Ex-politicians urge women 50+ to explore Canada after Ontario tour
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
6 hours ago
- CBC
In Winnipeg, U.S. ambassador to Canada issues warning not to overlook cross-border ties
The U.S. ambassador to Canada warned businesspeople and political leaders inside a Winnipeg auditorium Tuesday not to "bet against America" as group of demonstrators outside the venue protested his presence in the Manitoba capital. Days before a deadline to assemble a cross-border trade deal, U.S. ambassador Pete Hoekstra suggested Canada does not want to run the risk of missing out on economic opportunities provided by its neighbour to the south as it seeks to diversify its export markets. "Right now, I wouldn't bet against America. I wouldn't bet against Canada, either," Hoekstra said during an address to approximately 200 people at a Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce gathering at the Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq's soft-seat theatre. The ambassador then issued a subtle warning in the form of a dry joke. "I know that the EU and Japan just really want to buy the cars that you make in Ontario," Hoekstra said. "I think there are certain things that absolutely Canada is positioned to open up global markets and you should take advantage of those, absolutely," he continued. "There are other markets where you're tied so closely to the U.S. that that may be a confining factor for you." Hoekstra, who was appointed an ambassador to Canada four months ago by U.S. President Donald Trump, made his comments while senior Canadian and U.S. trade officials are attempting to complete a trade deal in advance of an Aug. 1 deadline. Trump has suggested Canada could end up with tariffs instead of a trade deal. Earlier this month, he told Prime Minister Mark Carney the U.S. may apply a 35 per cent tariff on Canadian goods that don't comply with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, or CUSMA, up from 25 per cent right now. Separately, Canadian steel and aluminum face a 50 per cent tariff that the U.S. has imposed on all countries, while the U.S. tariff on Canadian energy and potash is set at 10 per cent. Trump has also slapped a 25 per cent tariff on non-U.S. content of automobile imports and threatened to impose levies on pharmaceuticals, lumber and copper. Despite these existing and potential tariffs, Hoekstra told his Winnipeg audience that the fabric trying the Canada and U.S. together remains strong, even as it has changed. "Let that fabric stretch, let it take a slightly different shape, but don't do anything to break it," he implored, referring to the cross-border relationship. "There's no reason why it can't continue to be the envy of the world." During a question-and-answer session with Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce president Loren Remillard, Hoekstra declined to reveal the status of existing trade negotiations between Canada and the U.S. "I'm not sitting in the room and if I were, I probably wouldn't be answering that question," he said. The ambassador also deflected a question about the pending CUSMA renegotiations. Winnipeg South Liberal MP Ben Carr, who chairs the House of Commons industry committee, said he was not surprised by the absence of candour from the U.S. ambassador about trade negotiations. "These things have to take place, as they should, between our senior officials who have a deep understanding about what's going on," Carr said following the speech. A senior executive with a major Winnipeg manufacturer said the ambassador was more candid during a meeting with about 20 business leaders and politicians prior to the speech. Winpak vice-president Randy Zasitko, whose packaging company exports about 80 per cent of its products to the United States, said Canada may end up with a trade deal similar one signed recently with European Union — and one the U.S. contends it has reached with Japan. "From his perspective, he says there is no reason why when you look at the agreements that have been achieved at the 10 and 15 per cent [tariff rate], there's no reason Canada can't be even lower than that," Zasitko said. "Now, he didn't promise that by any means." Despite the U.S. tariffs and the renegotiations of North American trade agreements, Hoekstra said a continent-wide free trade zone remains a possibility. He said the Trump administration sees no connection between the application of tariffs and rising U.S. inflation. He also praised administration policies such as increased border enforcement and insisted the president means what he says. "If you want to know where Donald Trump is going, listen to him," Hoekstra said. Outside the art gallery, several dozen protesters held up signs decrying U.S. support for the Israeli war on Gaza, U.S. efforts to isolate Cuba, U.S. policies limiting transgender rights and the U.S. insistence on increased military spending by NATO members, among other issues. "We just want to let him know that he's not welcome here," said Sarah Borbridge, a member of Peace Alliance Winnipeg, referring to the U.S. ambassador. "We don't want representatives of U.S imperialism and we also see the U.S. as descending into fascism." U.S. trade policy was also a focus for the demonstration. One sign read "tariff this, sphincter face." With protesters gathered outside, U.S. ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra spoke to an audience at Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq on Tuesday. Despite ongoing trade tensions, the ambassador advised Canada not to turn its back on its neighbour to the south.
Cision Canada
13 hours ago
- Cision Canada
Readout - Prime Minister Carney speaks with Prime Minister of Singapore Lawrence Wong Français
OTTAWA, ON, July 29, 2025 /CNW/ - Today, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, spoke with the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lawrence Wong. In the face of shifting global trade and economic uncertainty, the leaders acknowledged the 60-year diplomatic relationship between the two countries and discussed boosting co-operation, noting the growing opportunities through the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The prime ministers discussed increasing trade and investment, particularly in the agri-food and nuclear energy sectors. Prime Minister Carney and Prime Minister Wong welcomed progress toward a Canada-ASEAN free trade agreement and look forward to meeting at the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia in October.
14 hours ago
Why Trump's deals with the EU, Japan may not be templates for Canada in trade talks
U.S. President Donald Trump's successive announcements of deals setting baseline tariffs on the European Union and Japan are prompting questions about whether they're a road map for Canada to follow in trade talks. Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the bones of an agreement (new window) on Sunday. It sets across-the-board tariffs of 15 per cent on most European Union exports to the United States, along with a commitment by Europe to invest $600 billion US in the American economy and spend $750 billion on U.S. energy products — although there's plenty of fine print still to come. That makes it broadly comparable to the deal Trump announced last week with Japan (new window) : a 15 per cent across-the-board tariff and a Japanese commitment to invest $550 billion in the U.S. Trump was threatening to hit Europe with 30 per cent baseline tariffs and Japan with 25 per cent on Aug. 1, so both trading blocs are selling the deals as wins. Because Canada is facing the threat of 35 per cent tariffs on some goods on the same date, does that mean Canada should be aiming for a similar agreement? Prime Minister Mark Carney certainly isn't saying so. Asked whether any forthcoming deal will be in the ballpark of those 15 per cent baseline tariffs, he emphasized the differences between Europe's and Canada's trading relationship with the U.S. We are in a different position, and that is why these negotiations ... are different, Carney said on Monday, citing Canada's geographical closeness and energy exports to the U.S. Europe, in that agreement yesterday, made commitments to buy American energy, he said at a news conference in Prince Edward Island. America needs Canadian energy. WATCH | Canada's trade talks with the U.S. are different from Europe's, Carney says: Across-the-board tariffs 'difficult for Canada to accept' There are plenty of reasons why a 15 per cent baseline tariff rate is not something for Canada to aspire to, given that its economy is proportionally far more dependent on the U.S. market than Europe's and Japan's are. Jonathan O'Hara, an international trade lawyer in the Ottawa law office of McMillan LLP, said Canada should set its sights on a better deal than the EU or Japan negotiated since it's already so tightly integrated with the American economy. On a broad level, having some kind of across-the-board tariffs, I think, would be very difficult for Canada to accept, O'Hara said in a weekend interview with CBC News. WATCH | Here's what's in Trump's tariff deal with the EU: Yet it appears that Canada doesn't actually face the prospect of tariffs that are truly across-the-board. That's because it has something that neither the European Union nor Japan have: an actual free-trade deal. Trump's fentanyl emergency tariffs, currently set at 25 per cent — which he's threatening to raise to 35 per cent on Friday — hit only those goods that don't comply with the rules of origin in the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). That means the vast bulk of Canada's exports to the U.S. (new window) are currently crossing the border tariff-free. Steel and aluminum tariffs a big question That may be why Carney's Liberal government does not feel the same sort of pressure as Europe and Japan to get a deal on Trump's timeline, said Drew Fagan, a professor at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. Overall, the average tariff on Canadian goods going into the United States is about as low as any place in the world, he told CBC News. What's important for us is that the [CUSMA] free-trade agreement continues to hold. Whether it will in the future, of course, is a fundamental question. The biggest exceptions to Canada's mostly tariff-free access to the U.S. are steel and aluminum (new window) , hit by Trump's 50 per cent global rate as he tries to prop up that sector at home. Enlarge image (new window) A worker is shown welding at a steel manufacturing facility in Hamilton on July 16. The biggest exceptions to Canada's mostly tariff-free access to the U.S. are steel and aluminum, hit by Trump's 50 per cent global rate as he tries to prop up that sector at home. Photo: The Canadian Press / Chris Young In their deals reached with the U.S., neither the EU nor Japan are let off the hook from that tariff. While Canada is surely angling for something better on steel and aluminum — such as the U.K.'s 25 per cent tariff (new window) , potentially headed to zero — the European and Japanese agreements suggest that will be tough to achieve. Carlo Dade, director of international policy at the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy, said Canada will likely face a tariff rate comparable to Europe's. U.S. and Canada might not reach trade deal, Trump says (new window) The Americans have decided to readjust the terms of trade, Dade said. The price of access to the U.S. market is going up globally. It appears everyone is going to have to pay an increased cost. There are plenty of signs to suggest that the prospects are slim for Canada to reach a deal by Trump's deadline of Friday: Carney said the talks are complex (new window) , his top trade negotiators are downplaying the importance of the deadline (new window) and Trump himself is saying there may not be a deal at all (new window) . Mike Crawley (new window) · CBC News · Senior reporter Mike Crawley has covered Ontario politics for CBC News since 2009. He began his career as a newspaper reporter in B.C., spent six years as a freelance journalist in various parts of Africa, then joined the CBC in 2005. Mike was born and raised in Saint John, N.B. Follow Mike Crawley on Twitter (new window) With files from Natasha Fatah, Karen Pauls and Andrew Nichols
