In this edition:
- Ontario investing $1.7 billion to prepare more students for in-demand careers
- PM Carney announces major new defence partnership
- Town of Pelham to conduct a building permit fee & Building By-law review
- Ontario’s municipal accountability bill passes at Queen’s Park
- Canada’s trade diversification push sees mixed results
- StatsCan survey shows steady business optimism despite ongoing cost and labour pressures
- Focus on Retail – Jeff Bezos $34 million bet to replace cotton and polyster
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Meridian Member spotlight: 541 Eatery
A welcoming space for the Barton Village community
541 Eatery is a non‑profit, pay‑it‑forward café rooted in the Barton Village neighbourhood. The staff work alongside neighbours to address the impacts of isolation, poverty, and injustice.
Ameriga Alonzo shares her journey from diner to helping run the café, and how 541 has become a welcoming space where people can access good food and a sense of community. Established in what was once a virtual food desert, the café continues to bring people together. Hear from Ameriga, 541’s interim executive director and a Meridian Member since 2025, as she tells the story behind the impact.
Click here to watch the video.
Featured content by Meridian Credit Union
Picture credit: Halfpoint / Adobe Stock
Ontario investing $1.7 billion to prepare more students for in-demand careers
The Ontario government is investing $1.7 billion to fund an additional 70,000 seats in high-demand sectors such as health care, STEM, education and skilled trades at publicly assisted colleges and universities across the province.
As part of the government’s historic $6.4 billion new postsecondary funding model, this investment will protect students’ access to the education they need to launch successful careers and good-paying, in-demand jobs, ensuring Ontario has the workforce it needs to support the most competitive, resilient and self-reliant economy in the G7.
GNCC announces finalists for 2026 Niagara Business Achievement Awards
The GNCC is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2026 Niagara Business Achievement Awards, powered by RBC, recognizing outstanding businesses, organizations, entrepreneurs, and young professionals whose work strengthens Niagara’s economy and communities.
“Niagara’s economy is built by people who take risks, invest in their communities, and create opportunity for others,” said Mishka Balsom, CEO of the GNCC. “Our finalists for the 2026 Niagara Business Achievement Awards demonstrate the quality, creativity, and leadership that define business success in Niagara. They remind us that economic growth is more than statistics; it is created every day by employers, entrepreneurs, workers, and community partners across the region.”
Click here for see the finalists
Picture credit: Office of the Prime Minister of Canada
PM Carney announces major new defence partnership
Today, Prime Minister, Mark Carney announced that Canada has entered into negotiations to procure the GlobalEye, Saab’s Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) aircraft platform. This is projected to support 3,000 jobs in the Canadian aerospace and defence sector — from the skilled trades to engineering and computing — opening opportunities for Canadian workers.
No less than one-third of the projected fleet of GlobalEye aircraft will be manufactured in Canada over the next 15 years. That means at least 40 aircraft, including orders from Allies, built by Canadian workers. At the heart of the GlobalEye system is the Canadian-made Bombardier Global 6500 aircraft — a modern jet transformed into a cutting-edge surveillance aircraft.
Picture credit: Town of Pelham
Town of Pelham to conduct a building permit fee & Building By-law review
The Town of Pelham is initiating a review of its building permit fees and Building By-law to ensure compliance with the Ontario Building Code and to maintain full cost recovery for building services. Interested members of the public are invited to attend a Public Open House on June 10, 2026 concerning an update of the Building Permit Fee & Building By-law Review.
Picture credit: diegograndi / Adobe Stock
Ontario’s municipal accountability bill passes at Queen’s Park
The Ford government’s long-promised overhaul of how Ontario municipalities deal with misconduct by councillors is on its way to becoming law.
Bill 9, the legislation designed to standardize codes of conduct and create a pathway to remove elected officials accused of serious wrongdoing passed third reading at Queen’s Park Tuesday with support from all major parties.
Picture credit: le / Adobe Stock
Canada’s trade diversification push sees mixed results
A small group of cities across the country drove Canada’s progress on diversifying trade in 2025, while others fell behind, says a new report from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
The report says Calgary, Ottawa-Gatineau, Toronto, Saskatoon and Kelowna, B.C., are the cities that made the strongest gains in export diversification beyond the U.S. market last year.
The report says many other cities didn’t see the same gains. It says trade conditions are likely to remain more volatile, more uncertain and more uneven going forward.
Picture credit: chernikovatv / Adobe Stock
StatsCan survey shows steady business optimism despite ongoing cost and labour pressures
Businesses continue to anticipate a variety of obstacles over the next three months. While pressures of both cost- and labour-related obstacles continued into the second quarter, the proportion of businesses with a positive outlook has remained steady compared with previous quarters.
In this macroeconomic context, Statistics Canada conducted the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions from April to May 2026. The survey collects information on the environment businesses are currently operating in and their expectations moving forward. In the second quarter, 64.3 per cent of businesses across Canada expect cost-related obstacles over the next three months, up from 58.9 per cent in the first quarter.
Focus on Retail
Jeff Bezos makes a $34 million bet to replace cotton and polyester
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.
