U.S.-Canada trade solution 'easier said than done,' says Toronto steel manufacturer
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Toronto Sun
19 minutes ago
- Toronto Sun
Canadian trade with U.S. picked up in June despite tariffs: StatCan
Published Aug 05, 2025 • 3 minute read A truck with vehicles crosses the Blue Water Bridge border crossing into the United States from Sarnia on April 3. Photo by GEOFF ROBINS / AFP/Getty Images OTTAWA — Canadian exporters did more business with the United States in June even as tariffs ramped up, Statistics Canada said Tuesday. 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 The agency said exports to the U.S. rose 3.1% in June compared with the prior month, but were still down 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Canada's trade surplus with the U.S. expanded to $3.9 billion in June, from $3.6 billion in May as imports rose less than exports. Overall, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world widened to $5.9 billion in June, up from $5.5 billion in May. The June figures close a volatile first half of the year that saw on-again, off-again tariffs from the United States skew Canadian trade volumes. StatCan said total exports were up modestly for the second month in a row in June, coming off the biggest drop in nearly five years in April as early tariffs took full effect. Higher energy exports were largely to thank for the increase. 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. The agency said there was a June jump in imports tied to a one-time, high-value shipment — an offshore oil project module from the United States bound for Newfoundland. That import surge was somewhat offset by Canadian firms getting higher prices for their exports, the agency said. By volume, exports were down in the month. CIBC senior economist Andrew Grantham said in a note to clients Tuesday that while two-way trade picked up in June, the latest figures show 'Canadian trade still hasn't found a new footing.' Recommended video 'While trade flows should stabilize in the months ahead, their level will likely remain lower than that seen last year due to ongoing U.S. tariff policy and related uncertainty,' Grantham said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A decrease in metal and mineral product exports, meanwhile, was driven by declines in shipments of unwrought gold to the United Kingdom, StatCan said. Declines in metals exports also coincided with the U.S. doubling global steel and aluminum tariffs to 50% early in June, the agency said. Exports of unwrought aluminum and iron and steel products were down more than 11% in the month, while exports of motor vehicle parts dropped 4.2%. Tariffs and the threats of steep duties from the United States have distorted Canada's trade figures through the first half of the year. StatCan said total exports were up 2.2% in the first six months of 2025 compared to the same stretch in 2024. After exports hit a record high in the first quarter — economists believe firms were moving up activity to get ahead of tariffs coming into effect in March and April — StatCan said total exports fell 12.8% in the second quarter. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Canada's quarterly merchandise trade deficit hit a record $19 billion in the second quarter of the year, up from $388 million in the first quarter. Nathan Janzen, assistant chief economist at RBC, said in a note that Canadian export volumes fell 31.4% on an annualized rate in the second quarter of 2025. 'A plunge in Q2 Canadian export volumes is on track to substantially subtract from Canadian GDP in Q2 following a pre-tariff surge in Q1 when U.S. importers rushed to front-run tariffs,' Janzen said. StatCan said exports to countries other than the U.S. declined in June, coming down from a record high in May and marking the first decrease in the category since February. The June figures won't capture any impact from U.S. President Donald Trump's recent move to impose 35% tariffs on Canadian imports, as well as 50% global tariffs on semi-finished copper, starting Aug. 1. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But because the latest tariffs will continue to exempt Canadian goods compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on trade, RBC expects the higher duties will only apply to roughly 6% of goods crossing the border. 'We continue to expect that current rules, if maintained as currently in place, would leave Canada with the lowest tariff rate of any major U.S. trade partner — putting Canadian exporters in a stronger relative position to compete for U.S. import market share than other countries,' Janzen wrote. In a separate release, StatCan said monthly services exports rose 1% to $18 billion in June. Taking into account goods and services, the agency said Canada's total trade deficit with the world rose to $6.5 billion in June, up from $6.4 billion the month previous. World Columnists Toronto Maple Leafs Other Sports Opinion
Cision Canada
19 minutes ago
- Cision Canada
First Nations Bank of Canada Announces $9 Million Equity Raise from Indigenous Investors
SASKATOON, SK, Aug. 5, 2025 /CNW/ - First Nations Bank of Canada (FNBC) today announced the successful closing of a $9 million equity investment by five Indigenous investors. The new capital will support the Bank's continued loan book expansion, particularly in response to rising demand in its core commercial lending business, as well as new programs being delivered in partnership with the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB). The investment comes from a group of Indigenous-led organizations and communities across Canada: Whitefish Lake First Nation #128 (Treaty 8 – Alberta) Úújǫ Developments (Treaty 8 – British Columbia) Doig River First Nation (Treaty 8 – British Columbia) Dáanaa Jíli (Cache) Trust (Yukon – FNBC shareholder expanding its position) Athabasca Basin Development (Saskatchewan – Indigenous investment firm) "This equity raise is a strong endorsement of our strategy and the trust that Indigenous communities across Canada place in FNBC," said Bill Lomax, President and CEO of FNBC. "These are not just investors – they are partners in building an Indigenous-led financial institution capable of accelerating economic reconciliation and driving prosperity in our communities." FNBC plans to deploy the new capital to meet the increasing demand for lending from Indigenous governments, entrepreneurs, and businesses across the country. The funding will also help scale up lending under its CIB Indigenous land development loan program and the recently launched FNBC-BDC Indigenous Business Acquisition loan program. Since becoming President and CEO of the FNBC in 2023, Lomax and his team have expanded the lending capacity of the bank exponentially first through a $100M loan participation agreement with the Canadian Infrastructure Bank launched in 2024 to help finance the construction of new infrastructure projects, and now through a $100M initiative with BDC to accelerate the acquisition of existing businesses by Indigenous communities and organizations. This announcement is part of a broader capital raise, with the Bank seeking to secure up to $50 million in equity capital over the coming year. The proceeds will further strengthen FNBC's ability to serve Indigenous economic development and expand its national reach. "Indigenous Nations and communities are on the rise in this country, with this capital investment we plan to keep pace with Indigenous Nations and be the lender of choice for Indigenous-led growth," said Lomax. "We stand proud to be building a bank that is owned by Indigenous communities and works for Indigenous communities." About FNBC: Founded in 1996, First Nations Bank of Canada (FNBC) is a Canadian chartered bank focused on providing financial services to the Indigenous marketplace in Canada. FNBC is 88% Indigenous owned and controlled. The Bank offers Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, corporations and governments a full range of personal and business banking services including loans, mortgages, investments (registered and non-registered), transaction accounts and cash management as well as trust services through its wholly owned subsidiary, FNB Trust. First Nations Bank of Canada is an approved member of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Canadian Payments Association and is an approved mortgage lender with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, as well as the First Nations Market Housing Fund.
CTV News
19 minutes ago
- CTV News
‘Let's be smarter than the U.S. is': Experts discuss trade strategy amid Trump tariffs
As Canadians continue to navigate the ever-changing trade policies of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, experts say officials in Ottawa are walking a tight rope between appeasement and retaliation. '(Trump) takes retaliation very personally, so I'm not sure it's worth the calculation,' Drew Fagan, professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, told BNN Bloomberg in a Tuesday interview. 'Canada's a big country, it's the tenth biggest economy in the world, but we're a middle weight fighting with a super-heavy weight, I don't think you want to go punching with them and thinking you're an equal; you're not.' A Friday deadline passed without a trade deal between the U.S. and Canada, and the Trump administration implemented a 35 per cent tariff on Canadian goods entering the U.S. that are not already covered under the existing North American free trade agreement. Most Canadian products exported to the U.S. do fall under the Canada-United States-Mexico agreement (CUSMA) and thus remain duty-free for now. That deal, however, is slated for renegotiation in 2026. 'For (Canada), the bigger negotiation is the one over the renewal, the review and the renegotiation of CUSMA next year,' Fagan argued. 'When (Trump) negotiated the renewal of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) in his first term, he put additional pressure on Canada by putting tariffs... on steel and aluminum that are key products that we export to the U.S.' It's possible, Fagan said, that Trump is carrying out a similar strategy now. 'The only thing that's really stopping him are the courts in the United States,' he said. From the start, Trump's legal justification for the tariffs placed on Canadian goods came through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which gives the U.S. president authority to enact economic measures typically reserved for the U.S. Congress. 'There is a significant court case going on now… it's possible that the court will strike (the tariffs) down, but of course this president has a way of kind of working around court decisions… but we should expect that it'll be a bit of a full tilt in 2026,' said Fagan. Canada's next moves Although most Canadian exporters with U.S. customer bases are free to operate without tariffs for the time being, it remains unclear what moves Washington or Ottawa will make next in the ongoing trade conflict. But those industries that export non-CUSMA compliant goods to the U.S. need relief as soon as possible, says John Boscariol, leader of the International Trade and Investment Law Group at McCarthy-Tétrault LLP. 'For our exporters in the steel, aluminum and auto sector and now copper, they continue to face sectoral tariffs, so they are continuing to be hurt by those tariffs,' he told BNN Bloomberg in a Tuesday interview. 'What we are anticipating hopefully is that, as this agreement is being negotiated, we're going to see some kind of deal, some kind of resolution over those sectoral tariffs going forward and that's really how we will judge whether this is a good deal or not.' Many within the Canadian business community had been hoping for a new trade deal before last week's deadline to ease the burden on companies impacted by current tariff rates. But it's unclear if an imminent agreement is in the cards, Fagan noted. 'Conversations are continuing… the (U.S.) president and the prime minister are expected to talk this week,' he said. '(But) I don't expect, and I don't think many people expect a deal to be done soon with regard to Canada and the United States.' Prime Minister Mark Carney has said repeatedly since taking office this spring that Canada needs to diversify its economic partnerships around the world and become less dependent on the U.S. in light of the trade developments this year. But many of those partnerships are still in the early stages, and most Canadian exporters will continue to rely on U.S. markets at least in the near and medium term, Boscariol said. 'There is that opportunity to diversify and certainly the provinces are trying to do their part in reducing provincial barriers but in the short to medium term, we're looking to these trade negotiations to provide some sort of relief or resolution,' he said. While in search of that resolution, Fagan said that Canada's leaders should rely on their strengths, which have always been different than those of their U.S. counterparts. 'Let's be smarter than the U.S. is; we always are in negotiations,' he said, 'that's our superpower and I think we will be in the upcoming negotiations as well.'
