutive month as May sales fall 1.7%: DesRosiers
- Q1 2026 Snapshot of productivity, compensation and labour costs
- Trump issues proclamation to lower some steel, aluminum and copper tariffs
- Focus on Trends – AI is describing your company behind your back
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Picture credit: freshidea / Adobe Stock
Trump administration proposes new 10 per cent tariff on Canada and other countries
Prime Minister Mark Carney said his Liberal government will soon introduce legislation on forced labour in supply chains after the Trump administration proposed a 10 per cent additional tariff on Canada and other countries following an investigation into the issue.
The office of United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer released a report late Tuesday saying Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom and some other countries should be hit with the duties because they are not doing enough to enforce bans on forced labour.
It also proposes a 12.5 per cent duty on dozens of other countries which have partial or no bans on forced labour in supply chains.
Improving understanding of the Four Mile Creek watershed
The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA), in collaboration with the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, is advancing a science-based initiative focused on improving understanding of the Four Mile Creek watershed and supporting informed decision-making related to flooding, erosion, water quality, watershed function, and future land use considerations under changing climate conditions.
The Four Mile Creek watershed drains a large landscape extending from the City of Niagara Falls in its headwaters through the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake before it outlets to Lake Ontario. The watershed area primarily consists of agriculture and two urban areas in St. David’s and Virgil.
Picture credit: Budimir Jevtic / Adobe Stock
Reduced tire recycling targets have caused massive backlogs
Ontario’s tire recycling industry is grinding to a halt again, causing hundreds of tires to pile up at numerous tire dealers and garages throughout the province.
The backlog is threatening to put haulers, who transport tires from tire dealers to recyclers, out of work. The Ontario Tire Dealers Associations said it has been contacted by hundreds of tire businesses across the province that are reporting piles ranging from hundreds to thousands of tires on their sites.
Picture credit: JHVEPhoto / Adobe Stock
Key economic trends across the province
The Financial Accountability Office (FAO) of Ontario’s latest Ontario Economic Monitor provides an overview of key economic trends across the province, based on the most recent data available as of May 22, 2026:
- Ontario’s real GDP declined 0.3 per cent in Q4 2025, marking its second contraction in three quarters.
- Early 2026 indicators suggest economic growth was largely flat, with strong retail and wholesale activity offset by employment losses, weaker housing activity, lower manufacturing sales, and declining international trade.
- The FAO projected 1.4 per cent GDP growth and 2.1 per cent inflation for 2026, but recent economic developments, including slower population growth and rising oil prices, have increased downside risks to growth and upward pressure on inflation.
Picture credit: Serhii / Adobe Stock
Auto sales down for eighth consecutive month as May sales fall 1.7%: DesRosiers
DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. says auto sales in May were down from a year ago, marking the eighth consecutive month of declining sales.
The firm estimates 184,000 vehicles were sold in the month, down 1.7 per cent from May 2025.
DesRosiers says while Statistics Canada’s latest GDP data indicated a technical recession, the auto industry has already been in a “feels like” recession in recent months.
Picture credit: Jerome / Adobe Stock
Q1 2026 Snapshot of productivity, compensation and labour costs
The labour productivity of Canadian businesses fell 0.5 per cent in the first quarter, after edging down in the previous quarter. The decline in the first quarter reflects the mild contraction in the pace of business output. Meanwhile, hours worked increased.
Overall, productivity decreased in 10 of the 16 main industry sectors in the first quarter. Construction and agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting were the main contributors to this decline, while retail trade and transportation and warehousing saw the strongest increases in productivity.
Picture credit: Office of the President of the United States
Trump issues proclamation to lower some steel, aluminum and copper tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed a proclamation to amend his Sect. 232 national security tariffs on some aluminum, steel and copper imports, the White House said. Effective June 8, tariffs on some steel and aluminum derivative products, including certain types of agricultural machinery and residential heating, air conditioning and ventilation equipment, will be lowered from 25 per cent to 15 per cent.
The order says mobile industrial equipment, such as bulldozers and forklifts, will be subject to a 15 per cent tariff “when imported from trade deal countries that are entitled to such treatment,” the White House said in a statement.
Focus on Technology
AI is describing your company behind your back – is it being honest?
Jaxon Parrott, Entrepreneur
A buyer asks ChatGPT which companies matter in your category. A customer asks Perplexity what the best option is for a specific problem. An investor asks Google AI Mode to explain the market and name the companies worth watching. The answer they get may frame your company before your homepage ever gets a chance to defend itself.
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.
