'Expressions of concern' lead Charlottetown college officials to tell artist his painting must go
Christopher Griffin had been enjoying his stint as artist-in-residence at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown. Then a painting he created in reaction to Donald Trump's recent statements and actions about Canada caused a stir. Administration officials asked him to remove 'The Crossing' (detail shown) from the walls of the college, where about a third of faculty and students are American, because of three 'expressions of concern.' CBC's Wayne Thibodeau reports.
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Canada Standard
an hour ago
- Canada Standard
Economic Watch: Doubled U.S. steel, aluminum tariffs spark criticism, trade war concerns across globe
As the largest supplier of U.S. steel, Canada has called the additional levies "unlawful and unjustified," and vowed to fight. BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Government leaders, businesspeople, and analysts have voiced concerns and criticisms over the recent U.S. tariff hikes on imported steel and aluminum, warning that the measures would not only harm the interests of U.S. trade partners, but also fuel a global trade war and deal a blow to the world economy. The United States started to raise tariffs on imported steel and aluminum from 25 percent to 50 percent starting from Wednesday, according to an executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday. The European Commission criticized the new U.S. tariff measures, warning that the move could prompt swift European retaliation. "The EU is prepared to impose countermeasures, including in response to the latest U.S. tariff increase," the commission's spokesperson said in an emailed statement. The U.S. action undermines the EU's ongoing efforts to reach a negotiated agreement with the United States, according to the statement. As the largest supplier of U.S. steel, Canada has called the additional levies "unlawful and unjustified," and vowed to fight. "Canada's new government is engaged in intensive and live negotiations to have these and other tariffs removed as part of a new economic and security partnership with the United States," the Prime Minister's office said in a statement Tuesday. "We are in intensive negotiations with the Americans, and, in parallel, preparing reprisals if those negotiations do not succeed," said Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday. Unifor, a Canadian general trade union, called on Carney to retaliate immediately and urged Canada to pause exports of critical minerals to the United States. Hundreds of Canadian steelworkers have lost their jobs since initial tariffs took effect, said Unifor, warning that layoffs in the auto and aerospace industries could also occur. "This isn't trade policy, it's a direct attack on Canadian industries and workers," said Marty Warren, United Steelworkers National Director for Canada, in a statement. Thousands of Canadian jobs are on the line, and Canada needs to respond immediately and decisively to defend workers, added Warren. Calling the impact of the initial 25 percent tariffs "devastating," after it resulted in job losses and a drop in shipments to the United States, Catherine Cobden, CEO of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, said a 50 percent tariff will lead to a "dramatic acceleration" of those trends. "At a 50 percent tariff, we basically consider the U.S. market closed -- completely closed, door slammed shut, if you will -- to Canadian steel," she said. "We can't ship at 50 percent. Perhaps we can stockpile for a few days, but obviously we can't keep producing if one of our major markets is shuttered." Gary Clyde Hufbauer, a non-resident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said: "With the 50 percent tariff, not only is American steel going to be less internationally competitive but so are the multitude of American industries that depend on steel as a necessary input." The new rate on imported steel will almost certainly enlarge the profits of domestic steel companies while U.S. manufacturers and American households will pay dearly for the bonanza to steel barons, wrote Hufbauer in an opinion piece on Monday. The tariffs make it more expensive for domestic auto manufacturers to produce here, and "it's an economically inconsistent, illiterate policy that seems to be hiding under the national security justifications," said Wayne Winegarden, a senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute. "They've never given any justification why 25 percent is the right number, let alone why 50 percent is," Winegarden was quoted by a report on According to Felix Tintelnot, a professor of economics at Duke University, no business leader should make massive upfront investments in heavy industry if they don't believe that the same policy will last for a few years. Jeremy Flack, CEO of Flack Global Metals, a U.S.-based steel trader and manufacturer, said the tariffs have led to a pause of orders and reduced demand for steel. "We are not getting any orders. Volumes starting from February have begun to decline," Flack said.
National Observer
an hour ago
- National Observer
Clean energy project cancellations top $14 billion so far in 2025
This story was originally published by Inside Climate News and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration Businesses have cancelled or delayed more than $14 billion of investments in US clean energy projects so far this year, reflecting their uncertainty and pessimism over federal support amid President Donald Trump's climate policy retreat, industry analysts reported Thursday. The sector still is showing resilience—at least $4.2 billion in new renewable energy, grid, electric vehicle and battery projects were announced over the same time period, from January through April, according to the tracking report by the nonprofit group Environmental Entrepreneurs, or E2, and its research partner, Atlas Public Policy. Some 10,000 jobs are expected to be created by these newly announced projects—including an electric truck assembly plant that the Jeff Bezos-backed startup Slate Auto said it would site in Warsaw, Indiana. That's equal to the estimated number of job losses from all the clean energy projects that have been abandoned so far this year. Nevertheless, it's a sharp reversal of trends E2 tracked in the sector over the previous three years, when $127.7 billion in new clean energy project announcements outpaced cancellations at a rate of nearly 50-to-1. Officials at E2, a nonpartisan group of clean energy business leaders and investors, said it was an ominous sign as the Senate prepares to take up Trump's 'One Big, Beautiful Bill,' the House-passed tax and spending cut package that would eliminate most of the clean energy tax credits Congress passed in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. 'If the tax plan passed by the House last week becomes law, expect to see construction and investments stopping in states across the country as more projects and jobs are cancelled,' said Michael Timberlake, communications director for E2. 'Businesses are now counting on Congress to come to its senses and stop this costly attack on an industry that is essential to meeting America's growing energy demand and that's driving unprecedented economic growth in every part of the country.' The White House did not immediately respond to questions about the report. The biggest of the cancellations that E2 tracked came in April. The United Auto Workers announced that Stellantis would not go forward with a $3.2 billion battery plant it planned to add to a giant shuttered assembly facility it is reopening in Belvidere, Illinois. And global energy giant RWE announced it was shuttering its US offshore wind operations 'for the time being' due to 'the political environment' in the United States. RWE had invested $1.1 billion to develop wind projects offshore of New York, Louisiana and California. While E2 tracks public announcements of new projects and cancellations, other efforts at tracking what's happening in the clean energy sector provide a more detailed picture—and in some senses, a more optimistic one. The Clean Investment Monitor, a project of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the consulting firm Rhodium Group, tracks actual capital spending in the quarter of all projects that have broken ground, and also includes investment in decarbonization projects at energy and industrial plants as well as consumer spending—for example, on EVs, rooftop solar and efficiency upgrades. For the first quarter of 2025, Clean Investment Monitor reported $67.3 billion in spending, a 6.9 percent increase from the same period in 2024. However, it was a 3.8 percent falloff from the previous quarter, and the second consecutive quarterly decline after an unbroken record of quarterly expansion that began in 2021. Retail purchases of clean energy technology by households and businesses clearly were the driving force in investment in early 2025, the Clean Investment Monitor reported. Its analysis, like that of E2, noted the cancellation of a number of big clean energy projects over the quarter. And it warned of the headwinds for the clean energy supply chain, not only due to uncertain federal policy but the escalation of tariffs and broader macroeconomic pressures. The American Clean Power Association (ACPA), which tracks utility-scale electricity projects, also put out its first quarter report Thursday, showing that developers installed 7.4 gigawatts of solar, wind and storage capacity, marking the second-strongest start to a year on record. (The strongest start on record was 2024, when 8 gigawatts came on line.) That brings total utility-scale clean power capacity to more than 320 gigawatts, which the association estimates is enough to power nearly 80 million US homes. Of course, that electricity is not only powering homes but also businesses, where power demand is rising sharply due to data centers. It was a record-setting quarter for battery storage capacity, which surpassed 30 gigawatts, a 65 percent increase from last year. Indiana quadrupled its energy storage capacity in just one quarter, with the help of a big system owned by the energy company AES that opened in April at the site of a former coal power plant. Texas continued to lead the nation in both utility-scale solar and land-based wind capacity, with its total clean energy portfolio reaching more than 80 gigawatts, a 20 percent increase from a year ago, ACPA said. In all, eight of the top 10 states for clean power additions in the quarter voted Republican in the 2024 presidential election. The association also saw continuing growth in the project development pipeline, with a 12 percent year-over-year increase in projects under construction or in the advanced stages of development. If all are built, it would add up to $328 billion in investment, said the group's CEO, Jason Grumet. 'Clean power is shovel-ready at scale,' he said, while echoing E2's concerns about the retreat from federal support for the sector in Washington. 'With unprecedented demand growth for electricity, we must send consistent investment signals across the energy sector,' Grumet said. 'The greatest threat to a reliable energy system is an unreliable political system.'
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Trump doubles down on steel, aluminum tariffs
On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a new executive order that raised tariffs on steel and aluminum from 25 per cent to 50 per cent. One Canadian steel producer said this means that their American business is now 'unviable'. Jason Kirby is a staff reporter for The Globe's Report on Business section. He explains why these higher steel and aluminum tariffs could mean higher prices on nearly everything, and what may have contributed to Trump's escalation. Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@
