In this edition:
- Ontario Sport Hosting Program applications now open
- VQA sales at LCBO up 62% since start of tariff war
- Pelham receives Canadian Award for Financial Reporting for 2023 Annual Report
- Will this new plan reduce long wait lists for Niagara Regional Housing?
- Ford asks Carney to prioritize ‘nation-building’ Highway 401 tunnel
- Tariffs cause drop in exports to U.S. while exports to other countries increase 25%
- ‘Economic casualties’ will mount in Canada and U.S., pushing BoC to three more rate cuts this year
- Focus on Canada-U.S. Business
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Photo credit: Sebastian Duda / Adobe Stock
Ontario Sport Hosting Program applications now open
The Ontario government is accepting applications for the second intake of the 2025-26 Sport Hosting Program, which provides funding to communities and sport organizations that are hosting national and international amateur sport events in the province.
Photo credit: fw_gadget / CC BY-SA 2.0
VQA sales at LCBO up 62% since start of tariff war
According to numbers from the LCBO given to the St. Catharines Standard, sales of VQA Ontario wines at government stores have risen by 62% since Trump’s tariff war with Canada began. The increased demand for VQA wines — those made with 100 per cent Ontario grapes — is across the board for red, white and sparkling wines, according to the LCBO. Red wines have the largest jump is sales with 71% growth, white wines have seen a 67% increase and sparkling wines a 28% rise.
Picture credit: Pituk / Adobe Stock
Pelham receives Canadian Award for Financial Reporting for 2023 Annual Report
The Corporation of the Town of Pelham has been recognized for the fifth consecutive year with the Canadian Award for Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA), this time for its 2023 annual financial report.
Photo credit: Looker_Studio / Adobe Stock
Will this new plan reduce long wait lists for Niagara Regional Housing?
Niagara Regional Housing has the land — and the plan — to double its housing stock with assistance from the federal and provincial governments over the next 25 years.
While regional councillors still need to confirm their commitment to the Consolidated Housing Master Plan at the next full council meeting on May 22, they endorsed the plan and funding strategy at a committee-of-the-whole meeting last week.
Picture credit: resul / Adobe Stock
Ford asks Carney to prioritize ‘nation-building’ Highway 401 tunnel
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is seeking Prime Minister Mark Carney’s support for his idea to build a tunnel under Highway 401.
Ford sent the prime minister a letter May 5 setting out a series of Ontario priorities that he hopes Carney will address, including accessing critical minerals, building an electric-vehicle supply chain and enacting bail reforms.
Picture credit: standret / Adobe Stock
Tariffs cause drop in exports to U.S. while exports to other countries increase 25%
Exports to the United States (-6.6%) were down significantly for the month of March, according to Statistics Canada, but this decrease was almost entirely offset by a strong increase in exports to countries other than the United States (+24.8%).
Picture credit: AddMeshCube / Adobe Stock
‘Economic casualties’ will mount in Canada and U.S., pushing BoC to three more rate cuts this year
U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war will cause “economic casualties” in Canada and the U.S. even if some tariffs are scaled back, according to a new economic outlook from the Bank of Montreal.
Focus on Canada-U.S. Business
America isn’t ready to reshore manufacturing. Warehouses are the breaking point
We talk a lot about reshoring. About tariffs. About building American manufacturing back stronger than ever. But let me be direct: we’re not ready.
Not because we lack the will. Not because we lack the workforce. We’re not ready because our systems, specifically in our warehouses, are outdated, disconnected, and dangerously slow to adapt.
I’ve seen it firsthand. Across facilities large and small, we’re still operating like it’s 2005.
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.
