From ‘Tudo bem?' to ‘Gracias,' a growing share of US residents speak a language other than English
Spanish may be the most spoken language at home behind English, except in three U.S. states, but the second most-popular, non-English languages used in each state show off the diversity of the United States in unexpected places, whether it's Korean in Alabama or Vietnamese in Kansas.
Almost 22% of U.S. residents age 5 and older spoke a language other than English at home, double the share from four decades ago, according to figures released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau, and it varied by state. In California, 44% of residents spoke a language other than English at home, while it was 2.5% in West Virginia.
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Global News
9 hours ago
- Global News
Canadian, European space agencies reaffirm relations amid political, economic anxiety
Economic and geopolitical turmoil is forcing the Canadian and European space agencies to work together more closely, the organizations' leaders said Friday as they signed a joint statement reaffirming their long-standing collaboration. At the Canadian Space Agency's headquarters south of Montreal, Josef Aschbacher, director general of the European Space Agency, said economic uncertainty and global conflict are pushing Europe's space sector to establish its autonomy — and reassert links with allies. 'If we are aiming to be more … independent, this does not mean that we want to isolate ourselves,' Aschbacher said. 'We want to be strong and autonomous in order to have partnerships with other agencies.' Canada is the European agency's only non-European co-operating state, and as such Canadian companies are granted privileged access to Europe's space market. Lisa Campbell, president of the Canadian Space Agency, said every dollar awarded to Canadian firms generates three dollars in return. Story continues below advertisement Leaders at both organizations signed a joint statement Friday reaffirming the agencies' close ties; Canada has had a deal with the European Space Agency since 1979. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Aschbacher's two-day visit to Canada is the first in a quarter century by a European space chief and included discussions with government and industry leaders. Defence spending is rising across the globe, and the United States is pressuring NATO members to increase their spending on defence, he said. 'We should not forget that defence is tightly linked with space because you do need communication, Earth observation capabilities and many other space technologies in order to work hand in hand.' As well, Aschbacher added that the United States' space agency — NASA — could be facing deep budget cuts. 'You have all seen the budget proposals that have been released as a very first proposal of the White House,' Aschbacher said. 'I can only say this is a work in progress: the budget negotiations are ongoing, but be assured that Europe and the European Space Agency will get out of this stronger, more autonomous, more independent.' Campbell said that in uncertain times it's important to reaffirm relationships with like-minded allies. Canada is a spacefaring nation, she added, from rovers to instruments to robotics that will be in demand around the world in low Earth orbit and in deep space. Canada is already a partner with NASA and ESA in the James Webb Telescope, the world's most powerful telescope. Story continues below advertisement 'We're resilient because we're quite confident that there's going to be a growing need for what we do in low Earth orbit and in deep space,' Campbell said. With a need for independent access to space, nascent launch capability involving commercial firms on the East Coast could come into play, she said. 'It's just a matter of time before Canada is a launching nation as well.'
a day ago
Carney and Trump are holding private talks to drop tariffs
Prime Minister Mark Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump are having discussions out of the spotlight to reach a trade deal and lift tariffs. Sources with knowledge of the conversations first confirmed the calls with CBC/Radio-Canada and Industry Minister Mélanie Joly later told reporters that Carney and Trump are talking to each other. A source, who spoke on the condition they not be named, said the two leaders have had a few phone calls in the evenings and exchanged text messages about trade since Carney's visit to the White House last month (new window) . There have been no public readouts of the talks between Carney and Trump. Sources said the conversations are aimed at reaching an agreement on the trade war launched by the U.S. against Canada. Carney and Trump have talked openly about a desire to chart a new economic and security deal, but the Canada-U.S. relationship appeared to hit a snag earlier this week when Trump doubled tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports. The tariffs, now at 50 per cent, are a further blow to the Canadian industries that are the U.S.'s biggest supplier of the metals. WATCH | Canadian exports to U.S. are dropping: Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? Canadian exports to U.S. fell more than 15% in April as Trump tariffs hit Canada posted a $7.1 billion merchandise trade deficit in April — the largest on record — as exports fell sharply in the face of U.S. tariffs. As well, exports to the U.S. fell 15.7 per cent, and imports from the U.S. dropped 10.8 per cent. On Wednesday, Carney only said intensive discussions were ongoing and that his government was readying reprisals if negotiations with the United States failed. Sources told CBC/Radio-Canada they are hoping for some sort of Canada-U.S. trade deal by the time Trump and Carney meet at the G7 summit — just 10 days from now in Alberta. Asked Thursday how close the two sides are to a deal, Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said he's not talking about it publicly. Speaking in French, Joly confirmed there have been talks and said it's normal during a trade war to have diplomatic discussions. We won't negotiate in public, she added in English. We'll let the prime minister do his work. An official with the U.S. embassy said both the president and prime minister, or members of their teams, have publicly acknowledged that there are ongoing conversations. But this is not something that will be negotiated in public. WATCH | Joly confirms Carney and Trump are talking: Début du widget Widget. Passer le widget ? Fin du widget Widget. Retourner au début du widget ? 'We won't negotiate in public,' Joly says of tariff talks When asked if the federal government is close to reaching a trade deal with the United States, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said: 'We'll let the prime minister do his work.' Earlier this week, Trump's envoy to Canada, Ambassador Pete Hoekstra, told a crowd in Toronto the deal is being settled at the highest levels of the U.S. government with the involvement of the highest elected officials. The direct conversations between Carney and Trump were first reported by the Globe and Mail. Carney, who campaigned on the promise he'd take on Trump, has been under pressure to respond to the president's latest tariff salvo. The Canadian Steel Producers Association called the doubled tariffs a crushing blow to the industry and said the move effectively blocks Canadian steel from entering the U.S. market. The association wants to see immediate counter-tariffs on U.S. metals. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who said he's in daily talks with the prime minister, called for retaliation if an agreement can't be reached in the next few days. Let's hope they get a deal. But if they don't, let's come out guns ablazing, he told reporters Thursday at Queen's Park. Catharine Tunney (new window) · CBC News
Toronto Star
a day ago
- Toronto Star
Five things to know about Canada's counter-tariffs on the U.S.
OTTAWA - After U.S. President Donald Trump boosted steel and aluminum tariffs to 50 per cent, some industry groups and the Official Opposition have called on the federal government to retaliate in kind. Here's a look at the counter-tariffs Canada has imposed so far. 1. What do the counter-tariffs cover? The Canadian government has imposed retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods three times since Trump's trade war began, aimed at what it says are imports worth $95.4 billion worth. On March 4 — after the U.S. imposed 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian goods, along with 10 per cent on energy products — then-prime minister Justin Trudeau announced the first raft of counter-tariffs on $30 billion worth of U.S. goods. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Those 25 per cent tariffs target things like orange juice, motorcycles, clothing and shoes, coffee, cosmetics and alcohol. On March 12, the U.S. added a 25 per cent tariff on all steel and aluminum products, which was stacked on top of existing levies on Canadian goods. Canada's response a day later was 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs on another $29.8 billion of U.S. goods, including steel and aluminum, tools, computers and sport equipment. On April 9, in response to another round of U.S. tariffs — this time targeting the Canadian auto industry — the federal government imposed 25 per cent duties on 'non-CUSMA compliant vehicles' from the U.S. and 25 per cent tariffs on the content of CUSMA-compliant vehicles from the U.S. The government says this covers $35.6 billion in auto imports from the United States. 2. What are the exemptions? On April 15, in the midst of the federal election campaign, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that the government was exempting some products from tariffs for six months to help Canadian businesses adapt. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW The tariff holiday covers specific categories: goods used in Canadian manufacturing, processing and food and beverage packaging, as well as imports used to support public health, health care, public safety and national security objectives. And when it comes to vehicle tariffs, the government said 'companies that produce autos in Canada have been granted remission to ensure the ongoing viability of their Canadian operations,' but that it is 'contingent on them maintaining production levels in Canada and on following through with planned investments.' 3. Does this mean all counter-tariffs have been dropped? On Wednesday, Opposition House leader Andrew Scheer said the government 'secretly dropped those tariffs to zero during the campaign.' This line has been repeated often by the Conservatives since the release of a report by Oxford Economics on May 13, which said Canada paused counter-tariffs for six months 'on nearly all U.S. goods imports.' The report said it estimated the exemptions would cover about 97 per cent of the tariffs. The government said that's not true. A spokesperson for Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said the exemptions apply to 30 per cent of the $60 billion worth of goods that are subject to tariffs — a figure that doesn't include the auto tariffs. William Pellerin, a partner in international trade at McMillan LLP, said the exemption is not nearly as broad as what's been reported. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'I think that report caused a lot of consternation within the trading community and the legal community. It is absolutely, certainly not zero impact on our clients,' he said, noting many of them are paying millions of dollars in duties already. 4. Where does all this leave Canadian businesses? Pellerin said there's a lot of confusion out there about what's covered by the exemptions. The Canada Border Services Agency has issued a customs notice explaining how to interpret the exemptions, 'but in many circumstances it's simply not obvious at all,' Pellerin said. As an example, he said he has clients who have been told by the CBSA that imported agricultural equipment is not exempt. 'We actually think that that's legally incorrect, that they've poorly interpreted the order-in-council,' he said. That's the kind of thing his firm is trying to sort out while it waits and hopes for a long-term resolution. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'Whatever actions need to be taken to get back to a tariff-free world (are) absolutely necessary,' he said. 5. How much tariff revenue has the government collected and where is it going? Conservative MPs have been asking this question in the House of Commons all week. On Tuesday, Conservative MP Dan Albas charged that 'Liberals promised $20 billion in elbows-up U.S. tariffs, but later dropped them with no regard to affected Canadian workers or fiscal impacts.' Prime Minister Carney responded to say that tariffs are still in effect and $1.7 billion has been collected so far. The federal government's latest fiscal monitor showed Canada collected an extra $617 million in import duties in March, as compared to the year before. Figures for April and May have not yet been published. During the election campaign, the Liberals and the Conservatives both estimated Canada would collect $20 billion in tariff revenue this fiscal year. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW In its election platform, the Liberal party pledged that 'every dollar raised from these tariffs will support Canadian workers and businesses affected by the trade war.' Officials at the Finance Department said in a statement that the money is going into the consolidated revenue fund and being used 'to support those hardest hit by this economic disruption.' The statement said that is happening through programs like employment insurance work-sharing, deferral of corporate income tax payments and GST/HST remittances, or by offering liquidity support through Export Development Canada, Farm Credit Canada, Business Development Canada and the Large Enterprise Tariff Loan Facility. — With files from Craig Lord This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2025.
