In the news today: Bank of Canada expected to hold key rate again
Bank of Canada expected to hold key rate again
Avery Shenfeld doesn't think the Bank of Canada will cut its benchmark interest rate at its decision on Wednesday, but if it does, he said it will be a 'pleasant surprise.'
'There's always a chance that they'll surprise with the rate cut,' the chief economist of CIBC said.
Most economists are also expecting the Bank of Canada will hold its policy rate steady at 2.75 per cent for a third consecutive decision later this week.
Stubbornness on the inflation front and surprise strength in the labour market have quashed arguments for further easing since the central bank's June decision.
The Canadian economy gained an unexpected 83,000 jobs in June, Statistics Canada reported earlier this month, driving the unemployment rate lower for the first time since January.
Shenfield expects Canada's tariff dispute with the United States led to an economic contraction in the second quarter of the year.
Here's what else we're watching…
US-EU deal sets a 15% tariff on most goods and averts the threat of a trade war with a global shock
The United States and the European Union agreed on Sunday to a trade framework setting a 15% tariff on most goods, staving off — at least for now — far higher import duties on both sides that might have sent shock waves through economies around the globe.
The sweeping announcement came after President Donald Trump and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen met briefly at Trump's Turnberry golf course in Scotland. Their private sit-down culminated months of bargaining, with the White House deadline Friday nearing for imposing punishing tariffs on the EU's 27 member countries.
As with other, recent tariff agreements that Trump announced with countries including Japan and the United Kingdom, some major details remain pending in this one.
Trump said the EU had agreed to buy some $750 billion worth of U.S. energy and invest $600 billion more than it already is in America — as well as make a major military equipment purchase. He said tariffs 'for automobiles and everything else will be a straight across tariff of 15%' and meant that U.S. exporters 'have the opening up of all of the European countries.'
Von der Leyen said the 15% tariffs were 'across the board, all inclusive' and that 'indeed, basically the European market is open.'
Lawyer says Canada must hasten Gaza visa approvals
A Toronto immigration lawyer says family members of Canadians are dying in Gaza as the federal immigration department drags it heels approving visas through a special program launched in 2024.
Debbie Rachlis said Canada must speed up the approval process for the temporary special measures visa it is offering to members of Palestinian Canadians' families who are trying to flee the violence in Gaza.
Rachlis represents dozens of applicants to the program and said she is involved with 'at least five cases' in which people have died waiting for word on their visa. She lobbied for the special measures program as a member of the Gaza Family Reunification Project.
Canada opened the multi-step program offering temporary residents visas to members of Canadians' families trapped in Gaza on Jan. 9, 2024. It closed on March 26, after the program's cap of 5,000 visa applications had been accepted for processing.
Fewer than 1,200 visas had been granted as of June 21, said Jeffrey MacDonald, a spokesperson for the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. That's less than a quarter of the visas Canada said it would hand out.
N.S. disabilities reform behind in housing plan
There's been a surge in the number of Nova Scotians with complex disabilities stuck in temporary housing, according to recent figures released by the province.
This rise in what are called 'temporary shelter arrangements,' or TSAs, operated by for-profit and non-profit agencies has occurred despite a plan by the province to decrease their use over the past two years.
The Department of Social Development describes the temporary housing as being needed whenever a person with a complex disability is in urgent need of housing, and options for a permanent home have been 'explored and exhausted.' Usually, the person is placed in an apartment, with one-on-one care, but without a long-term plan to improve their lives.
The province introduced a sweeping, five-year reform plan for the care and housing of people with disabilities in 2023. It was the result of a landmark court decision that found there was systemic discrimination against people with disabilities.
The plan called for a sharp decrease in the number of people with disabilities in temporary housing arrangements by 2025 but the opposite has occurred.
Motion expected on closure of B.C. injection site
Council in Nanaimo, B.C., is scheduled to hear a motion that could result in the city asking a provincial health authority to close a local overdose prevention site.
Coun. Ian Thorpe is expected to bring forward the motion at Nanaimo's council meeting today that will ask to 'formally request' Island Health to close the site on Albert Street, next to city hall.
Mayor Leonard Krog says he expects the motion to be debated and deferred to enable experts and those with an interest on the issue to come before council at a later time before a decision is made.
The site has generated enough concerns about disorder and violence nearby that city staff previously proposed building a 1.8-metre-high fence that was intended to protect those at city hall.
Nanaimo council decided against the proposal at a committee meeting earlier this month, with Krog saying he was unsure about the fence's effectiveness as well as the 'really problematic message' it would send about the challenges of disorder in the area.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2025.
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Trump sets 10 to 12-day deadline for Russia to reach Ukraine ceasefire
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Toronto Sun
a few seconds ago
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Auto tariffs stoke layoff angst in Canada's once-proud Motor City
Unemployment has surged in Oshawa and now tops 9%, one of the highest rates of any Canadian city Published Jul 28, 2025 • 7 minute read Chris Waugh, a representative of the trade union that represents GM workers. Photographer: Chloe Ellingson/Bloomberg Photo by Chloe Ellingson / Photographer: Chloe Ellingson An hour from Toronto, downtown Oshawa seems to exude the vibe of a pleasant small town. But signs of economic stress are multiplying in the place that once fashioned itself as Canada's motor city. 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 Lines form early outside the food bank on Simcoe Street where customers load strollers with pasta and bags of bread. Homeless encampments dot the river trail. Inside local food joints like Ciao Amici, a lunch stop serving Italian specialties, conversations drift toward layoffs. On that front, there's a lot to talk about. Unemployment has surged in Oshawa and now tops 9%, one of the highest rates of any Canadian city. In May, shortly after US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on automobiles, General Motors Co. said it planned to reduce output at the only Canadian assembly plant it owns that builds pickup trucks. The move affects some 700 jobs at the factory. Many more people will feel the ripple effects. As the Trump administration tries to pull more automotive jobs into the US, Oshawa's reckoning is a warning to other manufacturing cities. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. What's jarring for the residents of Oshawa is that, not so long ago, the city was on the way back. That GM assembly line near the shore of Lake Ontario died once, when the automaker closed it at the end of 2019. Then the Covid pandemic hit, demand for vehicles surged — and GM made the surprising decision to reopen the old plant. Last year, about 150,000 Chevrolet Silverados were built here, according to the Automotive News Research & Data Center — many of them destined for dealers' lots in the US. That's the norm for Canadian auto assembly plants, which export most of what they build. But it's a two-way street. Walk around a Ford or GM or Chrysler dealership in Toronto or Vancouver or Calgary, and you will find more US-manufactured models for sale than Canadian ones. 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. Canada, which has roughly one-eighth the population of the US, is the largest foreign buyer of American-made cars and light trucks. When parts are included, the US runs a trade surplus in automotive with Canada — a product of decades of tight integration between the countries. That system, however, doesn't fit within Trump's vision for the sector or for trade. In March, he reiterated his threat to use tariffs to 'permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada. Those cars can easily be made in the USA!' 'We reopened in 2021 at a high,' said Chris Waugh, a 23-year veteran of the Oshawa plant and an official with Unifor, the union that represents its employees. 'Now we're going back down. I've been through this before, but a lot of these younger workers haven't. They left other careers to come here. They bet on GM.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Inside the autoworkers' union office, the tension is palpable. The sunny halls adorned with tropical plants have a different energy today than a few years ago, when the assembly line had whirred back to life. Workers cluster in small groups, discussing employment insurance, benefits continuity and the rotating layoffs that have become the new reality. 'Growing up, our union always found a way to keep us working,' said Jeff Gray, president of Unifor Local 222. 'My fear is that under our watch, we aren't going to be able to keep everybody working.' Families are starting to prepare for leaner times. Waugh mentions a single mother quietly preparing her house for sale. Others cancel family trips or sell cars. Many feel a deep sense of loss. These jobs aren't just paychecks; they've long been paths to stability for Canadians without college degrees. Wages climb to over C$40 an hour after four years. There's a pension, shift premiums and benefits. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. It's not easy to replace that, and hard conversations are going on around kitchen tables across the province of Ontario, the home of all of the major plants that assemble cars and light trucks in Canada. Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis NV each have factories in the suburbs of Toronto that are currently idle. Both companies say they have plans to restart the assembly lines, but in the meantime, employees wait and worry. Stellantis trimmed its work schedule at a plant in Windsor, Ontario, shortly after Trump imposed his auto tariffs. About two hours southwest of Oshawa, the future of another GM factory in Ingersoll, Ontario, is in serious doubt. The electric commercial vans made there aren't selling, and it is being shut down for months. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'We've fought for 90 years to make these good, middle-class jobs,' said Waugh, the union official in Oshawa. 'If we let them go quietly, what are we telling our kids?' GM executives say the company faces $4 billion to $5 billion in exposure from tariffs. It expects to offset about 30% of that through a series of measures including 'manufacturing adjustments,' Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson told analysts on July 22. A GM spokesperson said the changes in Oshawa are necessary to make the company's manufacturing operations 'sustainable,' but it's not giving up on Canada. 'GM has been building vehicles in Canada since 1918, and we are implementing a plan to keep building here for another 100-plus years,' Ariane Souza Pereira said in an emailed statement. 'We are not in a position to speculate around hypothetical scenarios.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. For decades, GM and the unions built a culture in Oshawa where neighbours cared. Food banks, drop-in centers and addiction services grew stronger here than in nearby towns, according to Mayor Dan Carter, but those services now feel the strain. 'We've always looked out for each other,' Carter said. 'But capacity is not the same as compassion.' At the Simcoe Hall food bank, demand has exploded. New clients are up 200% since 2020, according to Graeme Cook, a coordinator there. The facility states that it can only serve 35 clients in the morning and 35 clients in the afternoon, and only three days a week. The problem is not unique to this city: food-bank traffic has skyrocketed in a number regions of Canada after the economic and inflation shocks of Covid. The concern in Oshawa is that the pressure on such services will grow unbearable if more people lose their jobs. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The plight of auto towns represents a huge challenge to Prime Minister Mark Carney, who won a national election in April after a campaign that was dominated by debate about which candidate can stand up to the most hostile US administration that Canadians can remember. During that election, Trump decided to place new import taxes on foreign-made automobiles, citing US national security interests. Canadian officials believe that's directly in violation of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that Trump agreed to in 2018, during his first term in office. Carney retaliated, imposing 25% counter-tariffs against US vehicles, closely matching what the White House did. His stance against Trump helped his party win the vote. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. To protect jobs, auto companies can apply to get a break on those Canadian tariffs if they maintain their employment and production in the country. In theory, that gives General Motors a proper incentive to keep local factories going. After all, it's a net importer: it sold 294,000 light vehicles in Canada last year, almost double the number it made. In practice, the people of Oshawa understand what's really happening. Trump's bullhorn is louder than Carney's. As GM cuts hours and jobs in Canada, it's expanding a plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, that also makes Silverado trucks. And the Detroit-based company is planning to add production of new pickup truck models at a plant in Lake Orion, Michigan, in 2027. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I don't think there is a quick solution to the challenges that are being faced right now,' said Joy Nott, a partner in the trade and customs practice at the Canadian arm of KPMG. The big unknowns for the industry include how far Trump will go with tariffs and whether he will use next year's scheduled review of the US-Mexico-Canada accord to truly break the tightly bound North American auto supply chain. That would be hugely disruptive not only for companies like GM and Stellantis but for the much larger number of companies in those countries that produce parts and components. Canada has the capacity to reorient parts of its manufacturing base to serve its own market or other trading partners, Nott suggested. 'If we rethink our supply chains and leverage our trade agreements, we can retain and even grow jobs in communities like Oshawa. But it's going to take a shift in mindset.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Carter, the Oshawa mayor, said the best solutions aren't grand gestures but targeted fixes: giving small firms room to invest, trimming red tape, lowering costs for businesses. He has been lobbying the provincial and federal governments for tax relief, skills funding, and better alignment between training programs and real jobs. Inside the union hall, leaders bristle at the idea that retraining will fix everything. 'People think you can just switch,' Gray said. 'But when you've built your life around these wages and benefits, it's not so simple.' The financial and emotional gap between an assembly line job and a service gig is too wide for many to cross, Waugh said. Carter – who in the past battled homelessness and addiction himself — has convened roundtables with business, nonprofits, and educators. He's trying to find a path forward. But he also says Canada needs to find ways of being more productive, boosting investment in business and innovation. 'We are not a broken city,' he said. 'We are in transition. And we are not done.' Canada Editorial Cartoons Sunshine Girls Relationships Editorials
Winnipeg Free Press
a few seconds ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
The Latest: Trump to discuss trade with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland
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