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Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce

Daily Update: November 18, 2024

In this edition:

  • New owner takes on former St. Catharines General Hospital site
  • Ontario breaks ground on long-term care home in St. Catharines
  • Medavie Blue Cross Named Life and Health Insurer of the Year
  • Unifor CN members to hold strike vote
  • Darlington nuclear refurbishment completed 5 months ahead of schedule
  • Canadian home sales see surprise jump in October
  • U.S. budget airline Spirit Airlines files for bankruptcy
  • Canadian dollar weakness to persist into 2025
  • Focus on Sustainability

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The main entrance to the now-demolished St. Catharines hospital on Queeston Street

Photo credit: Google Streetview screenshot

New owner takes on former St. Catharines General Hospital site

The former St. Catharines General Hospital property on Queenston Street has a new owner after it was placed in receivership last year.

Kitchener-based real estate developer Vive Development Corp. bought the site on Nov. 4 and said it has plans to design much-needed rental units.

Click here to read more.


The sign for Extendicare St. Catharines

Photo credit: Extendicare St. Catharines

Ontario breaks ground on long-term care home in St. Catharines

Construction is underway on the redevelopment of Extendicare St. Catharines’ new 256 bed long-term care home in St. Catharines. This project was a recipient of the Construction Funding Subsidy top-up, part of the Ontario government’s commitment to build 58,000 new and upgraded long-term care beds across the province.


Photo credit: Insurance Business Canada Awards

Medavie Blue Cross Named Life and Health Insurer of the Year

Medavie Blue Cross, a leading all-in-one private health insurer and Canada’s largest private administrator of federal and provincial government-sponsored health program, is thrilled to announce that it has been named Life and Health Insurer of the Year at the ninth annual Insurance Business Canada Awards (IBCAs).

Click here to read more.


The front of a double-headed CN freight train

Photo credit: IanDewarPhotography / Adobe Stock

Unifor CN members to hold strike vote

Unifor Council 4000 and Local 100 members working at Canadian National Railway (CN Rail) will hold strike votes in workplaces across Canada starting on November 18.

Unifor’s two national bargaining committees continued contract negotiations with CN this week in Montreal, calling for the removal of concessions.

Click here to read more.


An aerial view of the Darlington nuclear generating plant

Photo credit: Ontario Power Generation

Darlington nuclear refurbishment completed 5 months ahead of schedule

Ontario is announcing the completion of the refurbishment of Unit 1 at the Darlington Nuclear Generating Station five months ahead of schedule, marking a significant milestone in the province’s plan to tackle soaring demand for energy.

Refurbishing and returning Unit 1 to service provides 875 megawatts (MW) of reliable, affordable and clean power for the next 30-plus years, enough to power 875,000 homes.

Click here to read more.


A "sold" sign on the street in front of a house

Photo credit: Andy Dean / Adobe Stock

Canadian home sales see surprise jump in October

Home sales activity recorded over Canadian MLS® Systems increased 7.7% on a month-over-month basis in October 2024, reaching its highest level since April 2022, new data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) shows.

“The jump in home sales last month was definitely an October surprise, although with the big interest rate cut of 50 basis points announced during the last week of the month, the increase was more likely related to the surge in new listings we saw in September,” said Shaun Cathcart, CREA’s Senior Economist.

Click here to read more.


A Spirit Airlines airliner taxies on the runway after landing at Chicago O'Hare International Airport

Photo credit: MKPhoto / Adobe Stock

U.S. budget airline Spirit Airlines files for bankruptcy. Here’s what Canadians should know

Spirit Airlines announced on Monday, Nov. 18 the airline has filed for bankruptcy protection after what the New York Times characterizes as “a string of setbacks, most recently a failure to renegotiate its looming debt.”

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York. The company says it plans to come back from its setbacks caused by the pandemic and a failure to sell the airline to JetBlue.

Click here to read more.


A selection of Canadian coins arrayed below a fifty dollar banknote

Photo credit: journey2008 / Adobe Stock

Canadian dollar weakness to persist into 2025, expert says

The Canadian dollar will remain weak through at least the end of this year, some experts say, though a rebound could come in 2025.

After falling to a four-year low last week, the loonie was up slightly Monday at 71.18 cents US. But it still remains lower than it has been since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and is nearly four per cent below where it was trading in September.

Click here to read more.


Did you know?

93% of Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario claims were dismissed without a hearing in 2023-24.


Focus on Sustainability

On the eve of Canada’s first LNG export facility starting up, future growth is anything but certain

Producers in Western Canada this summer endured the worst price slump in five years as a combination of warm weather and high storage volumes oversupplied the market, pushing AECO prices (the Canadian benchmark price for natural gas) below $1 per gigajoule during the shoulder season and spot prices into negative territory in August and September.

Through it all, companies have resolutely maintained production, sometimes to their own detriment, setting new daily production records in October and November even as the added volumes meant prices dropped further.

The blow from dismal natural gas prices has been softened by the steady returns for the byproducts of drilling, including natural gas liquids and condensate, but a feeling is emerging that sweet relief is on the way with the upcoming startup of the LNG Canada export facility in Kitimat, B.C.

Click here to read more.


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.


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