In this edition:
- Niagara Mayors present governance reform agenda to Premier Ford
- Welland issues 2025 annual report
- Ontario secures groundbreaking national energy corridor agreement
- Competition Tribunal dismisses Google’s constitutional challenge in anti-competitive conduct case
- Canadian productivity edges down in fourth quarter
- Federal government reports deficit of $26.1B for its April-to-December period
- Real estate lenders will be more active in 2026, CBRE says
- Focus on Dining Trends
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Picture credit: Regional Municipality of Niagara
Niagara Mayors present governance reform agenda to Premier Ford
The Mayors of Thorold, West Lincoln, Port Colborne, Fort Erie, Grimsby, Pelham, Niagara-on-the-Lake, and Wainfleet today delivered a joint letter to Premier Doug Ford presenting a clear agenda to modernize governance and service delivery in Niagara. The mayors are moving decisively to address the number of politicians, strengthen efficiency, eliminate duplication, and secure long-term economic growth for their municipalities and the taxpayers they serve.
The announcement follows a motion passed by an overwhelming majority of Niagara’s elected representatives at Regional Council on February 26, 2026, directing a comprehensive governance and service delivery review.
Photo credit: Harold Stiver / Adobe Stock
Welland issues 2025 annual report
Today, the City of Welland issued its annual report for 2025, detailing its progress under the 2023-2026 strategic plan, important information and metrics for the City, and more.
Picture credit: trongnguyen / Adobe Stock
Ontario secures groundbreaking national energy corridor agreement
Today, the Ontario government announced a historic effort to connect and strengthen Canada’s electricity systems by launching a first-of-its-kind interprovincial-territorial partnership to build transmission infrastructure needed to power the country’s next generation of growth.
The landmark agreement, initiated by Ontario, will bring together British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Yukon, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and the Northwest Territories to advance new electricity transmission projects and strategic interties across Canada.
Picture credit: sgra / Adobe Stock
Competition Tribunal dismisses Google’s constitutional challenge in anti-competitive conduct case
Canada’s Competition Tribunal today dismissed a constitutional challenge made by Google following a Competition Bureau application to sue Google for anti-competitive conduct in online advertising in Canada. The Bureau’s investigation found that Google abused its dominant position as the largest provider of ad tech tools across the Canadian supply chain.
Picture credit: THINK b / Adobe Stock
Canadian productivity edges down in fourth quarter
The labour productivity of Canadian businesses edged down 0.1% in the fourth quarter as hours worked declined at a slower pace than real gross domestic product (-0.2%). This contrasts with the previous quarter in which labour productivity rose 1.1% as output increased with fewer hours worked.
The fourth quarter decrease in business labour productivity was the second quarterly decline in the last nine quarters.
Photo credit: Wangkun Jia / Adobe Stock
Federal government reports deficit of $26.1B for its April-to-December period
The federal government posted a budgetary deficit of $26.14 billion for the April-to-December period of its 2025-26 fiscal year.
In its monthly fiscal monitor, the Finance Department says the result was compared to with deficit of $21.72 billion reported for the same period a year earlier.
Photo credit: Tinnakorn / Adobe Stock
Real estate lenders will be more active in 2026, CBRE says
Click here to read more.
Focus on Dining Trends
What’s driving the non-alcoholic beverage boom?
Jessica Huras, Canadian Grocer
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.
