In this edition:
- Premier Doug Ford unveils cabinet
- New federal program to address organizations responding to mass layoffs
- Provincial Skills Development Fund to receive $3M for automotive training
- NH physician elected to Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons
- Niagara-on-the-Lake seeks input on town’s Official Plan
- Council rejects 33-storey tower for downtown St. Catharines
- Niagara-on-the-Lake Council approves 2025 Capital and Operating Budgets
- KPMG poll says 54% of manufacturers can weather trade war of more than a year
- U.S. uncertainty positions Canada for more mass timber construction
- Canadian population growth slows but still higher than 1972-2021
- Car prices already creeping up as auto industry braces for tariff disruption
- Focus on Canada-U.S. Business
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Picture credit: JHVEPhoto / Adobe Stock
Premier Doug Ford unveils cabinet
Today, Premier Doug Ford unveiled his cabinet. As was expected, there were few changes to the lineup. Paul Calandra moves from housing to become the education minister, taking over from Jill Dunlop, who moves to emergency preparedness.
The Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks will now have responsibility over conservation authorities, while the Minister of Energy and Mines and the Associate Minister of Energy-Intensive Industries will now have responsibility over broadband expansion and connectivity.
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New federal program to address organizations responding to mass layoffs
The new Canada Retraining and Opportunities Initiative will provide supplemental support to organizations to respond to exceptional situations of mass layoffs that significantly impact their communities, to help workers transition to new jobs.
Applications will be accepted on a continuous basis until funding has been fully committed.
Picture credit: kunakorn / Adobe Stock
Provincial Skills Development Fund to receive $3M for automotive training
The Ontario government has announced an investment of up to $3 million through the Skills Development Fund (SDF) Training Stream to train workers in the automative trades.
Today’s investment will support three AIA Canada projects that will equip automotive tradespeople in Ontario with the skills required to diagnose and repair modern vehicles.
Picture credit: Niagara Health / supplied
NH physician elected to Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons
Dr. Jennifer Tsang, Executive Director and Chief Scientist of the Niagara Health Knowledge Institute (NHKI), has been elected to Council of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the national body overseeing medical specialist certification and education.
Among Dr. Tsang’s awards and accolades is the GNCC’s Health Care Hero award from the 2022 Women in Business Awards.
Picture credit: Destination Ontario
Niagara-on-the-Lake seeks input on town’s Official Plan
In August 2019, Town Council adopted a new Official Plan. However, its approval by Niagara Region was delayed to align with the new Niagara Official Plan and adapt to provincial land use planning changes. The Town must now update the adopted Official Plan to align with recent provincial policy changes, the Niagara Official Plan, and local priorities.
As part of this process, the Town is seeking community input through a survey and Public Information Centres, an opportunity for participants to help foster a vibrant, sustainable, and welcoming future.
Picture credit: Weston Consulting
Council rejects 33-storey tower for downtown St. Catharines
Called “out-of-sync,” “ill-conceived” and “life-altering” by neighbours, a proposed 33-storey residential tower abutting Yates Street Heritage District in downtown St. Catharines has been unanimously rejected by city councillors.
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Picture credit: Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake
Niagara-on-the-Lake Council approves 2025 Capital and Operating Budgets
At the March 18, 2025, Special Council Meeting, Niagara-on-the-Lake Town Council approved the 2025 Capital Budget for $17,215,239 and the 2025 Operating Budget for $55,140,242.
Picture credit: Rawf8 / Adobe Stock
KPMG poll says 54 per cent of manufacturers can weather trade war of more than a year
A new survey says roughly half of domestic manufacturers say they can weather a trade war that lasts more than a year.
The poll by KPMG in Canada survey says 54 per cent of manufacturers surveyed said they will be able to withstand a tariff war with the U.S. that lasts more than one year.
Picture credit: Dmytro / Adobe Stock
U.S. uncertainty positions Canada for more mass timber construction
Yo-yo U.S. tariffs and chaotic White House policy clouding the next four years is making mass timber and wood construction a secure alternative in the Canadian construction market for builders planning downstream.
Picture credit: New Africa / Adobe Stock
Canadian population growth slows compared to 2022-23 but still higher than 1972-2021
With the release of the fourth quarter population estimates, a full portrait of the annual growth in 2024 is possible. Canada’s population increased by 744,324 people in 2024, a growth rate of 1.8%. While this growth rate was lower than those in 2022 (+2.5%) and 2023 (+3.1%), it was higher than that in any year from 1972 to 2021. This may reflect a transition back to the population growth patterns seen before the start of the pandemic.
Picture credit: Tomasz Zajda / Adobe Stock
Car prices already creeping up as auto industry braces for tariff disruption
There are many uncertainties about how United States President Donald Trump’s tariffswill affect the auto industry, but sector insiders say one thing is all but certain: the price to buy a vehicle is about to go up and may already be rising.
Focus on Canada–US Business
Canada will prevail in tariff war, and so too will construction
As the U.S. Presidential election of November 5, 2024, approached, many Canadians were wary of Donald Trump’s nationalist approach to foreign policy and his “America First” economic agenda, including pro tariff rhetoric.
Despite the previews, it came as a shock to all of us that one of Trump’s first priorities as the 47th President would be the pursuit of aggressive tariffs against Canada and the assertion of economic dominance with a stated objective of making Canada “51st American state.”
Now, having absorbed the initial shock of Trump’s attacks, Canadians from coast to coast and north to south are fighting back, and fighting back hard.
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.
