Quebec to table budget March 25 with focus on infrastructure, tariffs
Quebec's finance minister will table the province's next budget on March 25, with a focus on shoring up businesses and workers amid the economic disruption of U.S. tariffs.
Eric Girard says the budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year will be a chance to present the province's plan to "support Quebec in the face of economic uncertainty."
Quebec Premier François Legault said earlier this week he had asked Girard to include funding to speed up major infrastructure projects, including for schools, hospitals and transportation.
The premier also said the budget would include funding for the province's investment arm — Investissement Québec — as well as newly announced loan programs for businesses threatened by the 25 per cent tariffs the U.S. imposed on Canadian goods on Tuesday.
Girard presented an economic update in November that painted a rosy picture of the province's economic progress, despite a projected $11-billion deficit.
Girard previously told reporters the government's goal is to balance the budget by the 2029-30 fiscal year, but it's unclear whether the tariffs will impact that plan.
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Toronto Sun
an hour ago
- Toronto Sun
CANADA ARMING THE FORCES: Carney has pledged to meet NATO's 2% increase
Canadian Prime Minister Carney tours military equipment at the Fort York Armoury on June 9, 2025 in Toronto, Canada. Carney has pledged to meet NATO's 2% spending pledge this year. (Cole Burston / Getty Images ) WATCH as Postmedia political columnist Lorne Gunter says that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has pledged to meet NATO's 2% spending pledge by the end of this budget year. What do YOU think? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below or send us a Letter to the Editor for possible publication to Letters must be 250 words or less and signed. And don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel. 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 Toronto Blue Jays Olympics World Canada Golf
Vancouver Sun
an hour ago
- Vancouver Sun
The long history of Canada failing to hit its military spending targets
In an ever-more insecure world, Canada's federal government has announced it will spend two per cent of its GDP on military spending. That's the standard that members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization all agreed to back in 2006, but Canada has long been a laggard, to the extent that other governments, particularly the United States, have browbeaten the country for its meagre military spending. At present, Canada spends 1.37 per cent of GDP on the military. 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. In 2024, NATO released a report detailing which nations hit the two-per-cent target. Twenty-three of the defence's group's members were either at or above two per cent. This includes Montenegro, a Balkan country with a population smaller than that of Mississauga, and the two most recent NATO members, Sweden and Finland. Eight countries, including Canada, had not. Canada spends less than Italy on defence but more than Belgium. The lowest-spending NATO nation, Spain, puts 1.28 per cent of its GDP towards military spending. In July 2023, the Wall Street Journal editorial board called Canada's military spending 'pathetic .' NATO is currently considering bumping its threshold from two per cent to five per cent, something that world leaders are expected to discuss at the annual summit at The Hague in two weeks' time. Peter MacKay, who served as defence minister in the former Conservative government, told National Post in 2023 that he regrets that the Conservatives hadn't hit the target while they were in power. By 2014, he said, there was a 'great deal of fatigue around defence spending,' due to the years Canada had spent fighting in Afghanistan. 'We, the (Stephen) Harper government, were putting a lot of money into this effort to reach two per cent. And the department literally couldn't spend it fast enough,' he said. 'They would take the money and we would get wrapped around the axle literally on these big (procurement) projects. And we would, at the end of the year, have to send money back to the Treasury.' Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Monday that Canada will spend an additional $9.3 billion on defence during the 2025-2026 fiscal year, for a total of more than $62 billion, or about two per cent of GDP. But this isn't the first time that a Canadian prime minister has promised that the country would hit the target. Here's a non-exhaustive list of when Canada has promised to hit its NATO target and where its defence spending was at over the years. 1970s: At this point, Canada was spending 2.8 per cent of its GDP on its defence budget . While the 1970s were technically a period of détente in the Cold War, there were a number of close calls in the 1960s and the 1970s were a deeply unstable period. Throughout the mid-1970s, Canada's military spending began to decline, averaging about 1.9 per cent of GDP, before growing slightly through the 1980s to 2.1 per cent. April 1989: In the 1989 budget, Canada planned to cut $2.7 billion from its defence budget and close 14 of its Cold War bases. An entire military program, nearly $700 million for an icebreaker, was scrapped. November 2006: NATO member countries commit to two per cent of GDP going towards the military. At the time, Canada's defence spending was around 1.2 per cent of GDP. January 2007: During the war in Afghanistan, Stephen Harper's government was spending just over one per cent of GDP. In January 2007, the Defence Department presented Harper's cabinet with three spending options to grow the defence budget. The middle option was to spend $35 billion by 2025. As of 2025, defence spending was a bit above $30 billion . September 2014: At the NATO summit in Wales, allies reaffirmed their commitment to spending two per cent of GDP on military spending. However, just days before the meeting, figures released by the Department of National Defence showed that the federal government intended to shrink defence spending by $2.7 billion. (The government was pushing to balance the budget in advance of the 2015 election. Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau won a majority government in that election.) June 2017: Then defence minister Harjit Sajjan announced an increase of $13.9 billion in military spending over the next decade, and a plan that would put 5,000 more troops in uniform, but still leave Canada short of hitting the two per cent target. At the time, defence spending was at around 1.19 per cent of GDP. October 2020: Canada's defence spending jumped to 1.45 per cent of GDP. However, that was not because of any new spending increases, but because the economy contracted during the COVID-19 pandemic. May 2022: Then defence minister Anita Anand said that Canada is on an ' upward trajectory ' when it comes to meeting NATO targets. However, in a virtual discussion hosted by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, she stopped short of committing to a timeline. June 2022: The Parliamentary Budget Office said that if Canada was to reach the two-per-cent target by 2027, the country would need to spend more than $75 billion more over five years . April 2023: A leaked Pentagon assessment obtained by the Washington Post revealed that Trudeau had privately told NATO officials that Canada would never reach the alliance's defence-spending target of two per cent of GDP. July 2023: NATO released a statement saying that all members have agreed to spend at least two per cent. Canada agreed to the target, but at the time had no plan to reach it. In recent years, officials have defended the government's failure to meet the two per cent target, saying that Canada has increased its military spending by 70 per cent since 2014. The Liberals announced $2.6 billion over three years on Canada's mission in Latvia, $40 billion on NORAD modernization and billions in spending on the new F-35 fighter jets (a contract that is now being reviewed.) April 2024: The Canadian government unveiled its updated military policy — Our North, Strong and Free — which included $8.1 billion in further spending. However, it was not a commitment to reach two per cent. It would get Canada to 1.76 per cent by 2029-30. June 2024: Then prime minister Justin Trudeau announced at the end of the 2024 NATO summit that Canada would reach two per cent of GDP on military spending by 2032. 'We continually step up and punch above our weight, something that isn't always reflected in the crass mathematical calculation that certain people turn to very quickly,' Trudeau said at the time. 'Which is why we've always questioned the two per cent as the be-all, end-all of evaluating contributions to NATO.' In July, Blair said: 'It was important to be realistic about how long it was going to take to make these investments, to do it the right way.' November 2024: Exclusive Postmedia-Leger polling showed that 45 per cent of Canadians don't believe that Canada will hit its commitments on military spending. In order to achieve that, Canada would need to nearly double defence spending. Just one-fifth of Canadians told pollsters they think it's possible. January 2025: Then minister of national defence Bill Blair said that Canada could accelerate its timeline of hitting the two per cent target. Instead of 2032, Blair said that Canada could hit that benchmark by 2027 by simply accelerating the timeline set out in June 2024. April 2025: During the federal election, both the Liberals and the Conservatives promised to meet the NATO spending targets. The Liberals said they would do so by boosting spending by $18 billion over four years, while the Conservatives pledged to spend $17 billion over four years. In March, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States wouldn't defend NATO allies that had not met their spending targets. 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 .
Cision Canada
an hour ago
- Cision Canada
GLOBAL X ANNOUNCES ETF CLOSURES Français
TORONTO, June 9, 2025 /CNW/ - Global X Investments Canada Inc. (the " Manager") announced today that it will be terminating five of its exchange traded funds (the " ETFs") effective at the close of business on or about August 19, 2025 (the " Termination Date"). Details of the terminating ETFs are as follows: Effective August 11, 2025, except in limited circumstances, no further direct subscriptions for securities of the ETFs will be accepted. The ETFs are expected to be de-listed from the Toronto Stock Exchange, at the request of the Manager, at the close of business on or about August 13, 2025, with all securities still held by investors being subject to a mandatory redemption as of the Termination Date. Any remaining securityholders of an ETF as at the Termination Date will receive the net proceeds from the liquidation of the assets, less all liabilities and all expenses incurred in connection with the dissolution of the ETF, on a pro rata basis. About Global X Investments Canada Inc. ( Global X Investments Canada Inc. ("Global X") is an innovative financial services company and offers one of the largest suites of exchange traded funds in Canada. The Global X product family includes a broadly diversified range of solutions for investors of all experience levels to meet their investment objectives in a variety of market conditions. Global X has approximately $40 billion of assets under management and 142 ETFs listed on major Canadian stock exchanges. Global X is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mirae Asset Financial Group, which manages more than $900 billion of assets across 19 countries and global markets around the world. For media inquiries: Contact Jonathan McGuire Vice President, Communications Global X Investments Canada Inc. (647) 289-3324 [email protected] Commissions, management fees, and expenses all may be associated with an investment in products (the "Global X Funds") managed by Global X Investments Canada Inc. The Global X Funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Certain Global X Funds may have exposure to leveraged investment techniques that magnify gains and losses which may result in greater volatility in value and could be subject to aggressive investment risk and price volatility risk. Such risks are described in the prospectus. Past performance may not be repeated. The prospectus contains important detailed information about the Global X Funds. Please read the relevant prospectus before investing. The BetaPro Products consist of our Daily Bull and Daily Bear ETFs ("Leveraged and Inverse Leveraged ETFs"), Inverse ETFs ("Inverse ETFs"), and our BetaPro S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures™ ETF (the "VIX ETF"). The Leveraged and Inverse Leveraged ETFs and certain other BetaPro Products use leveraged investment techniques that can magnify gains and losses and may result in greater volatility of returns. These BetaPro Products are subject to leverage risk and may be subject to aggressive investment risk and price volatility risk, among other risks, which are described in their respective prospectuses. Each Leveraged and Inverse Leveraged ETF seeks a return, before fees and expenses, that is either up to or equal to, either 200% or –200% of the performance of a specified underlying index, commodity futures index, or benchmark (the "Target") for a single day. Each Inverse ETF seeks a return that is –100% of the performance of its Target. Due to the compounding of daily returns a Leveraged and Inverse Leveraged ETF's or Inverse ETF's returns over periods other than one day will likely differ in amount and, particularly in the case of the Leveraged and Inverse Leveraged ETFs, possibly direction from the performance of their respective Target(s) for the same period. For certain Leveraged and Inverse Leveraged ETFs that seek up to 200% or up to or -200% leveraged exposure, the Manager anticipates, under normal market conditions, managing the leverage ratio as close to two times (200%) as practicable however, the Manager may, at its sole discretion, change the leverage ratio based on its assessment of the current market conditions and negotiations with the respective ETF's counterparties at that time. Hedging costs charged to BetaPro Products reduce the value of the forward price payable to that ETF. Indxx is a service mark of Indxx, LLC ("Indxx") and may be licensed for use for certain purposes by Global X Investments Canada Inc. ("Global X" or the "Manager"). The ETFs are not sponsored, endorsed, sold, or promoted by Indxx. Indxx makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the ETFs or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing in securities generally or in the ETFs particularly. Indxx has no obligation to take the needs of the Manager or the Unitholders of the ETFs into consideration in determining, composing, or calculating the Indxx Cybersecurity Index. Indxx is not responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the timing, amount, or pricing of the Units to be issued or in the determination or calculation of the equation by which the Units are to be converted into cash. Indxx has no obligation or liability in connection with the administration, marketing, or trading of the ETFs.
