Bank of Canada set to make interest rate announcement shortly
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem has a tough balancing act in front of him with this rate decision as United States tariffs still hang in the balance.
In March, the central bank cut its rate by 25 basis points to 2.75 per cent.
The bank held the 2.75 per cent rate in April to control inflation, noting Canada's trade war with the U.S. could lead to a recession.
There has been speculation about whether Macklem would hold that rate or cut it further to offset a rise in prices due to tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday hiking tariffs on steel and aluminum — two key Canadian industries — to 50 per cent.
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National Post
9 minutes ago
- National Post
Toronto resident cancels planned trip to U.S. due to travel ban: 'I feel so bad'
Hla Wynn was looking forward to his annual trip to New York this summer, eager to spend time with family and help his brother recover from surgery. But the retired college professor said his long-standing plans are on hold until further notice now that U.S. President Donald Trump has announced a travel ban on residents of more than a dozen countries, including his birthplace of Myanmar. Article content Article content 'We've been going back and forth, some years they come and visit us, sometimes we go and visit them, to go for a trip during the summertime, spend about a week or two with them,' the 73-year-old said of his summer travels. '… but because of this new development, I'm not comfortable visiting them.' Article content Article content Trump announced Wednesday that citizens of 12 countries — Myanmar, Afghanistan, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen — would be banned from visiting the United States. Article content Some of the 12 countries on the banned list were targeted by a similar measure Trump enacted in his first term. Article content Wynn, who now lives in Toronto, has maintained close ties in his home country and worries about the broader impact of Trump's ban, which is set to take effect on Monday. Article content He said he has been helping university students in Myanmar online after they lost access to education following a military coup in 2021, and he now fears the ban will make it difficult for those wanting to continue their studies. Article content Article content 'Everything was closed down or even if they are open, they are under military government, which is a very poor education system,' he said. Article content Article content 'I was so sad for these people because lots of people are trying to get into (the) U.S. and Canada … and now there are lots of students stuck to get a visa.' Article content The head of an association representing the Myanmar community in Ontario said the new travel ban is 'cruel' to the people of his country. Article content Napas Thein, president of the Burma Canadian Association of Ontario, said the people of Myanmar are already facing difficulties in their own country thanks to the coup and a new law mandating military service, and the ban will make it harder to move to a safer place. Article content 'This has really put a strain on people that I know in Canada,' he said. Article content 'I know a student, supposed to be incoming PhD student, who is supposed to go to a university in the United States, whose trajectory there may be completely halted because he's a Myanmar national.'
CBC
9 minutes ago
- CBC
New U.S. travel ban is 'cruel,' Myanmar association in Ontario says
The head of an association for the Myanmar community in Ontario says a new travel ban announced by U.S. President Donald Trump is "cruel" to the people of his country. Napas Thein, president of the Burma Canadian Association of Ontario, says the people of Myanmar are already facing difficulties in their own country with a military coup and new law mandating military service, and the ban will make it harder to move to a safer place. He says members of his community in Canada will not be allowed into the United States to study or visit due to the new ban, which takes effect Monday. Thein says he and others from the Myanmar diaspora who are Canadian citizens feel uneasy about crossing the border and some have already started cancelling plans to attend conferences or visit their families in the United States. WATCH | Trump defends travel ban: Trump defends travel ban on 12 countries: 'We don't want them' 16 hours ago Duration 2:02 U.S. President Donald Trump defended banning entry to citizens of twelve countries and imposing stiff travel restrictions on seven other countries. Trump said he's focused on countries that pose a terror threat, have a history of visa violations or lack safe travel documentation systems. Trump announced Wednesday that citizens of 12 countries — Myanmar, Afghanistan, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen — would be banned from visiting the United States. Seven more countries — Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela — face heightened travel restrictions. Some of the 12 countries on the banned list were targeted by a similar measure Trump enacted in his first term. Dawit Demoz, vice-president of the Eritrean Canadian Community Centre in Toronto, says his organization is "deeply concerned" about the implications of the new travel ban for the Eritrean diaspora. He says many families in the Eritrean community south of the border remain separated due to the ongoing political and humanitarian crisis in their home country, and the new ban further complicates their efforts to reunite. "[The ban] creates additional fear and uncertainty for those seeking safety and connection across borders," he said. "For our community, policies like this do not just impact travel but they deepen isolation, delay reunification and compound the emotional toll experienced by displaced individuals."
CTV News
19 minutes ago
- CTV News
Chow, Ford strike collaborative tone on future of Toronto bike lanes
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow appear to have found middle ground on the future of bike lanes in the city as the province looks to rip up 19 kilometres of cycling infrastructure on three major roads. Chow said Friday that city staff have identified areas where car lanes can be restored while keeping bike lanes intact and that her team is currently looking at technical drawings to determine their feasibility. 'So, I think that's a solution that can be arrived at through collaboration, which is what we're doing right now,' Chow said after joking that she and Ford rode a tandem bicycle to Friday's unrelated news. Ford's government passed legislation last year to remove sections of bike lanes on Bloor Street, Yonge Street and University Avenue. The legislation also requires that municipalities ask the province for permission to install a bike lane if a lane for cars would be removed. In April, lawyers for a cycling advocacy group challenging the removal of those bike lanes were granted an injunction, which paused the provincial plans until a judge decides on the constitutionality of the case. The Ontario government is appealing that decision. Ford lashed out at what he called 'bleeding heart judges' following the injunction being granted and suggested that Ontario should elect their judges, like they do in the U.S. However, he struck a more agreeable tone on Friday. 'I want to work collaboratively with the mayor, and when it comes to the bike lanes, we had a clear mandate in the last election, but the fact is, we're talking about three bike lanes, and hopefully we can find alternatives and work with the mayor and with the city staff. That's what we want to do,' Ford said, adding that he doesn't 'hate bike riders or bike lanes.' Ford said while the conversations about bike lanes on Bloor, Yonge and University are ongoing, '98 per cent' of the city's other bike lanes would be 'left alone.' It's unclear which areas along those three major streets have been identified as viable options to reintroduce a car lane, but a source familiar with the plan told The Canadian Press in April that it includes returning two car lanes to University Avenue near the city's hospital row, and narrowing the bike lanes and removing on-street parking. The province didn't reject the idea and said it was 'open' to the idea, so long as the city funds their portion of 'their identified infrastructure needs.' With files from The Canadian Press
