Business leaders condemn Trump's doubled steel and aluminum tariffs
Canadian business and labour leaders came forward in unity to condemn the U.S.' newly doubled steel and aluminum tariffs.
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CTV News
3 minutes ago
- CTV News
Canadian dollar to weaken against global markets, currency expert predicts
Sorry, we're having trouble with this video. Please try again later. [5006/404] A foreign exchange expert made a bearish call for the Canadian dollar on Monday, anticipating the loonie will hover around 70 cents against the U.S. dollar as other currencies strengthen. Dan Tobon, head of G10 FX Strategy at Citi Research says he doesn't expect a major collapse in the Canadian dollar, but says a correlation with the U.S. economy, potential for deeper Bank of Canada rate cuts and a removal of positive hedge ratio adjustments will impact it. 'We're not structurally bearish in the dollar, but certainly the next few months could still see some weaker dollars,' Tobon told BNN Bloomberg in an interview. 'It's going to be hard for the Canadian dollar independently to sell off. More likely what will happen is it'll be both the U.S. dollar and the Canadian dollar underperforming everything else.' On Monday afternoon, the Canadian dollar was trading at around 72 cents per one American dollar. Tobon said a soft patch in U.S. labour market data can weigh on the Canadian dollar due to a close relationship between both economies. He noted that Canadian investors have been buying back Canadian dollars as they hedge their U.S. asset exposure, which has supported the currency and said this flow appears to be running out, removing a key source of support for the loonie. 'If you're Canadian and you buy a U.S. asset, you have to sell your Canadian dollars to buy U.S. dollars to buy that asset,' said Tobon. 'Historically, most investors are actually happy to maintain that, because historically, when equity markets go down, the dollar tends to perform well. It's almost like a built-in hedge.' 'The other thing too is U.S. rates tend to be higher, so you're actually earning some carry. This used to be a great scenario. I can buy U.S. equities, I have the dollar exposure where I'm actually earning a little carry, and it's a hedge. In case of risk off. Things have changed a lot this year, and as we saw back in April, we saw the correlation flip, where we saw risk off, but with that risk off, a weaker dollar and higher U.S. Treasury yields. What started happening is this belief that maybe the dollar isn't the hedge that it always was.' He said markets are currently pricing only one more cut from the Bank of Canada over the next year but sees scope for more aggressive cuts than expected. Despite sticky inflation, weakness in other parts of the Canadian economy could lead to deeper rate cuts as inflation normalizes amid the Canada-U.S. trade war. 'We saw a huge amount of Canadian dollar buying by a lot of the Canadian pensions in the first half of the year, especially after April,' said Tobon. 'They weren't necessarily de-risking their U.S. exposure, they were just de-risking their dollar exposure, but that effectively meant they were buying a lot of Canadian dollars over the last couple months.' Loonie against global currencies While some weaknesses against the U.S. dollar is expected, Tobon sees broader Canadian dollar weakness against the European Union's euro, Japanese yen, and other currencies as a bigger concern. One Canadian dollar is trading at around 0.62 Euros and 107 Japanese Yen. 'It's very hard to get a situation where the Canadian dollar is weakening significantly, but maybe the Euro and Australian dollar and these other currencies are strengthening significantly,' said Tobon. 'The betas effectively make the adjustment. Maybe we can get down towards US$70. That's not a monster move from here, but it's something that's definitely notable. The bigger issue is, then, are we going to get broader Canadian weakness against the euro, against the yen, against these other currencies?'
CTV News
3 minutes ago
- CTV News
Air Canada passengers share frustrations after strike leaves them stranded in different parts of the world
Air Canada customer Kyla Kumar on the difficulties contacting Air Canada after her flight home from Lisbon, Portugal was cancelled. Frustrated Canadian travellers are stranded after Air Canada flight attendants went on strike over the weekend following the breakdown of talks between the airline and the union. More than 150 travellers reached out to CTV News with complaints that ranged from frustration over lack of communication, spending hours on hold in an attempt to get some answers, or spending thousands in dollars to book alternative flights to get to their destination. Ottawa ordered the more than 10,000 flight attendants back to work but the union representing them defied the federal government's order over the weekend and launched a legal challenge instead. On Monday morning, the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) declared the strike unlawful and ordered union leaders to tell its members to return to work. Here are some of the accounts from travellers who wrote to us. We have not independently verified nor corroborated their accounts. Play Canadian stranded in Rome receiving 'absolutely no feedback' from Air Canada Air Canada customer Cosimo Di Lecce says the time he and his family have been left stranded Rome has cost him $2,500 so far. 'Extremely expensive' alternatives Oleg Navitski of Vaughan, Ont., said Air Canada cancelled his flight from Greece to Toronto on Monday because of the strike. He said the airline sent him a text message saying it was unable to rebook his family of three on another flight back to Toronto after searching for flights on more than 120 airlines. It then provided refund options. He said they were essentially on their own, with alternatives that are 'extremely expensive' and not available until four or five days later. 'My primary concern is who is going to pay for this,' he wrote in an email to on Monday. He said his insurance doesn't cover labour disputes or related expenses, including missing working days and additional nights at hotels. 'They are simply unreachable' Joel Kazmi of Oakville, Ont., said he and his wife tried calling Air Canada at least 25 times in total to try to rebook their cancelled flight home from Paris, but they didn't have luck reaching anyone. He said he, his wife and two children were scheduled to fly back to Canada from Paris on Sunday but the airline cancelled the flight at the last minute because of the strike. 'They are simply unreachable,' he wrote in an email to on Monday. The airline did respond through a private message in social media, he said, but 'blatantly refused' to book him on an alternative flight. Woman books flight home at double the cost Zahid Pervez said he and his wife Shabana are staying at their relatives' home in Frankfurt, Germany after their flight home to Toronto was cancelled at the last minute. The couple were in Germany for a week and a half for their nephew's wedding on Sunday and were supposed to fly back to Toronto on Monday. However, he said he learned of the flight cancellation at the airport Monday despite receiving confirmation a day before that his flight was proceeding. 'I don't know what happened and then I went to the airport and there are big lines, almost 350 people,' Pervez said in a video interview with on Monday from Germany. 'I don't know what can I do.' He said he decided not to wait in line to get the hotel voucher Air Canada offered him and other passengers with cancelled flights because of the strike. He said that his diabetes medicine is finished and he was supposed to work as a truck driver Tuesday. Pervez said Air Canada told him there were no alternative flights available and he would have to wait until a seat opens up, which could take days. But his daughter Sundus said she found them a flight herself through another airline that leaves Thursday, paying double the price at more than $4,600 for two tickets, which she said Air Canada should be paying them. 'Still madly in love and stuck in Rome' Lynne MacNeil said she and her husband Greg were on their 12-day honeymoon in Italy and expecting to fly back to Toronto on Sunday. She said they were able to check in online and receive boarding passes as the flight showed it was scheduled and online on the Air Canada app. 'Other than an email to say the flight has been cancelled, Air Canada has made no attempts to help us with our return flights,' she wrote in an email to on Sunday. MacNeil said they called the customer service line but only received a voice automated message that said they are unable to help 'due to extreme volumes of calls' and were directed to their website. She said their travel consultant was also unable to connect with Air Canada. She said she was disheartened about what she called Air Canada's 'blanket disregard' for their customers. She ended her email writing: 'Still madly in love and stuck in Rome.' Air Canada strike: Emily Pringle in Mexico Emily Pringle from Oshawa, Ont., says she and her three friends have to pay out-of-pocket to extend their stay at a resort in Mexico because of the Air Canada strike. (Emily Pringle) Out of medication and paying out of pocket Emily Pringle of Oshawa, Ont., said she and her three friends were vacationing in Mexico on a 'moms getaway' when they learned Saturday that their flight home was cancelled because of the strike. Pringle said they scrambled to find accommodations and plans to get home. While Air Canada said the earliest flight available is Friday, she said they are now stuck and paying out-of-pocket for additional nights at the resort and one of her friends is out of her diabetes and blood pressure medication. 'I'm sure to many an extended stay in Mexico sounds lovely, but we all have families and obligations at home we need to get back to, and some of us are running out of our much needed medication,' she wrote in an email Saturday. Airline passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukacs said Air Canada is obligated under regulations to provide a refund or book passengers on alternative flights no matter the cost if there is a strike.
CTV News
3 minutes ago
- CTV News
Texas Democrats return to the state as GOP pushes ahead with redistricting
(CNN) — Texas House Democrats who fled their state to stall a Republican redistricting effort returned on Monday, ending their 15-day holdout. While Democrats have vowed to keep fighting, their return allows the House to establish a two-thirds quorum necessary to advance new congressional maps in a push backed by President Donald Trump. House Speaker Dustin Burrows gaveled the House into session shortly after noon central time on Monday. He said the Democrats who'd fled the state would be 'released into the custody' of a designated Department of Public Safety officer who will ensure their return when the House reconvenes Wednesday morning. 'We are done waiting. We have a quorum. Now is the time for action. We will move quickly and the schedule will be demanding until our work is complete,' Burrows said. Now that Democrats have returned to the Texas Capitol in Austin, the GOP-dominated legislature is expected to quickly advance new congressional maps aimed at creating five more Republican-leaning seats ahead of next year's midterm elections. Democrats had fled to blue states — including Illinois, New York and Massachusetts — as they faced civil arrest warrants pushed by GOP officials in Texas to force them back into the House chamber. 'We killed the corrupt special session, withstood unprecedented surveillance and intimidation, and rallied Democrats nationwide to join this existential fight for fair representation — reshaping the entire 2026 landscape,' said state Rep. Gene Wu, who leads Democrats in the Texas House. 'We're returning to Texas more dangerous to Republicans' plans than when we left. Our return allows us to build the legal record necessary to defeat this racist map in court, take our message to communities across the state and country, and inspire legislators across the country how to fight these undemocratic redistricting schemes in their own statehouses.' Burrows told members that the House 'has been through a tumultuous two weeks,' but said it will 'remain a chamber where the majority has a right to prevail and the minority has the right to be heard.' At President Donald Trump's urging, Gov. Greg Abbott and Republicans who control the state House and Senate launched the effort to redraw the state's congressional districts mid-decade — a break from most states' typical practice of redistricting once a decade, after the completion of the U.S. Census. It's part of the party's effort to hold onto its narrow House majority in next year's midterm elections — one that also includes lobbying GOP officials in Indiana and Missouri to change their maps to turn Democratic-held seats into favorable ground for Republicans, and could see the party add more GOP-leaning seats in Ohio, which is required by state law to redistrict. The Texas effort has set off a nationwide gerrymandering arms race. In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has vowed retribution, proposing a measure that would trigger new maps that could help Democrats pick up five more seats in the state — but only if Texas moves forward with its redistricting plan. Texas House Democrats had laid out two conditions to return to the state. California would have to introduce its proposed new maps to neutralize the Texas effort, they said, and Burrows would have to adjourn the first special session Abbott had called. Both of those conditions were met on Friday. Abbott called a second special session, which began immediately after the adjournment of the first one. But the House was blocked from doing business until enough Democrats returned to the chamber to provide the quorum required under its rules. This week marks a flashpoint in an escalating and unprecedented fight over redistricting, with the country's two most populous states taking centre stage and control of the U.S. House during the second half of Trump's term potentially at stake. California Democratic lawmakers could take just three days to advance new congressional maps intended to offset Republican redistricting efforts in Texas. Legislation asking voters to approve the new maps is expected to be introduced Monday when lawmakers return to Sacramento from their summer recess, with final passage as early as Thursday, according to a person familiar with the Democratic planning. It will be heard in several committees along the way. In pushing Texas and other states to redraw their congressional lines mid-decade, Republicans have undertaken extraordinary efforts to preserve their unified hold on power in Washington, prompting Democrats to consider equally unorthodox countermeasures. Why are Texas House Democrats returning now? Texas House Democrats have said they plan to fight the redistricting bill on the floor, laying out their case against the measure ahead of expected legal challenges in the coming months. They argue they brought national attention to the GOP-led redistricting in Texas and helped create the momentum for California's counteroffensive and calls in New York and other Democratic-led states to redraw their maps. But their options to stop Republicans were always limited, short of staying out of Texas for the next year-plus. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott vowed that he would keep calling special sessions until the new maps passed. Once a quorum is met, the legislative process to approve the congressional maps will kick off, including consideration in the redistricting committee and debate and votes on the floor. The state Senate, which passed a redistricting bill in the first special session, will go through a similar process. The Senate's redistricting committee approved the map on Sunday night after holding a public hearing on the issue. The GOP's proposal would create five new districts friendlier to Trump and Republicans ahead of the midterm elections. It would likely force Democratic U.S. Reps. Greg Casar and Lloyd Doggett to run against each other in a redrawn district. GOP leaders have not laid out a timeline for final passage of the new map, but it could come as soon as this week. What's the situation in California? When California lawmakers return from their summer recess on Monday, Democrats there will take the first step toward redrawing congressional boundaries to give them a greater chance at winning five additional seats — an extraordinary move intended to counteract Texas' mid-decade redistricting. Unlike in Texas, the legislation under consideration will also require voter approval to override a constitutionally mandated independent redistricting commission. Lawmakers will have to move quickly; the California secretary of state's office gave the legislature a Friday deadline to make the November ballot, and bills must be in print for 72 hours before they can be voted on. Democrats are expected to formally introduce the legislation Monday, with final passage pegged for Thursday. Because lawmakers are proposing to change the state constitution, two-thirds of each chamber must vote in favour of it to pass. Democrats hold three-quarters of the seats in both chambers. The State Assembly returns at 1 p.m. PT (4 p.m. ET). The State Senate reconvenes an hour later. California legislators will consider three bills this week. One is the constitutional amendment, which would temporarily instate the proposed map for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections. It would only take effect if another state chooses to redraw its maps and it would return the commission's power after the 2030 election. The second bill describes the proposed map, while the third calls the special election, provides for state funding and makes various timing and administrative changes to accommodate the vote and the potential for new districts. The constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds vote in each chamber but doesn't need Newsom's signature before going before voters. The other two bills will need the governor's signature and, in order to take effect immediately, will also require two-thirds majorities. Can California Republicans stop Democrats in their state? California Republicans, who have little power in Sacramento to slow the redistricting push, are nevertheless closely monitoring how Democrats proceed. GOP lawmakers are anticipating Democrats will put forward a package of legislative proposals that will not only advance the new maps but also outline how they intend to hold and pay for a statewide election in less than three months, a person close to the Republican caucus told CNN. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a likely contender for the Democrats' presidential 2028 nomination, is already planning for a statewide campaign to support a referendum. A victory could help Democrats win back the U.S. House next year and give Newsom a boost in the next presidential primary. But some significant opposition to the proposed referendum is already forming. Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday posted a picture of himself working out while wearing a T-shirt that said 'F*** the politicians/Terminate gerrymandering.' The caption read: 'I'm getting ready for the gerrymandering battle.' Charles Munger Jr., the son of the late Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman, has signaled he intends to fight the Democratic-led initiative. Munger spent more than US$12 million in 2010 to entrench the independent redistricting commission in the state constitution, and he will fight any efforts to circumvent it, his spokeswoman Amy Thoma Tan said in a statement responding to California Democrats on Thursday. 'Two wrongs do not make a right, and California shouldn't stoop to the same tactics as Texas,' Thoma Tan said. 'Instead, we should push other states to adopt our independent, non-partisan commission model across the country. That's how we can protect and defend democracy.' Newsom's approach has also led to a divide among good government groups that have traditionally opposed gerrymandering. While the League of Women Voters continues to urge California lawmakers to reject the redistricting push, leaders at Common Cause have said they will not proactively reject 'counterbalancing' efforts done in response to other states. The group said Wednesday it would not oppose redistricting pushes that are proportional responses to other states, involve public participation and have a set expiration date, among other criteria. Leaders at the organization said they would determine whether to oppose the California push after the full proposal has been released and judged against its rubric. 'We welcome the governor to adopt our fairness criteria,' said Omar Noureldin, the organization's senior vice president of policy and litigation strategy. 'And if the maps that are proposed in the process that's laid out in its totality meet that fairness criteria, then we won't oppose it.'
