CTV National News: U.S. tariffs challenge Canadian manufacturers, but boost alcohol industry
Watch
While many face tariff struggles, Canadian alcohol companies see growth. CTV's Kamil Karamali reports on rising sales and return of U.S. brands.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
15 minutes ago
- CTV News
Are you eligible for the new Canada Disability Benefit?
Bank of Canada notes are displayed at the Bank of Canada museum in Ottawa on Wednesday, July 12, 2023. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick) Eligible Canadians can begin applying for the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) as of June 20. The new benefit, part of the federal government's Disability Inclusion Action Plan, aims to provide financial support to Canadians living with disabilities. Who is eligible? The benefit is available to persons with disabilities between the ages of 18 and 64 who meet several requirements. Some of these requirements include qualifying for the disability tax credit (DTC), filing a 2024 income tax return with the Canada Revenue Agency, or having a spouse or common-law partner who has also filed their 2024 income tax return, if applicable. The federal government will also send letters in June to eligible Canadians to apply. The letters will include a unique application code and instructions on how to apply. According to the program's website, Canadians who do not receive a letter but believe they are eligible can still apply. To do so, they must provide a mailing address and their net income (line 23600) from their 2024 notice of assessment. How to apply Eligible Canadians can apply starting June 20 online, by phone or in person at a Service Canada office. Applicants will need a social insurance number (SIN) and direct deposit information. According to the program's website, Service Canada uses direct deposit because it is more efficient and reliable. A number of community-based organizations across Canada will also provide support throughout the CDB application process, including assistance with applying for the DTC. Canadians whose applications are received and approved by June 30 can expect first payment in July. How much is the benefit? The benefit is calculated based on various factors, including adjusted family net income. The maximum amount is $2,400 annually ($200 per month), from July 2025 to June 2026. The benefit will be adjusted for inflation each year to reflect changes in the cost of living, but the benefit will not decrease if the cost of living goes down. Eligible Canadians may also receive retroactive payments for up to 24 months prior to the date their application is received—but not for any months before July 2025.
Toronto Sun
16 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
CHARLEBOIS: Summer is here, strawberries are, too ... but so are the scams
When Canadian-grown fruits and vegetables reach the market — typically from June to October — prices in this category become much more stable. (Scott Suchman, for the Washington Post) Photo by Scott Suchman; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky / Both for The Washington Post When Canadian-grown fruits and vegetables reach the market — typically from June to October — prices in this category become much more stable. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Historically, during this window, price fluctuations are roughly half as volatile as they are during the rest of the year. The reason is straightforward: seasonal abundance and shorter supply chains anchored in domestic production. However, spotting real seasonal deals has become more difficult. Many fruits and vegetables are now available year-round due to imports, blurring the lines of traditional harvest calendars. Still, our food culture and consumer instincts remain tied to seasonal cues. Strawberries, for instance, are a symbolic summer staple — even if other crops ripen before them, strawberries often serve as nature's announcement that summer has officially begun. Unfortunately, every year, some retailers exploit that sentiment. Just recently, strawberries were listed at $17.50 for two litres — over $11 per pound. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. That's excessive. And in today's social media landscape, a single viral post can tarnish an entire industry's reputation. If a price seems exorbitant, don't stay silent — denounce it and bring it to light online. Transparency is a powerful consumer tool, and digital platforms can hold retailers accountable. Recommended video Canada's fresh produce season runs mainly from June through October, peaking between mid-July and mid-September. Reasonable in-season price benchmarks include: — strawberries (June–July): $2.99–$3.99/lb — blueberries (July–August): $2.49–$3.49/lb — apples (August–November): $0.99–$1.49/lb — B.C. cherries (July–August): $3.99–$5.99/lb — tomatoes (July–September): $1.29–$2.49/lb This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. — sweet corn (August–September): $0.50–$0.75/ear — cucumbers (June–September): $0.79–$1.29 each — carrots (July–October): $0.69–$0.99/lb — new potatoes (July–September): $0.99–$1.29/lb Prices can vary depending on where you shop — whether it's a supermarket, farmers' market, or farm gate — and also by quality, size, growing method (organic or conventional), and timing within the season. For the best deals, public markets — especially near closing time — and discount grocery chains are often your best bet. Shopping local in summer means fresher, more flavourful food and a lower grocery bill. By contrast, buying out-of-season produce — like strawberries in January or corn in March — can cost two to three times more, with a much larger environmental footprint. In short, summer has arrived. Let's take advantage of Canada's fresh harvests, but let's stay alert. Retailer price abuse doesn't belong in this season — and in today's digital age, ignoring consumer backlash isn't just naive, it's reckless. If something feels off, say something. Social media doesn't take summers off. — Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is the Director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University and co-host of The Food Professor Podcast Sports Editorial Cartoons Relationships Sunshine Girls Editorial Cartoons
Globe and Mail
25 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Buy Canadian movement sours sales at one Edmonton candy store
The business model for Laurie Radostits's Edmonton candy store made sense when it opened a little more than a decade ago: bring the city products that were rarely seen in Canada. It is also part of the reason that, in March, she nearly had to close down. Sweet Convenience's shelves are a colourful garden of treats, cereals and sodas: PayDay candy bars, chocolate chip pancake Pop-Tarts, vanilla Coke. The common denominator? They're American. Before President Donald Trump initiated a trade war with Canada, Sweet Convenience fed a craving for American products that were difficult to find elsewhere. Since Mr. Trump introduced the tariffs that have targeted Canadian products, those cravings have been overtaken by a patriotic desire to spend money on more Canadian-produced goods. But Ms. Radostits soon learned that, to some, 'Buy Canadian' did not necessarily mean support Canadian businesses, particularly if their products didn't bear a Canadian flag. When the one-two punch of tariffs and 'Buy Canadian' landed against Sweet Convenience in February and March, Ms. Radostits said she felt 'lots of panic.' She had only felt that worried during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said, when she faced problems sourcing cross-border products. 'We've been through COVID. Okay. Can we get through Trump?' In the past, customers had requested Ms. Radostits special order their favourite American treats. But in late February and March, some were asking her to remove U.S. products from her store shelves. If she did cut her American products, she estimated 90 per cent of her stock would be eliminated. Trying to get a step ahead of tariffs, Ms. Radostits stockpiled inventory to maintain pretariff prices for as long as possible. In hindsight, it was a bad business move. She was met with an unexpected 'Buy Canadian' boom. Her sales dwindled and she could not pay the rent, although she was able to make a deal with the landlord to keep the store open. The small Canadian business was, ironically, suffering from an unofficial campaign to support Canadian businesses. 'Support Canadian and Buy Canadian are very different,' she argues. At her most dire moment, Ms. Radostits made an online plea for customers to buy from the shop in April, suggesting the store would otherwise have to close. The candy shop's fan base and former patrons returned and carried the business through Easter. While that wave has since ebbed, it hasn't disappeared. She's not as worried about having to close, but the fear remains. Sweet Convenience is enduring a 'double squeeze,' said Melise Panetta, a marketing lecturer at the Lazaridis School of Business at Wilfrid Laurier University who has also held senior positions at large consumer companies like PepsiCo. and S.C. Johnson. The candy store is dealing with the rising cost of operations and goods that other retailers are facing, but is also losing out to the Buy Canadian consumer sentiment that other Canadian retailers are seeing as a benefit. 'Even if it's a local business owned by local individuals – and even if it's cherished – they could still be at risk of having the negative perception of the products that they carry over to their overall retail image,' Ms. Panetta said. There are other stores dotted across Canada that, like Sweet Convenience, carry American treats. At Snack Passport, in Barrie, Ont., owner Jenna MacIsaac said U.S. products made up about 80 per cent of the store's revenue. That has since dropped to less than 20 per cent, she said. Ms. MacIsaac said the store rarely brings in American products now. An analysis from the Angus Reid Institute in February found 48 per cent of Canadians had already replaced, or planned to replace, U.S. products with Canadian alternatives. Sweet Convenience's unique situation is also a test of consumers' tolerance for American products though, Ms. Panetta warned, that shunning a domestic retailer has negative effects on the Canadian economy. 'That's still people that are working in our local economy. They are contributing to the local economy, and they're Canadians.' Ms. Radostits defends stocking American products by saying her profits stay in Canada because most of her orders come through Canadian third-party importers. The prices for some of her products have risen, but she has also tried a new strategy to make the price changes seem more subtle. Instead of raising prices on familiar items, where customers may visibly notice a price spike, she has chosen to order products she hasn't stocked before. That way, customers won't feel inclined to compare prices even if the new items are also subject to tariffs. It's a more subtle sticker shock. Ms. Radostits has also started labelling U.S.-licensed items to show if they had been made elsewhere, like Mexico or the Netherlands. She is also considering ordering a wider variety of foreign items, including from places in Europe. 'I don't want to go that route, so I'm kind of hoping something will change soon,' Ms. Radostits said. European products are a niche, she said, that has already been taken. Ms. Panetta, however, said choosing other countries might be the safer option and recommends the store could also start marking tariffed items with a 'T' like grocery retailer Loblaws has done.
