A limit on foreign steel imports, Canada's slowed population growth and DHL suspends operations: Business and investing stories for the week of June 22
Getting caught up on a week that got away? Here's your weekly digest of The Globe's most essential business and investing stories, with insights and analysis from the pros, stock tips, portfolio strategies and more.
Canada plans to adjust countertariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum imports on July 21 to new levels that will depend on how trade talks are going, Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a news conference in Ottawa on Thursday. This is the first major trade announcement from Mr. Carney's government since this week's G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alta, where his office said he and U.S. President Donald Trump had agreed to work toward a comprehensive trade and security deal within 30 days.
Ottawa also announced that it will attempt to limit steel imports from countries that don't have free-trade agreements with Canada to 2024 levels. As Niall McGee reports, that includes China, India, Taiwan, Turkey and Russia – and they have been accused of selling the metal at an artificially low price to gain market share (a practice known as dumping). If this group of countries exceeds 2024 steel shipment volumes, a 50-per-cent tariff will apply. But Algoma Steel Group Inc. chief executive Michael Garcia says the federal government's quotas still fall far short of what is needed during the vicious trade war.
Canada Post said it has reached a contract deal with its second-largest union after 18 months of negotiations. The agreement with Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association covers about 8,500 employees, who mostly manage post offices in rural Canada, and includes an 11 per cent wage increase over the next three years. Canada Post still hasn't reached a deal with the primary union representing about 55,000 postal workers, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. Given the impasse, the federal government intervened last week to force unionized Canada Post workers to vote directly on the latest offers from the postal service, though no date has been set.
Meanwhile, DHL Express suspended operations across Canada on Friday after a heated labour dispute and the implementation of a new federal law that bans the use of replacement workers during strikes.
The U.S. trade war is affecting Canada much worse than Mexico, especially looking at data about commercial trucks and overall trade flow. According to new data on border traffic released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the number of commercial trucks entering the U.S. from Canada fell 10.5 per cent in May from the year before.
By comparison, the number of U.S.-bound trucks from Mexico declined by a more modest 2.8 per cent last month. A similar pattern has played out in trade flows. In April, U.S. imports from Canada fell 14.4 per cent from the same month in 2024, compared with a 2.7-per-cent decline in imports from Mexico. Jason Kirby takes a closer look at the numbers in this week's Decoder series.
Canada's population barely grew in the first quarter of this year as tighter immigration policies slowed the number of new arrivals, according to data from Statistics Canada. Between Jan. 1 and April 1, 2025, the overall population grew by just 20,107 people to roughly 41.55 million, Vanmala Subramaniam reports. By comparison, the population jumped by an average of 217,000 people a quarter from 2021 to 2024 – raising widespread concerns about access to housing and health care and forcing the federal government to implement new restrictions on migration, particularly for temporary residents.
The Statscan data also showed that the number of temporary residents fell for a second consecutive quarter. As of April 1, there were 61,111 fewer temporary residents in Canada, compared with the start of the year. The largest decrease in temporary residents came from those holding study permits. There were about 53,000 fewer international student visa holders in the first quarter of this year, compared with the previous quarter.
A Bay Street veteran and financial commentator is speaking out after finding himself at the centre of an alleged online 'pump and dump' scam that used his identity to defraud some investors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. David Rosenberg, an economist and founder of Rosenberg Research, said ads appearing on Facebook and Instagram as early as March have promoted a fake investment program falsely listing him as its administrator. Since then, he's heard from several individuals who lost money to the scheme, a sum Mr. Rosenberg said he believes exceeds $1-million, though the total amount is unknown. Mariya Postelnyak shares his story.
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Vancouver Sun
34 minutes ago
- Vancouver Sun
Security and defence high on the agenda as Mark Carney attends EU and NATO summits
Prime Minister Mark Carney departed for Europe on Sunday for back-to-back summits where he is expected to make major commitments for Canada on security and defence. Carney will be joined by Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, Defence Minister David McGuinty and secretary of state for defence procurement Stephen Fuhr at the EU and NATO summits, where military procurement and diversifying supply chains will top the agendas. The international meetings come as Canada looks to reduce its defence procurement reliance on the United States due to strained relations over tariffs and President Donald Trump's repeated talk about Canada becoming a U.S. state. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Carney will fly first to Brussels, Belgium, starting the trip with a visit to the Antwerp Schoonselhof Military Cemetery where 348 Canadian soldiers are buried. He will also meet with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. At the EU-Canada summit, Anand and McGuinty are expected to sign a security and defence agreement with the EU in what one European official described Friday as one of the most ambitious deals Europe has ever signed with a third country. The agreement will open the door to Canada's participation in the ReArm Europe initiative, allowing Canada to access a 150-billion-euro loan program for defence procurement, called Security Action for Europe. An EU official briefing reporters on Friday said once the procurement deal is in place, Canada will have to negotiate a bilateral agreement with the European Commission to begin discussions with member states about procurement opportunities. A Canadian official briefing reporters on the summit Saturday said the initial agreement will allow for Canada's participation in some joint procurement projects. However, a second agreement will be needed to allow Canadian companies to bid. At the EU-Canada summit, leaders are also expected to issue a joint statement to underscore a willingness for continued pressure on Russia, including through further sanctions, and call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. After Brussels, Carney heads to The Hague in the Netherlands for the NATO leaders' summit on Tuesday and Wednesday. There, Carney will meet with the King of the Netherlands and later with leaders of Nordic nations to discuss Arctic and transatlantic security. At the NATO summit, Carney will take part in bilateral meetings with other leaders. The summit agenda includes a social dinner hosted by the king and queen of the Netherlands and a two-and-a-half-hour meeting of the North Atlantic Council. NATO allies are expected to debate a plan to hike alliance members' defence spending target to five per cent of national GDP. NATO data shows that in 2024, none of its 32 members spent that much. The Canadian government official who briefed reporters on background says the spending target and its timeline are still up for discussion, though some allies have indicated they would prefer a seven-year timeline while others favour a decade. Canada hasn't hit a five-per-cent defence spending threshold since the 1950s and hasn't reached the two per cent mark since the late 1980s. NATO says that, based on its estimate of which expenditures count toward the target, Canada spent $41 billion in 2024 on defence, or 1.37 per cent of GDP. That's more than twice what it spent in 2014, when the two per cent target was first set; that year, Canada spent $20.1 billion, or 1.01 per cent of GDP, on defence. In 2014, only three NATO members achieved the two per cent target — the U.S., the U.K., and Greece. In 2025, all members are expected to hit it. Any agreement to adopt a new spending benchmark must be ratified by all 32 NATO member states. Former Canadian ambassador to NATO Kerry Buck told The Canadian Press the condensed agenda is likely meant to 'avoid public rifts among allies,' describing Trump as an 'uncertainty engine.' 'The national security environment has really, really shifted,' Buck said, adding allies next door to Russia face the greatest threats. 'There is a high risk that the U.S. would undercut NATO at a time where all allies are increasingly vulnerable.' Trump has suggested the U.S. might abandon its mutual defence commitment to the alliance if member countries don't ramp up defence spending. 'Whatever we can do to get through this NATO summit with few public rifts between the U.S. and other allies on anything, and satisfy a very long-standing U.S. demand to rebalance defence spending, that will be good for Canada because NATO's good for Canada,' Buck said. Carney has already made two trips to Europe this year — the first to London and Paris to meet with European allies and the second to Rome to attend the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
National Post
40 minutes ago
- National Post
Security and defence high on the agenda as Mark Carney attends EU and NATO summits
Article content At the NATO summit, Carney will take part in bilateral meetings with other leaders. The summit agenda includes a social dinner hosted by the king and queen of the Netherlands and a two-and-a-half-hour meeting of the North Atlantic Council. Article content NATO allies are expected to debate a plan to hike alliance members' defence spending target to five per cent of national GDP. NATO data shows that in 2024, none of its 32 members spent that much. Article content The Canadian government official who briefed reporters on background says the spending target and its timeline are still up for discussion, though some allies have indicated they would prefer a seven-year timeline while others favour a decade. Article content Canada hasn't hit a five-per-cent defence spending threshold since the 1950s and hasn't reached the two per cent mark since the late 1980s. Article content NATO says that, based on its estimate of which expenditures count toward the target, Canada spent $41 billion in 2024 on defence, or 1.37 per cent of GDP. That's more than twice what it spent in 2014, when the two per cent target was first set; that year, Canada spent $20.1 billion, or 1.01 per cent of GDP, on defence. Article content Article content In 2014, only three NATO members achieved the two per cent target — the U.S., the U.K., and Greece. In 2025, all members are expected to hit it. Article content Any agreement to adopt a new spending benchmark must be ratified by all 32 NATO member states. Article content Former Canadian ambassador to NATO Kerry Buck told The Canadian Press the condensed agenda is likely meant to 'avoid public rifts among allies,' describing Trump as an 'uncertainty engine.' Article content 'The national security environment has really, really shifted,' Buck said, adding allies next door to Russia face the greatest threats. 'There is a high risk that the U.S. would undercut NATO at a time where all allies are increasingly vulnerable.' Article content Trump has suggested the U.S. might abandon its mutual defence commitment to the alliance if member countries don't ramp up defence spending. Article content 'Whatever we can do to get through this NATO summit with few public rifts between the U.S. and other allies on anything, and satisfy a very long-standing U.S. demand to rebalance defence spending, that will be good for Canada because NATO's good for Canada,' Buck said. Article content Carney has already made two trips to Europe this year — the first to London and Paris to meet with European allies and the second to Rome to attend the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV. Article content
Globe and Mail
44 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
What are bunker-buster bombs the U.S. used to attack Iran's nuclear facilities?
In inserting itself into Israel's war against Iran, Washington unleashed its massive bunker-buster bombs on Iran's Fordo fuel enrichment plant. Those bombs were widely seen as the best chance of damaging or destroying Fordo, built deep into a mountain and untouched during Israel's week-long offensive. Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said 14 of the bombs were used in Sunday's attack on Fordo and a second target. The U.S. is the only military capable of dropping the weapons, and the movement of B-2 stealth bombers toward Asia on Saturday had signalled possible activity by the U.S. Israeli leaders had made no secret of their hopes that President Donald Trump would join their week-old war against Iran, though they had also suggested they had backup plans for destroying the site. In all, the U.S. hit three nuclear sites and Caine told reporters Sunday that 'initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage.' The mission could have wide-ranging ramifications, including jeopardizing any chance of Iran engaging in Trump's desired talks on its nuclear program and dragging the U.S. into another Mideast war. Here's a closer look. 'Bunker buster' is a broad term used to describe bombs that are designed to penetrate deep below the surface before exploding. In this case, it refers to the latest GBU-57 A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb in the American arsenal. The roughly 30,000 pound (13,600 kilogram) precision-guided bomb is designed to attack deeply buried and hardened bunkers and tunnels, according to the U.S. Air Force. It's believed to be able to penetrate about 200 feet (61 meters) below the surface before exploding, and the bombs can be dropped one after another, effectively drilling deeper and deeper with each successive blast. It was not immediately known how many were used in the Sunday morning strike. The bomb carries a conventional warhead, but the International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that Iran is producing highly enriched uranium at Fordo, which had raised the possibility that nuclear material could be released into the area if the GBU-57 A/B were used to hit the facility. Initial assessments by the IAEA, however, were that this had not happened. Fordo is Iran's second nuclear enrichment facility after Natanz, its main facility, which already has been targeted by Israeli air strikes and was also hit by the U.S. on Sunday, along with Isfahan. The IAEA says it believes those earlier strikes have had 'direct impacts' on the facility's underground centrifuge halls. Fordo is smaller than Natanz, and is built into the side of a mountain near the city of Qom, about 60 miles (95 kilometres) southwest of Tehran. Construction is believed to have started around 2006 and it became first operational in 2009 — the same year Tehran publicly acknowledged its existence. Analysis: Israel eyes the heart of Iran's nuclear ambitions In addition to being an estimated 80 meters (260 feet) under rock and soil, the site is reportedly protected by Iranian and Russian surface-to-air missile systems. Those air defences, however, likely have already been struck in the Israeli campaign, which claims to have knocked out most of Iran's air defences and the U.S. bombers were not fired upon during their mission. Still, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the goal of attacking Iran was to eliminate its missile and nuclear program, which he described as an existential threat to Israel, and officials have said Fordo was part of that plan. 'This entire operation ... really has to be completed with the elimination of Fordo,' Yechiel Leiter, Israel's ambassador to the U.S., told Fox News. In theory, the GBU-57 A/B could be dropped by any bomber capable of carrying the weight, but at the moment the U.S. has only configured and programed its B-2 Spirit stealth bomber to deliver the bomb, according to the Air Force. The B-2 is only flown by the Air Force, and is produced by Northrop Grumman. According to the manufacturer, the B-2 can carry a payload of 40,000 pounds (18,000 kilograms) but the U.S. Air Force has said it has successfully tested the B-2 loaded with two GBU-57 A/B bunker busters – a total weight of some 60,000 pounds (27,200 kilograms). In the attack on Fordo, Caine said the first B-2 dropped two of the bunker busters on the facility. The strategic long-range heavy bomber has a range of about 7,000 miles (11,000 kilometres) without refuelling and 11,500 miles (18,500 kilometres) with one refuelling, and can reach any point in the world within hours, according to Northrop Grumman. The mission against Iran was flown from its home base in Missouri. Whether the U.S. would get involved had been unclear in recent days. At the G7 meeting in Canada, Trump was asked what it would take for Washington to become involved militarily and he said: 'I don't want to talk about that.' Then on Thursday, Trump said he would decide within two weeks whether to get involved, to give another chance to the possibility of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program. In the end, it took just two days to decide. Sunday's attack was specifically restricted to the three nuclear sites, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. 'The scope of this was intentionally limited, that's the message that we're sending, with the capabilities of the American military nearly unlimited,' he told reporters. 'So Iran, in that sense, has a choice.'
