Premiers meeting in Ontario to tackle Trump tariff ultimatum and internal trade barriers
Tariffs and trade are top of the agenda as the country's premiers arrive in Ontario's cottage country for a three-day meeting that comes at a pivotal time for both Canada-U.S. and domestic relations.
Article content
The premiers' summer gathering in Muskoka will also feature a Tuesday meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney, as trade talks with the United States are expected to intensify.
Article content
Article content
Article content
Most of what the premiers are likely to discuss stems from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs: trade negotiations, the direct impact on industries such as steel and aluminum, the increased pushes to remove interprovincial trade barriers and speed up major infrastructure and natural resource projects to counteract the effects of tariffs, as well as Indigenous communities' concerns about them.
Article content
Article content
Carney himself is fresh off a meeting with hundreds of First Nations chiefs, many of whom have expressed concerns about their rights being sidelined as the prime minister looks to accelerate projects in the 'national interest.'
Article content
Some of the top priorities premiers are pushing include pipelines and mining in Ontario's Ring of Fire region, and chiefs have said that must not happen by governments skirting their duty to consult.
Article content
Article content
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who has served for the past year as head of the Council of the Federation, is host of the meeting and said in a statement that protecting national interests will be top of mind.
Article content
Article content
'This meeting will be an opportunity to work together on how to respond to President Trump's latest threat and how we can unleash the full potential of Canada's economy,' Ford wrote.
Article content
Trump and Carney agreed in June at the G7 summit to try and reach a trade deal by July 21, but Trump recently moved that deadline to Aug. 1, while telling Carney he intends to impose 35 per cent across-the-board tariffs on Canada that same day.
Article content
Article content
Carney has said Canada is trying to get an agreement on softwood lumber exports included in the negotiations with the United States.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
U.S. steelmakers say Trump's tariffs ‘working,' want Canada to follow suit
Some top American steel producers are cheering on U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on foreign steel while raising prices on their own products, with one steelmaker urging Canada to copy Trump's protectionist trade policies. Both Cleveland-Cliffs and Steel Dynamics said in their latest quarterly earnings reports this week that they are charging buyers about 14 per cent more than they did in the previous quarter, while Acerinox said it is considering doing the same as soon as this fall. Economists say such price increases are a natural result of tariffs, and are warning Canada to avoid the Trump administration's 'sledgehammer' approach that ends up squeezing buyers. 'A scalpel approach is much more necessary here, because it's so complex,' said Harish Krishnan, a professor at the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business who focuses on supply chain management. Story continues below advertisement The U.S. approach, he added, 'is going to be negative for costs in the short and long term.' 4:26 Federal gov't response to latest U.S. Tariffs Steel Dynamics reported on Tuesday its average steel price in the second quarter of this year was US$1,134 per tonne, up from US$998 in the first quarter. Cleveland-Cliffs said it was selling steel during the same quarter at US$1,015 a tonne on average, up from US$980 in the first quarter. Acerinox, the largest producer of stainless steel in the U.S., said in a post-earnings call Thursday it was also looking to increase its prices later this year, but CEO Bernardo Velazquez acknowledged doing so 'is not easy under the current circumstances.' The CEO of Daimler Truck North America, which buys steel for the school buses and semi-trucks it manufactures, told the New York Times this week that it would be difficult to pass on the higher steel costs to its customers, particularly at a time of lower demand for its products. Story continues below advertisement The company said last week it was reducing its workforce by 2,000 employees. 'Whenever you introduce a tariff, it has two effects,' said Werner Antweiller, an economics professor and chair in international trade policy at the University of British Columbia. 'It basically raises the prices in the market overall because it curtails output, and so consumers are paying a higher price overall, and then the domestic producers are pulling even to the price of the foreign producers.' Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Antweiller said those higher costs will have downstream impacts not just on buyers like Daimler Truck, but also the North American auto industry, which relies on steel and aluminum — including American automakers that Trump has said he wants to protect. Despite those impacts, Krishnan said, 'As profit maximizers, it makes total sense for the sellers to raise their prices.' 8:50 Automotive parts manufacturers association doesn't want countertariffs Both Cleveland-Cliffs and Steel Dynamics said they expect prices to remain stable in upcoming quarters — meaning they will remain at higher levels. Story continues below advertisement In a post-earnings call Tuesday, Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves described the 'strong improvements in pricing' and said Trump's steel tariffs, which went up to 50 per cent in June, 'have played a significant role in supporting the domestic steel industry.' The company told investors that imported steel has dropped from 25 per cent of the U.S. market share in January to 20 per cent in April and May, after Trump first re-imposed the tariffs at a 25 per cent rate. Executives at Steel Dynamics were more muted. While CEO Mark Millett said higher prices had boosted profitability for the company, 'the uncertainty regarding trade policy continues to cause hesitancy in customer order patterns across our businesses.' Canada needs 'significant' steel tariffs, CEO says The uncertainty has roiled Canada's own steel industry, which, like the U.S., has historically contended with imports and has called on the federal government to stop foreign dumping of steel due to Trump's tariffs. Story continues below advertisement Prime Minister Mark Carney last week said Ottawa will change its steel tariff-rate quotas from 100 per cent to just 50 per cent of 2024 volumes for non-free trade agreement countries. Any imports that fall above that rate will face a 50 per cent tariff, which will also be applied to imports from free trade agreement partners above 100 per cent of 2024 volumes. Additional duties will also be imposed on 25 per cent of steel imports from all non-U.S. countries that contain steel melted and poured in China before the end of July, Carney added. Goncalves on Tuesday claimed the new measures will only affect 17 per cent of the steel imported to Canada, and urged Carney to expand its tariffs to all foreign trade partners in line with the U.S. He said countries with free trade agreements 'continue to use Canada as their outlet for overproduction.' Cleveland-Cliffs owns the Canadian steel company Stelco after buying it from U.S. Steel last year. 'If Prime Minister Carney and his cabinet really want to have a steel industry in Canada, they should put in place significant trade protections,' Goncalves said during Tuesday's call. 'Then they will have a strong domestic steel industry in Canada, able to support a vibrant and domestic Canadian market. 'We are doing just that here in the United States, and it's working.' Story continues below advertisement 1:30 Carney announces steel tariff countermeasures in support of workers Antweiller warned Ottawa against following that advice. 'It would actually raise prices here in Canada too, and that would again hurt the industry downstream,' he said. 'And that is even more important because there are so many more jobs in the auto industry than there are in the steel industry.' The Canadian Steel Producers Association, whose membership includes Stelco, declined to comment on Goncalves' comments when asked by Global News. The industry group last week applauded the federal government's updated measures to protect Canada's steel sector, after criticizing the initial plan announced last month that included lower tariff rate quotas. Yet companies are seeing damage to their own bottom lines. Algoma Steel confirmed Thursday it was in talks with the federal government about potential liquidity relief measures, including an application to the federal Large Enterprise Tariff Loan program for $500 million. Story continues below advertisement Industry Minister Melanie Joly told reporters early this month the government was talking to Rio Tinto about potential liquidity relief as well. Both Goncalves and Millett, the Steel Dynamics CEO, said Tuesday they expect the steel and aluminum tariffs to stay in place even under negotiated trade deals that see other country or sector-specific tariffs removed. 'So far, there is no indication that the Section 232 tariffs will be used as a bargaining chip by the Trump administration as leverage in trade deals with other countries,' Goncalves said. Federal negotiators have said the steel and aluminum tariffs have been a focus of talks with the U.S. toward a new trade and security deal. Trump has threatened Canada with new tariffs starting Aug. 1 unless a deal is set. Economists are hopeful that the White House begins to see the damage that will be created if the tariffs remain in place. 'Our integrated market is worth so much to both sides, and moving away from this is going to hurt the Americans as much as us,' Antweiller said. 'I think that realization ought to take hold in the United States.'
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Trump offers support to Musk's car company in a surprising post as Tesla stock plunges
President Donald Trump, right, speaks during a news conference with Elon Musk in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) NEW YORK — U.S. President Donald Trump took to social media Thursday morning to support Elon Musk's car company, a startling development given their bitter public feud. 'I want Elon, and all businesses within our Country, to THRIVE,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. The post wasn't enough to help Tesla's stock, which fell sharply after the company reported another quarter of lackluster financial results and Musk warned of some potentially 'rough quarters' into next year. At midday, the stock was down around 9 per cent. Late Wednesday, Tesla said revenue fell 12 per cent and profit dropped 16 per cent in the April-June quarter. Many prospective buyers have been turned off by Musk's foray into right-wing politics, and the competition has ramped up in key markets such as Europe and China. Investors have been unnerved by Musk's social media spat with the president because Trump has threatened to retaliate by ending government contracts and breaks for Musk's various businesses, including Tesla. But Trump struck a starkly different tone Thursday morning. 'Everyone is stating that I will destroy Elon's companies by taking away some, if not all, of the large scale subsidies he receives from the U.S. Government. This is not so!' Trump wrote. 'The better they do, the better the USA does, and that's good for all of us.' After Trump's massive budget bill passed earlier this month, Tesla faces the loss of the US$7,500 EV tax credit and stands to make much less money from selling regulatory credits to other automakers. Trump's tariffs on countries including China and Mexico will also cost Tesla hundreds of millions of dollars, the company said on its earnings call. Musk has blasted the budget bill on his own social media platform X for adding to U.S. debt at a time when it is already too large. The Tesla CEO has called the budget pushed by the president a 'disgusting abomination' and has threatened to form a new political party. On Wednesday's call, Musk said the electric vehicle maker will face 'a few rough quarters' as it moves into a future focused less on selling cars and more on offering people rides in self-driving cars. He also talked up the company's business making humanoid robotics. But he acknowledged those businesses are a ways off from contributing to Tesla's bottom line. Tesla began a rollout in June of its paid robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, and hopes to introduce the driverless cabs in several other cities soon. Musk told analysts that the service will be available to probably 'half of the population of the U.S. by the end of the year — that's at least our goal, subject to regulatory approvals.' 'We're in this weird transition period where we'll lose a lot of incentives in the U.S.,' Musk said, adding that Tesla 'probably could have a few rough quarters' ahead. He added, though, 'Once you get to autonomy at scale in the second half of next year, certainly by the end of next year, I would be surprised if Tesla's economics are not very compelling.'
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Trump's settlement with Columbia could become a model for his campaign to reshape higher education
Students sit on the front steps of Low Memorial Library on the Columbia University campus in New York City, Feb. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File) WASHINGTON — The Trump administration's milestone settlement with Columbia promises to bring stability to a university in crisis. It also delivers a crucial win to U.S. President Donald Trump in his campaign to reshape higher education. And at colleges around the country, the deal clarifies the stakes for anyone weighing whether to fight the administration's demands or concede. Columbia agreed Wednesday to pay more than US$220 million to the federal government to restore federal research money that was canceled in the name of combating antisemitism on campus. That decision offers a contrast to the path taken by Harvard University, which has lost billions of dollars in government funding as its legal battle escalates with no end in sight. Yet the Columbia deal also raises questions about university independence as the school submits to closer federal oversight. No sooner had Trump announced the deal than he sent a warning: Numerous other universities, he said, 'are upcoming.' The deal is the first to settle a federal investigation into allegations of campus antisemitism since Trump returned to office. It's also the first agreement with a university touching on so many elements of the president's agenda, including diversity, equity and inclusion programs and admissions to women's sports and campus protests. Columbia agreed to some provisions similar to those that Harvard rejected and called a dangerous precedent. The settlement requires the hiring of new faculty in Jewish studies and a review of academics to ensure 'balance.' Additionally, Columbia will be placed under the watch of an independent monitor and ordered to disclose hiring, admission and discipline data to be audited for compliance. In what Columbia described as a victory for university autonomy, the agreement includes a clause saying the government has no authority to dictate hiring, admissions decisions or the content of academic speech. Acting University President Claire Shipman said it was 'carefully crafted to protect the values that define us' while restoring the university's federal research funding. Where some see pragmatism, others see capitulation Some at Columbia called it the best feasible outcome. Some called it capitulation. Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., a Columbia graduate whose district includes the Manhattan campus, called it a 'cowardly' agreement that won't improve the campus. Columbia has effectively waved 'the white flag of surrender in its battle at the heart of the Trump Administration's war on higher education and academic freedom,' Nadler said. Columbia had been threatened with the potential loss of billions of dollars in government support, including more than $400 million in research grants canceled earlier this year. David Pozen, a law professor at Columbia, said the settlement raises legal questions about Trump's strategy of regulation by dealmaking. Instead of applying a single standard across all of higher education, Pozen said, Trump is relying on one-off deals with individual universities as a condition to regain federal funding. It mirrors his hardball approach with trade partners and prominent law firms. 'In short, the agreement gives legal form to an extortion scheme,' he said. Lawrence Summers, a former Treasury secretary and former president of Harvard, called the settlement an 'excellent template' for agreements with Harvard and other universities. He said it preserves Columbia's independence while addressing antisemitism and renewing a focus on merit. 'This may be the best day higher education has had in the last year,' Summers wrote on the social media platform X. Dozens of colleges are facing federal investigations With the deal, Trump has new momentum in his expanding campaign to bring the nation's universities in line with his vision. Dozens of campuses are under federal investigation for allegations related to antisemitism, DEI and transgender athletes in women's sports. Trump has saved his strongest rebuke for elite private universities, yet his administration has also recently turned attention to big public universities including George Mason University. Among Trump's backers, the Columbia agreement is seen as a first step to counteract the liberal bias they say has permeated college campuses. Education Secretary Linda McMahon called Columbia's reforms a roadmap for universities looking to regain public trust. 'I believe they will ripple across the higher education sector and change the course of campus culture for years to come,' McMahon said in a statement. The settlement follows smaller wins for the administration, including a recent deal with the University of Pennsylvania over transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. Penn agreed to modify school records held by Thomas and to apologize to female athletes 'disadvantaged' by Thomas' participation. Just days earlier, the president of the University of Virginia agreed to resign amid a Justice Department investigation over DEI policies. Dozens of university presidents have rallied behind Harvard in its fight against the Trump administration, seeing their own independence jeopardized by the government's sanctions against the Ivy League school. Harvard, the nation's oldest and wealthiest university, is often seen as a bellwether for other institutions, and some regard it as the best hope to repel the Trump administration's pressure campaign. Now even more rides on Harvard's case. Earlier this month, Trump said a deal with Harvard appeared imminent, only to lash out at the university this week following a court hearing in one of Harvard's legal battles. 'A big part of it is going to be how much Harvard gets in the future,' Trump told reporters this week. 'And they're not going to get very much.' Even before Trump took office, more universities had been pulling back on DEI and taking other steps to backtrack on what some see as a leftward political drift. Yet if the Columbia agreement becomes a model, it could force an even deeper reckoning. The agreement requires full compliance with the administration's interpretation of Title IX, the federal law barring sex discrimination in education. Trump officials have used the law to force the removal of transgender athletes from women's sports. The deal also requires regular reports to ensure Columbia does not 'promote unlawful DEI goals.' On admissions, the settlement pushes Columbia to limit the consideration of race even beyond the Supreme Court's 2023 decision ending affirmative action. That decision left open the possibility that universities could consider an applicant's discussion of how their race affected their life, including in college application essays. The Columbia deal appears to bar such considerations. It also requires Columbia to heighten scrutiny of international students and ask questions about their reasons for wanting to study in the United States. It orders the school to take steps to 'decrease financial independence' on international students. Columbia has one of the largest international student populations in the nation, making up about 40 per cent of its enrollment. How much Columbia ceded in exchange may not be clear for years. There's also no guarantee that the school is fully in the clear — the agreement leaves open the possibility of future 'compliance reviews, investigations, defunding or litigation' by the government. Still, Trump commended the university for doing 'what is right.' 'I look forward to watching them have a great future in our Country, maybe greater than ever before!' he said on his social media platform. The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at Collin Binkley, The Associated Press
